Multiple 12V lines in power supply?

Question

Power Supply

Consult on the power supply and 12 volt lines.

Using the Seasonic 350W [SS-350TGM] as an example, it says 12v1 and 12v2 at 18 amps each.


As I understand it, there is one line for the processor, for all sata and molex another?
My processor does not need power, it means one line is empty, and for all the hard drives I only have half (18 amperes) left?

Answer 1

Given that the power is 350 watts. then there most likely one winding is responsible for 12 volts. That is, one winding is made with a thick wire and provides ALL current at the specified voltage.
That is: ALL amps come from one winding through ALL wires (usually yellow).

This is the length (in meters) AND the maximum current that can be passed through the SECTION of a copper stranded wire.
As a rule, the issue is resolved by supplying SEVERAL wires with a cross section of 0.75mm.kv. which is clearly seen on the additional power connector for video cards.
That is, the maximum current is determined by the TOTAL cross section of the wires of the same color supplied to the module (the ground is usually black).
It will be 1 wire to the "motherboard" (or 1 + 2 wires on an additional connector), and 16 wires can come to the video card (but it's like more than 600 W in power supplies.) And therefore 60 -100 W will go to the mother there. and in the video card 200 - 250 watts.
As for the power supplies, I want to note that all inexpensive power supplies, as a rule, work stably at a load of 50% of the declared one. To get the best efficiency, you should pay attention to the PSU "80 Pyus" Bronze, Gold. Platinum ... There, the efficiency is more than 80%, but the price is usually 5-10 times higher.
If a powerful system with high power consumption is going to be assembled, then I highly recommend taking power with a margin of 25-30% when choosing a PSU, this will ensure stable operation of the system without failures in the loaded mode.