If you want to upgrade your personal computer, the question often arises about the compatibility of components, connectors and power supply. To update the PC configuration in order to increase its performance, motherboards, a processor, memory slats can be replaced, a more powerful video card can be integrated.
And if, when replacing a sound or graphics card, you should pay attention to the correspondence of the sockets on the motherboard, then if necessary to change the "mother", the pinout of the 24 pin power supply is also important.
PC power supply and how it works
The computer power supply uses a standard voltage of 230V at a frequency of 50Hz (Russia). The principle of operation is quite simple: the mains voltage is rectified, cleaned and, with the help of a generator, converted into a high-frequency signal with a span of 310V +. A small high-frequency transformer converts the high voltage to the levels necessary for the PC, followed by rectification. Also present in the power supply are voltage stabilization and protection in current, voltage and in advanced models in temperature.
And now we will deal with the pinout of the 24 pin power supply.
PC and voltage required for operation
For the operation of a modern computer, the following voltage levels are required from the power supply: +3.3 volts, +5 volts, +12 volts. The latter (+ 12V) is supplied to motors, fans and backlight, while low (+ 3.3V and + 5V) are used to power digital circuits.
Largest ATX 24pin power supply connector
The largest cable with a power supply connector is 24 pin, or 20 + 4, as it is sometimes called. A 20 pin connector was used for older boards. Now it is almost the same thing. The difference is only in a removable additional chip on 4pin, due to which boards of a new sample are supported, requiring a more dense energy ration.
The 24 Pin pinout is made in this connector, and the power supply has all of the above voltages. There are also service contacts for turning the computer on and off and for supplying power from a standby source.
An important feature of this connector is that it can be inserted into the socket in exactly the same position. This is ensured by the fact that all contacts (pin) have a different geometric shape. You can verify this yourself, but don’t be zealous - the boards are very fragile.
Wiring 24 pin at the power supply
For convenience and simplicity, all power supply voltage wires and all service contacts have their own insulation color. It is worth remembering them for the future. Let's try to list them, so:
- Black color - common wire (COM). Relative to it, all the voltages at the output of the power supply are measured.
- Red color - +5 volts.
- Yellow color - +12 volts.
- Orange color - +3.3 volts.
- Blue color - minus 12 volts.
- Green (lime) - turn on the PSU (PS-ON). To turn on (and turn off) the power supply, short-circuit this contact with the black wire. In the additional 4pin connector for version 20 + 4, the voltages + 12V, + 5V and + 3.3V are duplicated.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in pinout the 24 pin power supply of a modern computer.
Additional connectors
In addition to the main connector, additional plugs also come out of the modern power supply. They have fewer contacts, smaller sizes. They are designed to connect to computer peripherals, such as card readers, optical drives, HDDs and SSDs, discrete audio and video cards, modems, fans and other devices.
These connectors also have keys and are protected from improper connection, which does not cancel the requirement to be careful and attentive, because the author of these lines managed to insert the auxiliary power connector + 12V CPU incorrectly (but without breakdowns and negative consequences, the board just did not start).
The main types of connectors are:
- Molex - brings +5 volts, +12 volts and two COM to consumers.
- PCI-E - mainly for motherboards and video cards, depending on the configuration can be on 4, 6 and 8 Pin. They supply + 12V and are designed to transmit high currents.
- SATA 15, supplies power to optical drives and SATA hard drives. Contains + 3.3V, + 5V and + 12V, as well as COM.
There are also connectors for connecting a floppy disk drive. Due to their old age and hopelessness, this article is not considered.