Single Rail vs Dual Rail PSU - It might be time to upgrade...

[@ipodbreaker1]

OMFG this video solved a problem for me. A buddy of mine built his first PC and was able to afford a 9800x3D and a 4090. As you stated it has crashing issues similar to a OCP faulting. I for the life of me could not figure it out. I watched your video and checked the PSU. IT WAS A DUAL RAIL!! split power amongst both rails and now have a PC that murders frames. Thank you Jay for being a leader in talking about the small details of building a PC that nobody discusses

[@aleksios2]

and if marketers hadn't come up with this mult rails nonsense, then everything would have worked well from the very beginning.

[@horizonrider508]

Omfg man I bought corsair Hx1000i 80+ platinum I hope that have a dual 12v rail actually to run my ancient rtx 3090 24 gb

[@jkirk99]

@@aleksios2 pc power and cooling caught hell when they declared dual rail power supply inefficient. and they went out of business.(sorry bought out by ocz and tucked away out of sight.)

[@Muksanim2012]

You knocked this one off the rails: good explanation, clear and concise and easy to understand. It's basically balancing the load as with an emergency generator having two "legs" hooked up to house electric panels with a switch box. And entertaining as well. This is something many people don't think about. Thanks.

[@stephenharrison6672]

Always find PSU discussions interesting as they are never really talked about other than either pure wattage allowence or rating grade.

[@rattlehead999]

and circuit and electrical component quality if you leave youtube.

[@TerryBollea1]

Thats cause no one builds these days. Everyone of yall just buy boutique. It sucks.

[@rattlehead999]

@ The biggest problem ever since 2012 is that people listen to youtubers instead of proper forums and tech sites.

[@TerryBollea1]

@rattlehead999 the biggest problem is that people listen/read the internet for the truth period.

[@rattlehead999]

@@TerryBollea1 Most documentations and technical books are on the internet.

[@CareBear-Killer]

It's funny how ~10 years ago, we went from 1200W PSUs back down to 800W PSUs. Now here we are with 1200W PSUs again. It's also crazy how many people will cheap out on the PSU when building a new system.. 4090, 9800x3D, 256GB of RAM, 20TBs of storage, AIO, 9 RGB Fans, screen in case, and then a generic gray box 1200w PSU they found on amazon for $80.

[@BorbaFawkes]

A huge problem with pre-builts.

[@Terrackhimself]

Seems like home builders and system builders suffer from the same problem LOL

[@peterpain6625]

...aaand that 1200W graybox psu is barely 800W. Just relabeled ;)

[@G4m3m4st0r]

Yup, glad I never cheaped out on my PSUs, while unfortunately the HX750 died in a i7 950 rig within warranty period I've just replaced it with a HX750i, even put a HX750i in a Q9550 system while overkill its solid and quiet and it makes it an easier backup for another system if required. My AX1200i has been one of the greatest purchases, back in 2013, so far running 11 years close to 70K hours or so, been extremely solid and went from 3930K system with OC and 780Ti to 3930K with 320W pulling 1080Ti and is now powering the 13900K with said 1080Ti with 16 fans in the HAF 700 EVO, a H170i and currently 5 HDDs and a few SSDs. Without undervolt in an early Prime95 test in 2022 the 13900K pulled 376W through the dual 8-pin EPS connectors (appears to be rated 384W per) and the PSU is in multi-rail mode and doesn't care. The next test should be the RTX 5090 at full power draw/maxed sliders in conjunction of a maxed CPU workload and see what it does. I would have upgraded to an AX1800i... but you know Corsair is lazy and still hasn't released an ATX 3.1 refresh of their AXi line-up and I'm not downgrading to HXi for my main build. Update: A news journalist spoke with Corsair about the AXi PSUs, they are trying to find a platform that is on par or better than the previous AXi line-up but they're having trouble with finding one, hence it taking so long... Well good to know they are atleast actively trying to look into it.

[@kevinsteinman8967]

Yea I find this a fair amount of time in my shop when people bring in a PC they built or a pre-built that the supply is not up to the task and I keep a good stock of 1k and up to sell at cost to the user plus building systems for people. I only bill for my time and provide the receipt of what I paid for the component. I always get heck when I suggest people buy 1k and higher supplies as OMG your pulling way too much power from the wall and the system only needs this much power not accounting all the accessories such as RGB fans/lights/drives and god only knows . The answer my friend the supply is only going to draw what is needed no matter the size and what you might think oversize now is less you need on the next upgrade.

[@MrGelowe]

In December of 2016 I bought EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2, 80+ PLATINUM for $187. Glad I didn't listen to everyone who would say that it was a waste of money and overkill. Never had a single issue with the PSU and has lasted me multiple upgrade cycles. Glad the the discussion changed to buying high quality PSUs with future in mind, you could say the dirty word "future proofing."

[@richard-davies]

With most PC hardware while there isn't really such a thing such as future proofing as things change so much and so quickly, buying a very high quality PSU is definitely the one thing that's future proofing as like you've done, it will go through multiple upgrades and hopefully last for a good 10yrs. It's the heart of the system and the last thing you want is a strange power issues or at worst a dodgy PSU destroying your hardware.

[@rangersmith4652]

Indeed. For any "modern" build going forward, I'll be using a PSU rated for at least 1000W. I have that exact PSU, bought about the same time. Bulletproof.

[@brucepreston3927]

I bought the same PSU in Dec 2018 and it has been great! It is now in it's 3rd system and I have never had a single issue...The only thing I did was buy a Cable Mod 12vhpwr to 3 8pin cable when I bought my 4080 Super...I hated that stupid 3 plug adapter that came with my GPU...

[@zackzeed]

Bought a Corsair 1000W psu for a 7700K, 1080 system 8-9 years ago (or however long ago it was). That psu is still in service today in a system with a 11700K.

[@aleksandartobdzic007]

I have also EVGA P2 1200w..its from 2017. Works great. Sometime i thinking to change with something new, like new Rm 1000x atx 3.1 series but i think that will be wasted money

[@franks_9254]

Dual rail, in addition to the outlined info, has the disadvantage, that the multiple rails never will have the exact same output voltage. So, the highest load is still drawn from the rail providing the higher of the voltages. This means, there will always a single rail providing the most of the load (and could be overloaded). From a hardware engineer in the field perspective, I always recommend single rail topology. The inside topology could be a multiphase design still (which is likely on higher output ratings), feeding the single output rail.

[@micobugija6284]

This. It used to make sense when we had SLI. Not so much now that a single GPU draws as much as a triple SLI setup.

[@luminatrixfanfiction]

Can I ask you as an hardware engineer, would having a Dual rail psu mean you have, if divvying up two pin connectors between both rails, mean you get different levels of "dirty power" with different variances of sine wave? Wouldn't that be unhealthy for any system hardware? It seems to me that having a single rail PSU and an UPS seems to be the safer option.

[@UbrShadow]

"not to be confused with dirty deeds" you missed a chance to use a high voltage joke

[@NZMOPAR]

Yep 👍

[@LexiconDevil]

It's okay, Jay was just thunderstruck

[@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing]

@@fierce134 And helping his phone make a jailbreak

[@cajunlightning]

that was cool, have a drink on me.

[@ShadowmonkeyX-]

Surprised that there was no done dirt cheap comment either

[@FilthyGopher]

A lot US homes are wired on 15amp circuits which means 1650watts max from the wall. Getting to the point that your desktop pc needs its own dedicated circuit for your electric panel.

[@ElectronNeutrino]

A standard 15A Moulded Case Circuit Breaker, which is the standard type of breaker in homes, will pass 12A continuously and up to 15A for short periods. This is the 80% rule that you see electricians note. This is due to heat build-up in the breaker limiting it's max continuous load. For a nominal 120V circuit, a 15A circuit will allow a continuous 1440W with brief periods to 1800W. Given the spiky demand from various loads, you can almost certainly get away with a 1500W PSU as long as you're not actually maxing out the capacity for more than 5-10 minutes and it's the only thing on the circuit. Remember, the circuit breaker is there to stop a fire. It does that by using heat build up on a bimetallic strip to simulate heat buildup on wires in the wall and will trip when it has gotten too hot thus preventing hot wires from starting a fire. Up to maybe 5x the rating, it's just heat, meaning it will tolerate very short spikes. However, once you hit a dead short that's pulling 10-100x the rating of the breaker, then the magnetic trip function will act without delay to open the circuit.

[@gergelyvarju6679]

@@ElectronNeutrino Usually people tend to have both their PC and their monitors connected to the same circuit. They might have phone chargers, desk lamps, etc. around and still connected to the same circuit. It seems to be a limitation.

[@ElectronNeutrino]

@@gergelyvarju6679 I agree fully. I just kinda hated to not address the "1650W max" statement that, while technically accurate for a 110V circuit (acceptable household voltage is 110-130V), is missing some key nuance. I mean no offense to Gopher, I just wanted to add a little more clarification given this is a video about large power supplies. Adding 30-50W per monitor (100-150W if it's got laptop charging), 10W for a lamp, some power power for speakers, etc., could leave you with only 1200W of capacity. I don't think it's a big limitation unless you're getting into Threadripper/Epyc/Xeon grade workstations and servers and those require special handling. But it could be a problem down the road if the power budget keeps increasing.

[@jamesbael6255]

Non concern. If you don't have enough power, hire an electrician. Don't have enough money? Get your priorities straight, stop being poor.

[@zorbakaput8537]

This is not a problem for most western countries which have chosen a more efficient power supply system for home use ie: 220-240 volt which for OZ means we have more efficient (smaller) electric motors for the same power ( as an example) and also 10 amps gives us 2400 watts. Plenty of comments in this post about the weakness of 110V - anyhow it is what it is.

[@austinverlinden2236]

Hope you and your family are safe during the LA Wild fires!

[@Rayu25Demon]

Terrorists???

[@Takintomori]

​@@Rayu25DemonI suppose you could call oil companies that.

[@ReynaMirez]

* rolls eyes *

[@JoeMaranophotography]

Meanwhile in the UK it's doing winter because it's winter and the UK is cold despite the oil companies.

[@lesliegrace8360]

Happens they dem lot voted for Kalamity Harris

[@Martin_from_SC]

It was nice to see that my 10 year old Corsair AX860i is a single rail design. I gotta say its not something i was really aware of back then. But she's still kickin and gone thru several upgrades since!

[@silberlung3440]

You might still want to consider replacing it. Could be bad for the rest of the hardware to wait until the PSU fails.

[@brettgriggs9888]

It's actually a single OR multi-rail design. I have one and mine's set to multi-rail. It can be set in iCue Settings.

[@qamulek]

Over a decade ago I was reading about the advantages of single rail vs multi rail. I decided a single rail was worth the risk of catastrophic failure as said failure should be detected on both single/multi rail anyways, but a single rail might prevent me from even booting into bios. I have yet to have a single rail cause catastrophic damage...

[@billgates3776]

Just run two psu

[@jacco018]

​@@billgates3776But that has nothing to do with single/multi rail and inteoduces new problems

[@vladimirljubopytnov5193]

I wanted to use 2 gan mini PSUs to optimize my itx build. The idea was to power the GPU using one of the PSUs.. but then I read that I also need to provide pcie power from the same rail, otherwise the GPU might get cooked. Miners have special risers to enable single rail per gpu (apart from the fact that no mobo will provide 75W into, say, 7 pcie slots at once.. single rail is safe bet, where available.

[@harshbarj]

You are lucky. I have.

[@jmarynicz]

Apart from Jay then suggests connecting each component to both rails (one PCIe and EPS to one rail and the same on the other rail) which then completely negates any advantage to damage reduction, since every component is connected to both rails at all times. It's pretty simple, buy a single rail PSU from a reputable brand and at the rated power for it to run at its best efficiency, then plug the cable that is connected to whatever component wherever you like.

[@richdouche8253]

That's what I love about this channel: Knowledge! I was just thinking about this the other day, single vs dual, and now you have a video about this which explains everything I was wondering about. Thank you! Like how to know which you have since the manufacturers don't explicitly state that on the box or advertising. The technical side of my brain understood that with today's high power CPU's and GPU's, you'd want to split the supply, even on high rated units, to reduce the stress on a single rail. With my recent build and another PSU on the way, I now know how to determine what I have (sgl vs dual), so I know exactly where each component should be receiving its go-juice. Thank you! 5 star video central!

[@TechOverwrite]

Good video, definitely worth thinking about this. Two additional points if anyone sees this: 1) The Corsair HX1500i featured here does have dual-rail support (single by default), but Corsair have implemented this as a software switch within iCUE. It's not a physical thing you see/switch on the PSU. 2) Corsair announced a new PSU range (RMe 2025) in CES 2025, and these contain a direct 12vh-2x6 slot on the PSU. So it would be a one-to-one cable: you wouldn't need to use the 2x8-pin to 12vhpwr cable that Jay shown here.

[@MasterJangleLeg]

Yup i am in the process of building a completely brand new rig and while shopping for a PSU i have noticed Corsair have a PCIe 5.0 dedicated solo 12vh-2x6 slot.

[@Retro-Iron11]

Yea, it's called the atx 3.0 standard with the 12vhp. Bought an antec last year that has that.

[@ralf2166]

Typical JayzNoSense video, lot of missinformation. No prior research done at all. 1) Multi-rail and not dual rail. The group regulated psu's from before 2010 used to be dual rail. Corsair HXi is multi rail by default, 40A OCP on each connector, so the 1500i is a 16 rail psu which is very far from dual. 2) RMx 2024 has 12V2x6 on the psu side.

[@123Suffering456]

Good to know. I noticed how little I know about PSUs when I bought an 850W PSU in 2023 and now find I lack PCIe connectors for all the new stuff that needs one, and with the new 50 series and whatever may come next, I'm going to get too close to that 850W for comfort. So finding I'll need to replace my PSU much sooner than anticipated because I had no idea what I was doing when I bought it.

[@kevinx.2372]

MSI already has power supplies that are ATX 3.1 plus have a Native 12V-2x6 slot which are known as PCIe5.1 ready. They have pretty good efficiency starting from Cybernetics Gold up to Titanium.

[@psychosi42]

Dude this was SO helpful. My PSU has a single rail/dual rail switch. It was set to dual by default. I just changed it to single. Let's see if that helps my crashing problems when starting some games. Thanks Jay!

[@earthtaurus5515]

I hope you aren't using the Y cables! if your GPU has multiple connectors i.e. 6 pin + 8pin, 8 pin + 8pin + 8 pin then you should be using a seperate PCI-E power cable for each connector and on a seperate rail from your CPU and Peripherals. Providing of course you check your manual and see what the load balancing split is with dual rails.

[@tenrevo]

The Threadripper Boards with four EPS support dual PSU usage, so you just need two if you use only one PSU. You still have to check the manual though, because depending on the setup you have to plug to different ports depending on how many PSUs you use.

[@LeyzarGamingViews]

HX1500i can set the OCP between single and multi rail in iCUE :)

[@mom424]

Yes you can!

[@yoblood]

Funny to find my favorite warframe KZbinr here

[@CaptainJonathan]

I always wondered about this and never really knew the meaning of dual rail, single rail. Thanks for the video Jay!

[@Ryutai7]

this is really important, subtle content that a lot of pc owners may neglect. power supplies last a long time and may see many upgrades. it's all too easy to assume you can just plug-n-play newer, higher-powered components within your "wattage budget" and end up with random shutdowns because the power isn't distributed properly. thanks for highlighting this topic! :)

[@SkipSauls]

A while back I had a 5900X, 6900 XT(XH), Aorus X570 Master, etc., with a Seasonic Platinum 850 watt PSU. Most of the wisdom at the time was that this PSU should have been sufficient, but it would do the click-and-shutdown thing at seemingly random times. I upgraded to a Phanteks Revolt X 1200, which is essentially a Seasonic Platinum 1200 watt, and the problem went away. While it is a dual-system PSU, it's not a dual-rail PSU. When I plugged the PC into a power meter on the outlet, it became apparent that there were times when the system would pull way more than the expected power, over 750 watts. The PBO limits were set to motherboard, and with a 420mm LF II AIO the CPU could pull way more than typical. But the GPU was showing some crazy spikes, seeming to hit over 600 watts. I saw reports from others on power spikes for this GPU, but this was still surprising. The new PSU didn't solve the "problem" of the 6900 XT power spikes, but it masked the problem with the higher power limits. I've steadily upgraded this system, now with a 7900 XTX, 9800X3D, X670E, etc., all of which use a lot less power.

[@Dexx1s]

Power spikes aren't really surprising anymore, but a spike up to 750 from the wall shouldn't be giving problems with an 850 watt PSU. Spikes are expected. Just about every modern GPU does that IIRC. The 7900XT should be using maybe just a little less power than a 6900XTXH though no? I guess I'm lucky, but my XFX ZERO 6900XTXH has never caused any problems with my 850W Super Flower Leadex.

[@SkipSauls]

@@Dexx1s I had the XFX SPEEDSTER MERC319 AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT LIMITED BLACK (that name is crazy) in the system, and I don't know what the highest spikes might have been. The CPU was able to pull quite a bit as well, way past the 142 watt "limit" when using that motherboard, plus the draw from the motherboard, lots of fans, AIOs, etc. It did the "click" thing more than once, which prompted me to get the new PSU. I have a 7900 XTX (mistyped above) in the system now, and it doesn't seem to go above 350 watts or so most of the time, and I've never seen it spike like the 6900 XT could.

[@Dexx1s]

@@SkipSauls Well you wouldn't have both the GPU and CPU blasting at 100% at the same time, so the GPU spikes shouldn't be tripping a good 850W Platinum PSU. Every now and again a faulty PSU gets past quality test I suppose. You probably could have gotten by with just getting another PSU around that same wattage anyway. But at the end of the day, once everything's working fine now, it's all good. Yea, the default power limit is 355W but that 6900XT should have been a little less than that by default. The spikes really aren't a concern once your PSU is among the higher tier ones.

[@VolcanoPenguin]

2:55 Neckties, contracts, HIGH VOLTAGE.

[@dauntae24]

Gotta get Jay in that Angus outfit. 😂

[@GungHo1234]

Done with sheep. Baaaaaaaaaah

[@Th3Fly1ngCow]

DONE DIRT CHEAP !!

[@VolcanoPenguin]

@@dauntae24 I 2nd this motion!

[@jragadio]

10:56 - “Almost every reputable power supply vendor today is running single rail.” Why am I watching a 15 minute video about this?

[@v57Videos]

It might have something to do with his explanation immediately following that statement...

[@Pizzatube]

be quiet!'s PSU are often Multi Rail, no problems for more than 10 years with them. Actually with the be quiet! 750 Watt DP Pro 12 and a 9800X3D and 4090 for benchmarks about 600 Watt = no problems working fine with the adapter 12VHPWR cable, no direct 12VHPWR to 12VHPWR cable

[@Kazyek]

@@Pizzatube They also often have a physical pin you can bridge on the PSU itself to choose between single and dual rail mode. I have a DP Pro 12 1000W and I run it in single-rail mode for stability. It's the 3-pin "OCK" thing, there's a small piece in the box that you can plug in it. Also, it's either one or FOUR rails. So there are definitely modern PSUs with more than 2 rails

[@ThomasMaster]

Really interesting and I learned something new. Make a video about this with 1 vs 2 rail power supplies and show when you measure and show the difference

[@idressiqbal]

I got a question regarding my own psu that I just bought (rm1000x 2021) it was quite cheap at £100 which is around $130 and it was only £6 more than 850e thought I couldn’t go wrong, I have a 4070 super and didn’t know there was a 2024 version of the psu. Will it still work completely fine if it’s not the 2024 version?

[@electrothecat]

Yes, all power supplies will work with any component, as long as the expected wattage is at, or below the capacity of the power supply. 1000w will be overkill for a 4070 btw, but itll provide power up to a 4090 with no issues.

[@idressiqbal]

@@electrothecat Thank you. And I know it was overkill but the price difference between 750e-1000x was literally less than $20

[@fanguy247b9]

Ive been running a Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 1050 watt psu for my rig and it’s been flawless for eleven months now. Got it at Micro Center for $89.00 because Amazon had a sale on it and they matched the price. It was normally $139 bucks. The salesman said hey man let’s do some comparison shopping to see if we can get you the best deals on your build. I was over my $1100 budget and greatly appreciated the staff at Micro Center for going above and beyond so I could build my rig.

[@tunnlratthe1]

Great subject Jay, I had a problem with my system crashing, restarting, since building it 2 yrs. ago, I purchased a new Evga 1,300 watt power supply, I was going crazy trying to find out the issue, well I found one video that was talking about voltage rails, the problem I finally found was the +5volt rail was only producing 4.765 volts. I changed out the power supply and not al problem since.

[@AnujAnand03]

Thanks for explaining this. No one actually talks about PSU that much. 14:56

[@amon_69]

soon components will be forced to limit their powerdraw because the total load on one PC might exceeed the total capacity secured by your average breaker

[@ThatWarlockBoi]

Nah they’ll just force the average person into rewriting their homes to be 20A circuits instead of 15A

[@TheKazragore]

Depends on where you live. I live in Australia where we run 240v to the wall.

[@asknight]

@@TheKazragore but what size is the wiring? Typically 240v will require a wire half the size of the same amperage of a 120v circuit.

[@tmoore121]

Yeah, I actually wonder about this. The theoretical max of a 15a breaker is 1800w, but shouldn't be run above like 1500 for safety. We're about 2 generations away from needing a 20amp dedicated circuit for the PC room.

[@Gren83]

Laughing in 237 volts😂😂

[@Davivd2]

This video has helped me. I never knew anything about PSU rails. I have a 650 watt PSU that recently got a blue screen from inadequate power delivery. Now I'm digging up the PSU manual.

[@celsus7979]

If needed you can set max power usage of your gpu to lower than 100%. You won't lose nearly as much % performance as the % power you lower

[@White82Wolf]

Love how you always talk about important new contents that most of people forget or doesn't see important to talk about.. Cheers 🍻

[@AdmiralGloval]

AC/DC is Tesla vs Edison.

[@DragonBane299]

Missed these face to face discussions and explanation videos from you Jay! I can attribute probably 90% of my PC knowledge to these sit down informative video from you. Another bit of info has now been added to the catalogue!

[@Joeyzoom]

Came here to give my best wishes for your team and families to stay safe 🙏

[@AlphaWolfx117]

You just solved my occasional unexplained crashing problem... My PSW had the Single/Multi toggle switch, and it has been on Multi the entire time. Lucky me for picking this as the random video I watched while eating. I never knew about this difference so you just fixed everything 🙃

[@N0N0111]

Jay: wait a second RTX 5090 is releasing this month, we should go ask for power supply sponsors 💲

[@Dark_Reaper_86]

I love the AC/DC "Dirty Deeds" reference XD I've waited so long for someone to make that joke in the YT tech space. I may only be 27, but I listen to a LOT of music like AC/DC, Metallica, Kiss and other older bands

[@VegasRoManiacReviews]

Time to move to 48v ? Reduce amps ?

[@Pikaramaw]

more voltage= bigger paths for the voltage not to "jump" to others where it does not belong, which means, more problems

[@DirtyBirdBailey]

Thanks for doing this video. I bever understood what the rails were or for. Dual vs single etc. Basically dual rail is taking a 1000w power supply and splitting it into 2 smaller 500w power supplies that each provide power. Fantastic video! MUCH appreciated!

[@tarik5277]

Short : single rail: all of the outputs have 1 fuse multi rail : more fuses

[@Desalater2]

multi rail, more chance to trip out, single rail, can deliver rated current to the device

[@TheVaryingVariable]

@tarik5277 This is wrong. Single rail = 1x 12V output circuit Multi rail = more than 1x 12V output circuit. A fuse is a component most manufacturers try to avoid using these days to save cost (see northwest repair) because its a one time use component that protects a circuit during overload by blowing itself up to open the circuit /s.

[@kevinerbs2778]

@@TheVaryingVariable AMPs x volts says hello when you overload that single rail you won't get a decent amp spread you will just toast the wires

[@popuptoaster100]

Do they have fuses in them? My Seasonic vertex px1200 died the other day, it's blowing the fuse in the plug lead. If the PSU had internal fuses one would expect it to be blowing that first.

[@TheVaryingVariable]

@@kevinerbs2778 most of these suppliers prefer toasted wires over toasted fuses cause wires are cheaper than fuses and can basically do the same thing. Its still a coinflip whether any particular failure (with or without a fuse) would protect your system. I'd prefer fuses but companies would rather you buy a new PSU instead of buying a new fuse.

[@Ryan.Lohman]

That helped me big time- about 5 years ago I bought a Be Quiet PSU and didn't realize it was dual rail.

[@RobSandy]

I was one of those who owns a AMD CPU/GPU system that experienced system shutdowns during certain games. While I initially thought it was PSU related, I discovered it was actually due to a CPU overheating situation. Certain games were causing my CPU temps to increase 25-30 Celsius and hit the max temp threshold, sometime even during the shader compilation process when first launching a game. I found the issue was due to a hidden power setting option in Windows 11. The setting, 'Processor performance boost mode' was set to 'Aggressive', even though my overall power profile was set to Balanced mode. After disabling this feature, my CPU temps returned to normal, no more abrupt shutdowns, and no noticeable impacts to my system performace. There are videos on KZbin that explain how to make this change although it did require an update to the registry to unhide the power option so caution is advised if you do decide to go this route.

[@gustavo_vanni]

But doing that disables "Turbo Boost" or whatever AMD call it, and your CPU is probably running at the base frequency all the time now. I guess you might have an issue with your CPU cooler or a defective CPU. That's my "twocents" anyway...

[@RobSandy]

​@@gustavo_vanniI actually bought a Noctua cooler to try and resolve the issue but that didn't help much. It has only happened in 2 games so far (the last of us part 1 when compiling shaders and Warhammer chaos gate at random times). What I have done is disabled the turbo setting for one of the power profiles but left it in place for the others. That allows me to switch to a different power profile if I encounter this situation. Just really strange that it happens with this CPU (Ryzen 7 5700X3D) since I had an older chip using this motherboard and case and never had overhead issues.

[@alexislleras3816]

You just helped me solve an issue I’ve been dealing with for months!!! Instability issues with a water cooled 5800X + 3080Ti and no error logged anywhere to troubleshoot! After watching this video I looked at my G1 supernova and yup everything was in 1 rail 🤦🏾‍♂️. Been running a “burn in” test for 24+ hrs without a hitch!!!!

[@PrezTrump-on2lk]

plug your power PSU into a power conditioner. It will run even better and last longer.

[@jbr6700]

Very well explained on the importance of power draw. I do not recall any discussion in recent past of dual vs single rail on a PSU. Last time I can think of this being a main topic of discussion was back when SLI/Crossfire was new to the scene. At that point, the largest PSU typically available that didn't bust the budget was around 800 Watts. PSU specs became very important on wattage and rail count with high end spec systems on the CPU and multi-GPU setups and even more so if any OC was in place on the system. At this point in time the 80+ rating was not even a thing yet. This reasoning is why to this day that any build I do has a PSU that is overkill on what is needed. Overkill on the PSU also allows future upgrades such as storage and add-in cards to seamlessly slot in.

[@abaddon_the_annoyer3084]

Question - if the pro of a dual rail is that it would only potentially fry the component on that rail then wouldn't splitting all your components across both rails kind of have the same issue? Seeing that they are now connected to it anyway?

[@1adam12az]

He used the 12VHP example but not every component would be terminated to 2 cables at the PSU side.

[@dw300]

It's not the only pro.. 800W on 1 rail versus 400W on 2 rails means less load on each rail, meaning less likeihood of something catastrophic happeninging in the first place. Effectively each rail would be overbuilt for what is required of it assuming the same hardware in each example above. Protection on each rail shouldn't make connecting both to a component any issue.

[@Rubed0_o]

​@dw300 Just getting a great PSU is enough. Doesn't matter if it's single or multi rail. The likes of TX1600v3 or XPG Fusion.

[@magma2050]

The first PC that I self-built had a cheap PSU due to lack of funds. I still remember the day I saw a bright blue flash come out of the back of it, and a perfect negative image of the fan grille was dusted on my wall in soot.

[@bobcharlie2337]

Having my system just shut off mid game, encouraged me to learn more about power supplies. Now there are lots of good power supplies that have two modes, Duel or Single. I chose Duel and plugged my pc components accordingly. Never had a shut-down problem again.

[@johnt.848]

Pistols at 10 paces?

[@MarkDattage]

This helped a great deal. I was having this exact issue and I didn't know that dual rails was even a thing. So thanks for the video and keep up the good work!

[@NEWSNINJA3]

I would love a follow up or part 2 to this video covering the Be Quiet Dark Power 13 psu. It has quad 12v rails and an overclock switch to turn it into a big single rail psu. This is the psu im looking at getting so any feedback would be great to see.

[@celsus7979]

I have the straight power 12 1200W platinum. The dark power seems overkill for most users, intended for professional use like bitcoin mining or other heavy stuff. Anyway, it would do the job but I'd safe the money and buy the one i got. It's silent and fine for any top end pc like a 14900K rtx5090 combo

[@celsus7979]

*save 😄

[@MelvinGundlach]

Is there a reason for the Dark Power instead of the much cheaper Pure Power?

[@enwz96]

This topic was very common on the early SLI/Crossfire days. Thank you for refreshing up this lost topic that alot of people are overlooking.

[@NEONWHALE]

Been in the tech field a while now. Built several PCs too. Had literally no idea this was a thing. Good stuff!

[@Mindseas]

Great video, thank you ! It would've been great to have an example of a PSU with multiple rails as a visual aid, but I guess the sponsor was the limiting factor here? I wasn't aware the rails could be a limiting factor like this, although had I thought about it a little, it does make a lot of sense.

[@VerboseToast]

This is an incredibly well-timed video. I bought the HX1500i and it's being delivered today and I intend to power a 5090 with it. I was wondering specifically if it mattered where I plug the PCIe end of the 12v-6 cable into the PSU and you answered that exact question. Corsair announced newer PSUs the day after I bought this. Perhaps I overpaid but as long as I'm set for a 9800X3D, EXPO RAM, my multiple M2 and mechanical drives, and 5090 then I'll be a happy camper

[@joshw3250]

Enjoy your 5090 and it’s extra fake frames.

[@VerboseToast]

@joshw3250 mfw the Nvidia police break down my door and force me to use frame gen on games where I don't want to use it

[@jvlivsakamaxiaid]

@@joshw3250 Man just let him enjoy his new spaceship of a system, no need to be this jealous 😂

[@joshw3250]

@ Right, because pointing out awful technology is jealousy. White knight harder.

[@kerotomas1]

Imagine buying a 1500W psu to power a 575W gpu lmao

[@BSGNZ]

Great timing. I'm picking out parts for a complete upgrade. With all the new cards coming, hopefully I'll be ready for the 2nd or 3rd restock to arrive to start!

[@kingvon4074]

Perfectly timed video. I’ve been dreading diving into the PSU sata cable jungle in the back of my case to upgrade for the 5000 series.

[@rouxcool1227]

Why do you want the 5000 series? You have an old one?

[@FilthEffect]

What are you upgrading from, out of curiosity?

[@subcon959]

I remember back in the day buying a very expensive 1000W Enermax Galaxy. That thing lasted well over a decade until it was finally put to rest. A solid power supply is such a worthwhile investment.

[@Kapono5150]

You could buy a premium PSU that has a toggle to switch Single rail to multi rail

[@dozette1448]

thats sick

[@ItzTheDay]

I think something very informative was left out, especially since Corsair was used here. Corsair type 4/5 PSU's supply 300+ watts via a single PCIe connector. Hence the reason why their 12V-2x6 cable only has two PSU PCIe connectors. So if you have a Corsair Type 4/5 PSU and you have an Nvidia RTX card that requires three/four PCIe cables to hook up to their adapter, you only need two. I have a Strix 4080 and a custom PSU cable made from Cablemod, and I had it made with only two PCIe ends. Running FurMark can pull 425watts and all is fine.

[@XxViciousxX]

I like having one big rail on my PSU. Then I don't have to worry about where to plug anything in. Vs worrying if i hooked up my gpu to the higher amperage rails or not.

[@theElemDragon]

3:27 "There's a reason why rail is rarey important"

[@martinw245]

I think Jay got that wrong! The HX1500i is both single rail and duel rail. I recall it ships duel rail and you configure to single rail in the software, if you wish

[@InfiniteDragonsUnlocked]

Dual*

[@IAmGaz_]

@DarkestSoldier I see the grammar police is out 😛

[@InfiniteDragonsUnlocked]

@@IAmGaz_ what are you gonna do about it

[@martinw245]

@@InfiniteDragonsUnlocked I'm not an English speaker. But you know what, picking up on typos is childish.

[@doqx42]

HX1500i is a single +12V rail, software will never configure the rail support of a power supply.

[@rhynlock11]

Definitely need more videos about psu, specially about how to know a good one from crappy one. It is one of the most important component and its the hardest to find good reliable info about

[@eracer1111]

I upgraded from AM4 to AM5 a few months ago, and chose a Seasonic Vertex GX-1200, which is a single-rail design, and a very well-regarded PSU. I don't need all that wattage right now, but I plan to upgrade to a 4090 or (if I hit the lottery) a 5090 sometime in the next year or two. Then I'll be glad I bought that one. My system is very stable running MSFS2024.

[@Bob-of-Zoid]

When I built my current AM4 system, I got a 1200W gold rated power supply, but one known to be stable, tried and tested. I ended up with a Be Quiet, and so far so good, now I could easily add two new NVIDIA GPU's, and have power to spare.

[@r4pt012]

I got a 1500W Silverstone ST-1500 back in 2009. This beast has EIGHT 12V rails. Two for the CPU, One for the MOBO, One for Molex/Sata and Four for PCI-E 6/8-Pins. It's been super reliable running massive OCs on the high end gear from the time, including multi-GPU setups.

[@harliqyn5836]

Perfectly timed video as Cable Mod just announced 12V2x6 cables

[@djtribo8925]

Very informative, indeed, and I think we need more PSU discussions like this. Thanks, Jay!

[@jamessimmons8352]

Yesterday I upgraded my gaming pc PSU to the Corsair RM1000X (New ATX 3.1 version). Couldn't be happier so far. I know a GPU upgrade is coming for me at some time. Now I feel comfortable to do it. Thanks... Good video on the PSU subject.

[@HeavyC78]

I remember a while back seeing several manufacturers selling multi 12v rail power supplies. I think I even had a Silverstone power supply that was multi 12v rail.

[@MrsRepairTech]

A power supply shutting off with a hard click is so bitter sweet. You have a problem, but your PSU is trying not to destroy your PC. :P I have a Segotep Phoenix tower where motherboard is mounted sideways (the MOBO I/O plate is at the top of the case), and every six months I have to blow out my computer (which is a perfect interval to do anyway) because something on the board starts shorting and my Seasonic PSU shuts off. It's a hard-to-ignore reminder to clean my PC. LOL Note: It's happened like clockwork since we put these components in this case. The components were operating without issue before we changed cases. Thoroughly checking connections was the first thing I did with nothing found. I've tested the PSU under load with our setup at work; it performs beautifully. All other components test fine as well (RAM, CPU, temps, VRAM, SSD, HDD, etc.). Every time this has happened, blowing out the dust resolves it for another six months.

[@kitet76]

My beQuiet! Pure Power 12M last year model is dual rail! Thanks for pointing me to this info, I actually got system shutoffs with RAM at 6000 on my new gaming rig and I had to downclock it to 5200. I'll have to retest after swapping some plugs around. Thanks, Jay!

[@icekohl]

Something you might address in a future vid. Here in the land of freedom units, we're starting to bump up against a power delivery problem. Not all but most residential outlets are on 15 amp circuits. To be safe, if you're throwing a 1500 watt power supply in your rig, that should be the only thing connected on that circuit. No lamps, no TV, and hopefully your ceiling fan isn't also on the same circuit. If our components are going to continue to be more power hungry, we in the PC community need to start taking a serious look at adding dedicated 20 amp circuits just for our rigs or moving to 208/240 outlets to power our battle stations.

[@DeathViper3k]

Seriously.... even modern homes... most outlets are 15A circuits giving out a max of 1800W.... for the whole circuit. I live in an older apartment.... I plug a tiny ass rice cooker into the same circuit my microwave and wifi mesh unit are on and I blow the circuit What sucks... this is building code in the US We need to start pressuring NEC to update building codes.... or nvidia wanting these power hungry GPUs just isn't going to be possible.... Either that or a PDU is going to become a standard piece of equipment in everyone's homes (That'll be a nightmare) lol The new standard.... if it ever happens.... Each room in a home has 2 circuits... dedicated PC circuit and a circuit for everything else... we'll have new colored wall outlets lol

[@_Kilauea]

Great video Jay. It would also have been nice to see a graphic showing the functionality of a single and dual rail inside of a PSU. This way chat doesn't argue about what a rail is :-)

[@Alpha-ms9nj]

Thank you for sharing the valuable information in this video, I will be checking all my PSU's and those already in my PC's and adjust accordingly if need be. I learn something new almost every video, great channel.

[@XanSteel]

I ran into this issue because the Corsair I had did not explain things that the Seasonic did, and having my entire system randomly rebooting. The Seasonic explained that my video card (RX6950XT) needed two rails, and not one that was split. Since doing that, I've not had a single reboot now in 3 weeks, where this was happening multiple times a day.

[@techfuhiya5915]

I had that gaming issue a few years ago. I wish I had seen a video like this then. It drove me crazy, but I eventually figured it out. Good info, Jay.

[@thebestoftheleague4129]

When he said "You might actually learn something if i did my job correctly" is the whole reason iam watching the full video

[@Kyrinson]

I did wonder what those boxes drawn on my 15 year old power supply was for so thanks for that. Have had this 750watt psu for so long that its only the most recent video cards that make me consider needing to replace it. Though running out of spots to plug things into are also a factor.

[@johnvanmanen3149]

I often buy a new power supply, simply because it is the cheapest component that has the highest impact on failing. But the dual rail part i never heard before, so ... thanks for pointing that out!

[@jerm1027]

I remember back in the day when I have a 2500k and Radeon HD 5830, which was powered by a Rosewill 750W *quad* rail PSU. That was fun to balance out. And having multiple spinning rust drives, which can also peak pretty high waking up, I'm genuinely surprised I didn't have OCP issues.

[@jasonlange780]

I wouldn’t call myself an expert PC builder but I’m fairly experienced…. And this is the first time I’m hearing about this as an issue I’ve heard of dual rail power supplies but did not understand the issues that can stem from using them incorrectly. This is why I really love your content Jay….. and not just because we have the same name…. (Practically.)

[@clintcheezewood]

Now this is some solid info. Good job Jay and team. Always wondered why some PSUs had the squares printed and some dont

[@Dude-qs4wi]

@JayzTwoCents, when you have a dual-rail PSU and put everything on one rail, that rail is referred to as the "Highway to Hell." 😉

[@deepakjr457]

Now i know why my first build kept shutting off randomly which I decided to sell it as I didn't know what was causing it and had no spare cash to diagnose it :) Thanks Jay

[@Bouipi]

thanks to CompTIA A+ reading through that really helped me understand the PSU details, learning multi-rails and single helped me prioritize what i need on my system :) this video was a good refresher

[@Syrian_Desera4991]

This may be my problem, I am going to have to check out my PSU and power distribution now. Thanks Jay for going over this topic.

[@sammorrow8420]

This was one of your best videos ever cuz I love that aha moment when I learn and understand something new. No amount of effort can guarantee this result but its worth gold when it happens. I truely thank you from the heart for this video. I also liked the recent video with Steve where you opened yourself up to learning. Being awesome comes naturally to you much like Steve. I watched your videos since around 2012 and I blame you for alot of my confidence with PC's.❤

[@erisdelta5950]

Considering the widely popular Be Quiet! Pure power 12M is a dual rail design there might be a lot of people out there that have no idea they are running one.

[@Blumenfreund84]

i love it, when Jays brain goes wild and he keeps on talking to himself only to realise he's in front of camera xD

[@simonparker4275]

Very useful video. Will be getting myself a new PC this year, and while I won't be building it, good to be aware of this. Thank you.

[@Jvxino]

I’ve had a random LC Power 650 Silver since 2017 and only changed it last week, it never had any problems and served me well for all these years.

[@Yobtar169]

Always have had a single rail for years thanks to a friend of mine telling me never go dual. Kudos to him.

[@STOUTIM0US]

I sent this to my kids, this is a excellent explanation on this topic. Thanks y'all!

[@sjoer]

I've been using a HX850 for quite a while, they released the "i" versions right after I bought mine and mine is set to multi rail... because both rails can supply enough power to the components and with multi rail you also keep some safety features enabled!

[@walterday8933]

Circa 2019 I built a beast of a PC that was similar to one of the I9 9900K based PCs you built for the channel. The PSU I went with for my build was the Corsair AXi 1200w Platinum PSU and I swear it was a dual rail set-up. I remember I was confused as this was news to me, and I had to figure out what this meant... With very little information online I just winged it and split all of the connections and peripherals between the two rails. The newer PC built is using a much easier single rail HX1000i PSU, but then again... No optional rail, but hopefully the UPS will provide cleaner and more reliable power to my PC.

[@blahorgaslisk7763]

Regarding single VS dual power rails... It's been perhaps a decade since I pushed treading through the ATX standards, but I remember that in some versions the ATX standard required that the PSU's didn't have a power rail that exceeded some limit in capacity. They demanded that these rail would have a Over Current Protection that cut the power if a load larger than proscribed was detected. This was to prevent for instance a short to cause a fire. This is where the multi rail PSU's originated. Limited searching got me the info that in the ATX spec Revision 2.2 the max power a rail was supposed to deliver was 240VA which can usually be equated with 240W. In revision 2.31 this was removed, and I have not looked for more information. But even when Rev 2.2 was in effect the PSU manufacturers usually used a OCP that was set significantly higher to handle transients. Just wanted people to know that multi rail isn't really something the PSU manufacturers came up with. Nor is it "better" in any way than allowing for more reasonable OCP protection. Also while a Single Rail PSU has many advantages it does also pose slightly higher risks as it can easily plonk down enough power to set a power cable on fire if it short circuits.

[@Lobos222]

I bought a Corsair AX1200i 11 years ago. I have never seen the fan run, never had an issue and took it out without issues. AX1200i was a beast back in the day and the packing was great, you got these cool mini bags for your wiring and so on... anyway. HX1200i, which was its replacement, yes, should have gone for 1500 version since it was only 10$ more, but I missed that until the system was built... , but my point to all this is. Corsair now have 10 years warranty. Dont cheap out on PSU.

[@jackofallglass165]

literally been building computers for 10 years and i had no idea this was a thing

[@RandomBro12]

I just now learned i had a dual rail PSU, thank you!

[@SenileOtaku]

I got used to "dual rail" type systems from working on pSeries high-performance computing (and the high performance switches that used them) where you had dual everything. Dual rack power (A & B sides) both providing power to each of two PSUs in each node (so *4* power cords into each node) and the federation switches also having the same dual rack power to dual PSUs. I suppose that will be the next thing the high-end gamers will do, dual PSUs in their gaming towers.

[@jordansinnott3187]

Man I had this dual rail problem about 4weeks ago took over 2 weeks of trouble shooting and researching to figure out what was the problem but there is very little info about the difference of dual and single rail or how to properly use dual rail supplys ...great video wish you made it 2 weeks ago would have saved me some time 😂

[@ronnie8274]

Thank You Jay, This made me get the box and read what I have here in power supply. I sware, I wouldn't even have a computer if it weren't for you.