Mar 20, 2020 09:00:00

What is Intel's new standard 'ATX12VO', which has the potential to improve cable management and power efficiency of home-built PCs?

by

cand3la

Computers are made up of parts such as CPU, memory, and HDD, and each part requires a different voltage. Until now, the difference in voltage was solved by the power supply body, but ` ` ATX12VO '' formulated by Intel is a new power supply standard that supplies only 12 V voltage from the power supply and adjusts the voltage for each part on the motherboard .

(PDF) Single Rail Power Supply ATX12VO Design Guide
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/guides/single-rail-power-supply-platform-atx12vo-design-guide.pdf

How Intel is changing the future of power supplies with its ATX12VO spec | PCWorld
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3518831/how-intels-changing-the-future-of-power-supplies-with-its-atx12vo-spec.html

Currently available computers can supply 5V or 3.3V in addition to 12V. However, as the power supply efficiency and required voltage of the computer changed with the times, the voltage configuration of the power supply also changed. A comparison of the power supplies in 2006 and 2016 shows that the proportion of 12V rails in the power supply has increased.

In response to this trend, the voltage supplied from the power supply is unified at 12V, and the voltage adjustment for each part is performed on the motherboard is ATX12VO formulated by Intel. In ATX12VO, the thick 24-pin main power connector and SATA power connector are all replaced with 10-pin connectors.

One of the benefits of ATX12VO is its high power efficiency. The conventional multi-rail power supply was not efficient at low power consumption when the computer was idle, etc.However, Intel explained that the ATX12VO supplies power by a single rail, eliminating voltage conversion loss and improving efficiency. You. In addition, it is stated that the cost of manufacturing the power supply itself will be dramatically reduced because the voltage conversion mechanism is shifted to the motherboard.

The ATX12VO has disadvantages for motherboard manufacturers, such as a motherboard with a voltage conversion function, which increases the cost of manufacturing the motherboard and necessitates a cooling function for newly added circuits. However, the motherboard has a voltage conversion function, which makes it easier to manage power at startup, and allows more flexible voltage supply to devices such as USB ports and audio controllers.

ATX12VO is provided only to the OEM market at the time of article creation, and is not provided to the general public such as self-made PCs. If parts compatible with ATX12VO are sold to the general public, the power supply will be smaller than conventional power supplies, eliminating the need to route cables with multiple different pins. It is expected that the SATA power cable will change from connecting directly to the drive to going through the motherboard, and if you want to use a traditional connector, you will need to connect a conversion cable to the motherboard.