Single Rails VS Multiple Rails Power Supplies - With Jonny Guru | Corsair PSUs

[@harry356]

For those that TLDW: Multi-rail psu are a safety measure. With multi-rail you can have over current protection (OCP) on every rail and thus on every cable. So you prevent running 40-50 amps over one cable in case of a short. Without these OCP you could be running 40-50 amps over one cable and melt the cable and maybe even start a fire.

[@harveysewdin]

Thank you for doing this with JonnyGuru, he knows his stuff very well. Good content like this is what the community needs, not crappy power supply 'reviews'.

[@sinephase]

PSguy Mentalist that's why the johnnyguru site got its reputation :)

[@someongontheinternett7599]

sinephase even tho he works for corsair, he still gives good reviews for other brands like evga

[@yuri53122]

zhi xing ong i bought an evga because of one of the reviews on his site. I particularly like the hot box testing and disassembly sections. lets people know exactly what they'll be buying

[@xMrin10se]

That's why tek syndicate is the best channel

[@FoodOnCrack]

PSguy Mentalist yeah you see that a lot on computer webshops in the netherlands. A 50 year old man buys a new power supply for 20 euro and if it turns on it gets a 5 star review and gets praised as the best psu in the world.

[@Preacher65]

I'm sure most of the veteran fans of Tek Syndicate already know this, but as a new viewer, I really appreciate Both Logan and Wendell's knowledge in the content. In particular, the interactions between Wendell and the Corsair rep really show two knowledgble individuals exchanging viewpoints, as opposed to the rep attempting to educate the host, who doesn't know much. Very refreshing to watch., and very educational for those of us who are learning.

[@teazqt812]

Thanks for this explanation. It helped me decide on my psu for my Cyberpunk 2077 build. I always tended to just run a massive overkill psu out of ignorance and fear...

[@JMartinni]

Interesting, I always wanted to know more about that. My PSU has a dedicated switch for that but I always left it at multiple rails. Thanks for the video!

[@dxb8788]

I got hx1000 a while ago and it seems the over voltage protection in multi rail mode is way on the conservative side , I tried 2x2080 ti and they will still trigger the over voltage and shuts down the pc , the moment I go to a single rail mode the pc never shuts down .

[@q8tech108]

My PSU came with default multi raid , and plugged x4 GPU mining and one coming soon , so for miner wha would you said , i haven't issue yet

[@evoeightyci]

This reminds me of how your household breaker panel is designed. A typical 100Amp box is broken down to 2 115V rails running at opposite cycles so combined you can get 230V. Each rail is broken down to 15,20, and 30Amp lines with corresponding sized breakers. Basically, if you get a short on a 15Amp line that breaker will trip and there is no way you want to trust that line tripping to the main 100Amp breaker. This is what I thought of when he explained the differences and advantages of "safer" multiply rails in ones power supply.

[@Mr.Leeroy]

Enermax Platimax 1500w. Peak 1750w. 6 x 12V 45 amp rails. Up to 1080w for two-way SLI from 2 dedicated rails simultaneously. Dedicated MB and CPU rails. Two dedicated SATA rails (in case of two-way SLI). Platinum efficiency. I love my beast.

[@psiadow]

I have a Corsair RM750 (single 12v rail) and it runs my GTX 980 Ti with an verclock to 1544 and the memory to 7,8 Ghz really well, the fan rarely even spins...

[@davidarad02]

I didnt know that jonny guru was from corsair...

[@davidarad02]

***** ok. good to know. one wierd thing is that on their website they gave the CX430 a 9/10 rating, and that PSU it totall bullshit. dont you think there is something wrong here?

[@Ranonsey]

davidarad02 Its probably not because its good, but for being good at its price point

[@harveysewdin]

davidarad02 If I remember, it was the price to performance ratio. What you pay is what you get. Cheap PSU price = Cheap PSU internals. Anyways, it's still crap though...

[@renecruzbonilla]

davidarad02 what exactly is wrong with that Psu? Because they probably gave that rating because it's cheap.

[@AliveGhost13]

davidarad02 The CX430 is based on a different cwt unit to the other CX series.

[@Knezicdex]

Basically, if your clueless and you don't know what your doing and use bad components go with multi rail. If you are careful, use good components and know what your doing go single rail.

[@q8tech108]

For miners single or multi ?

[@oliver24x]

Very good knowledge! It's one of those things many people really don't understand other than the PSU box says "Single rail for ultimate performence!!!!", and therefor says multirail is bad. Good content!

[@subradiant_music]

Jonny seems like a cool guy. I legit was one of his first set of fans and bought corsair's first line of seasonic power supplies and guess what. That was 2007 and I STILL have it and its been perfect! lol

[@Gohrek]

This was an extremely useful and fun video to watch. Thank you so much. Love Wendell and Jonny. :)

[@ADMNtek]

i love my ax760i PSU it usually is at 90-92% power efficiency.

[@DerrickJolicoeur]

Dynamic 12-volt rails are the future! :D

[@tylertuthill5121]

Jonny Guru is the man and Tek Syndicate rules, great video!

[@AnwarAriffin]

Didn't think I'd pick up on what you guys were talking about, but I think I got it by the end of it.

[@massa9027]

HX 620, the best PSU ever, had multiple 12v rails. Johnny Guru , the best name in tech review industry.

[@GarrySkipPerkins]

Am I the only one addicted to Jonny Guru's columns?

[@jasonoldy69]

What an awesome set of equipment. I'm well jelly

[@GodMadeMeStupid]

Awesome!!! Always great to know have things work.

[@HypnoticSuggestion]

Awesome video, I always just bought what was rated best in reliability, but anyway it's nice to know the difference, or lack thereof :)

[@DerekFletcher1]

Really top notch demonstration. learned a lot.

[@KidGacy]

I certainly prefer to keep my stuff safe , unless there's a noticeable performance hit

[@tpcs8667]

YESH....FINALLy.I've been waiting on this type of video FOR EVER. Thank you Tek Syndicate \m/

[@Ashaira]

Hey corsair when are we getting an HX 2000i 80+ Platinum?

[@dougle03]

Ashaira What could you possibly need a 2000w power supply for.....? And even if Corsair actually made one, how many do you think they would realistically sell? If you genuinely NEED a 2000w supply then you are already into very specialist kit and employing an expert engineer should be higher on your list than off-the-shelf power supplies.... IMHO

[@Ashaira]

Peter Kay i would like a power supply that could handle 4 gpus and a cpu with OC on all of them, 20 fans, 8 ram sticks, 5 hdd/ssd and leds while still having some room in case something more power hungry comes along without having to worry that i am pushing my psu to the limit for a few years. And as with all high end pc parts it is not a matter of need but want. Super Flower has one but i can't find it in my country anywhere (was a uk exclusive last i checked)

[@MrLalasd]

Ashaira More power hungry things are not coming out. Cpus are getting more efficient. GPUs are getting more efficient. DDR4 uses less energy than DDR3. SSDs us less energy than HDD. And you only need like 5 fans max.

[@Ashaira]

MrLalasd you seem to be under the impression that i run components on stock settings. no performance nut does that. we like to push out rigs. also my radiators alone use 16 fans so.... yes i need more than 5.

[@Brootahlizer]

Ashaira buy a nuclear sub just to OC that CPU to 4.7 GHz ... There's a way to estimate the power draw of the system at any operating conditions. You don't have to play the "I'm too retarded to do basic math, gimme 10KW power supplies" card.

[@anselrod5699]

Excellent video! Great content and well done, thanks! (BTW I just subscribed)

[@whovaintimelord]

Jonny fucking Guru,that is amazing.

[@Grrizz84]

On the other hand I'd like to see how my 450W PSU would run if you split its rail into 4 ;)

[@mayurkulkarni1990]

that was much required review, thanks TekSyndicate

[@besssam]

OMG, that's Wendell from level1Tech before level1Tech was a channel

[@christwoodyhussar6336]

HOLY SHIT LEARNING CURVE MUCH STILL INFORMATIVE I GUESS

[@JerryNeutron]

Funny I was just lookin at the Dark Power Pro PSU

[@SeahawkCustomsPc-qk2zn]

Awesome video by the man Johnny Guru.but did any here there is no true multi 12 volit Rails in psu.

[@tatsumaru12345]

I remember when I started watching in fall 2012, Logan always preached about single 12v rails being better XD haha.

[@willidream7400]

Sorry to ask is the ripple effect less on multiple rail than a single rail, I've replaced the psu from a single rail to a multiple rail and the noise is far less. Last rig I built for myself and I had a hum on sound when gaming. This is the 3rd psu fitted but multi rail and seems to reduce this hum alot. I checked inside the psu and each rail has its own dedicated smoothing capacitors from the rectifiers. Better than a single. Could anyone do a video about ripple effects on a multi rail would be great thanks. Great video ad it's answered a few of my questions. Thanks

[@redwanhasan1721]

I will still prefer single rail power supply for most builds because if you properly install every thing chances of short is zero so no problem with a single rail psu. Another thing is I have seen people struggling with evga multi rail psus with sli systems due to lack of load balancing where a single rail psu could easily be used with less pain. I myself is using a single rail psu from corsair with my sli system, no problem what so ever, and it does have ocp too so i think it will be fine. I mean come on people are not that stupid to short a rail or are they?

[@YourWowGuy]

Very illuminating!

[@nemesiz7175]

i want too reduce reactive current when i play games so this is why i buy a good psu with a good power factor correction like corsair hx1000 platinum but how can i use it in full perfomance too reach the maximum of my psu

[@SoleTecEx]

Nice one, well explained, thanks

[@Xenthorx]

Great video, thanks !

[@FaptnUndrpants]

You should set that PSU to Nov 05 1955

[@davidlevy6335]

I'm looking for a long lasting back-up power supply. Could you give me an idea as to which would be the best brand?

[@itsdeonlol]

Jonny Guru is awesome!

[@Saki630]

what about when its attached to a nipple?

[@jubul666]

im liking my corsair HXi750 my old CX 750 got loud under load but the fan on this thing dosnt even turn on under load. i leave it in multi rail mode because i dont have an issue with it.

[@bobsobol]

In the U.S. you don't get more than 130V, at most, from your mains supply. If solder goes into the PSU and shorts something, I can have a case live with 250V that I could easily ground through my heart... it's not a great situation. XD Of course, if that is actually happening for more than a fraction of a second, my consumer unit RCD module has also failed massively. But still... What if I use this somewhere with crappy wiring?

[@michaelmarsh6740]

Then it still don't matter

[@bobsobol]

Michael Marsh It's still not uncommon for people to *die* from faulty domestic wiring and consumer electronics. So I suspect we have a _healthy_ level of paranoia. ;) At the same time, I've shorted the mains through my thumb, as a school boy... I couldn't release the contacts I'd touched, because the current was clamping my muscles into contact. That was slightly scary. Fortunately, although the rest of my body was shaking, I found I could get my other arm to the socket, and I cut the power at source. Long term, I don't think it did me any real harm, though I have had a slight arrhythmia throughout my life, which _could_ be attributed. But I was young and healthy then. (and carefree and a little stupid XD) I feel I have first-hand experience of why this should be avoided at all costs. There are too many "what if" questions which lead to a much less happy ending.

[@harleyhem3381]

So how is the amps added up on a multi rail? He was saying that 1100 power supply is 83amps at 12volts on a single rail but when it goes to multi rail it is 40amps by 4 that would make 160amps?

[@casiquekibra]

RM750 I currently own is single rail with 62.5A on the 12v rail.. I don't get his point..

[@tomstech4390]

Kibra Same here, i used to love multi rail when I was a noob, then I switched to only corsair psu's because they were single rail that way i didnt have to worry about overpowering connectors, now they're saying multi rail is better sometimes, euuughh where's pcper at?

[@supernova743]

Toms Tech Single vs multiple. Makes no difference in most builds. Use multiple if you're prone to pinching cables as it MAY (no guarantee) reduce damage to your system when you do pinch a cable. Single if you have trouble overloading a single rail in your builds, overloading will cause the rail to shut off completely. Basically either overcompensate with more power or learn to spread your load out over multiple rails and the problems disappear if you're having problems with multiple rails and stop pinching cables if you're using a single rail.

[@Tarkhein]

Kibra The point is, there is no point. The advantages and disadvantages of either option are, for practical purposes, nonexistent. Power supplies are engineered well these days (at least from reputable brands) so there's no point preferring single rail or multiple rails. HOWEVER, if you did want the option to change on the fly, Corsair provides one.

[@casiquekibra]

That's much more clear :) Thanx man

[@chrcoluk]

Tarkhein multiple rails are technically superior when safety is the priority, but single rail psu's are better when there is a limited budget, as with a multi 12volt rail psu you have to get one with enough ampage to supply the power you need in only one rail rather than its overall capacity for this reason I use single rail psu's. There is also the simplicity of not needing to worry about if you using the right cable to match up the rails. I did buy a CX for my spare pc, am aware they are so called budget psu's but I still believe a CX psu is better than the no name stuff, and I havent had any issues with it, but my main pc has something better.

[@shaggnar2014]

I don't know a lot about power supplies, but this was interesting

[@rkan2]

Great vid! Nice explanations!

[@dekiller82]

Did Logan not always say to take a PSU with a good single 12v rail?

[@ChrisD4335]

As long as power is adequate dose it really matter so much? If you get a short chances are ether will fry your hardware if protection fails. Maybe a high watt single will fry it harder ether way your buying new parts

[@sinephase]

so basically as long as it's made well, you don't have to worry about it either way XD

[@bosnbruce5837]

and as long as it's new

[@uimvbjhjzephhmfvyvjlhccabj3855]

"Its a feature not a bug." -Shenanigans Syndicate

[@JobeStroud]

I have always preferred multi rails. Safety reasons der. Rather have that extra barrier then nothing at all.

[@BrandoidvC]

I bought the evga supernova 750W g1 before I knew the g2 existed. It would be a real hassle and an extra $40 fro me to get that sorted (restocking fee + higher price of g2), running a single 390 would it be worth the hassle?

[@rogerchosnyk1828]

Great video guys.

[@alexwoodley6220]

So should I use the multiple rail mode?

[@darkbazerker2206]

Nice video, tho I'll stick to single rail for the most part. Less thinking with singles. ;)

[@camdened123456]

So just get a well engineered multi rail PSU for safety and performance? I shall do that then! (again)

[@arwlyx]

I like Corsair products, I have the VS650 (it's in the poster behind the load tester, the one far on the right) and it's awesome, could have gotten more PCI connectors but it's fine for what it costs, the fan is rattling sometimes for some reason and it's barely a year old, so I don't know how to feel about that.

[@AliveGhost13]

VS is a properly mediocre/poor unit. It is worse than CX, and that is hard. I would get shot of it asap in favour of a seasonic, Superflower or delta OEM unit.

[@SneakyKittyGameDev]

AliveGhost13 if you go corsair, go RM. not point to skimp out on the psu, it will be regretted.

[@camdened123456]

Sneaky Kitty Gaming Tbh if you're not going heavy there's no issue with the CX or even the VS. So a locked intel and low power GPU and you'd be perfectly fine (650 is overkill though). I'd still have gone CX or better (they really don't cost much more) but meh, it's not likely he bought a non brand for $20 or something.

[@Aimela136]

Mike Fox I personally like Corsair for their support services. I had a TX850M PSU that had some sort of electronic whine/screeching; The RMA process was pretty simple and, since my model was apparently discontinued, I was sent a RM850 in its place.

[@Jolinator]

Aimela coil whine, its typical with alot of corsair psus, thats why i stopped using them.

[@KubesVoxel]

Thank you :D

[@NS-xu2hh]

can we see the ripple difference in multi rail mode and single rail mode

[@MrDrunkenMoose]

@GuardianLords where in europe should that be?

[@smeten101]

Great video!! More videos like these, please! :-)

[@archiethedog4515]

I got the EVGA SuperNova 850GS. Is that single or multiple rail? [edit] Nevermind, looked on Newegg and said it has a single +12v rail. [edit again] What is the difference between the GS and G2? I got the GS one because it's smaller and cheaper, but I am wondering what's the main difference besides the 7 vs. 10 year warranty?

[@AkshayPatel18252]

Jon Doe whoa I straight up did the exact same thing (I'm installing it this weekend). I had the same questions...

[@archiethedog4515]

Akshay Patel I just looked it up here: www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=414 Looks like the G2 comes from Super Flower and the GS comes from Seasonic. Two great PSU makers.

[@AkshayPatel18252]

alright sweet thanks for sharing!

[@archiethedog4515]

Smoking Crop Thanks for the cool site. Read up about my PSU from Jonny Guru on his site and I am happy with my purchase. :)

[@KingStivan]

1600w 133.3 amps single rail is a recipe for disaster !! but i like to live on the edge :P

[@Jolinator]

Corsair PSUs, Coil Whine included free!

[@Jolinator]

i know man but i already rma 2 ax750 and 1 ax860i, issues remain, corsair power supplys are notorious for coil whine and since i cannot be without my system for the time it takes to rma i ended up purchasing evga power supplies and i couldn't be happier. i have been using corsair products since pc-133 sdram days but im not a fan of their psus, the cables they include on their ax series are pretty cheap too.

[@ModrunOfficial]

i have cant understand any of what he said in this video..................... can someone put it super simple to me? like is multiple good or bad? and what is default for example corsair rm 1000i comes with in norway am confuse

[@Theappelk]

50/50 single rail = less secure, but more power. Multi rail = secure, but limited power through each connector.

[@1NutDude]

Theappelk Buy from a reputable manufacturer and you' shouldn't have nothing to worry about.

[@Bigfootmandude]

Great video.

[@KreKeriS911]

Is Jonny Guru the reason why Corsair started to make good power supplies now instead of all that carp in past?

[@effexon]

I imagine this guy is like "honey what you did in work today? uhm...." (actual stuff that will save people lives due to fire hazard, but extremely difficult to explain how daily work and those calculations do it)

[@Wesrl]

cx 750m only have one rail so is it still safe for me to oc my gtx 660 not going to oc my cpu

[@michaelmarsh6740]

Yes

[@dario62589]

But that 40amps limit is in this particular 1kw PSU or in anyone? What about a 500w PSU? because if the limit is lower like 20amps well then its better the singlerail solution...

[@robocop1441]

if i have a 2 12v rail modular psu, and i want to run an sli setup, do i want one gpu per rail or both on the same rail?

[@matthewtremain683]

+robo cop Depends on the Rail's limit, the GPU's requirement, and the rest of the system requirements.

[@matthewtremain683]

+robo cop Let me put it this way. I have a late 2005 Powermac G5 case with a 1kw PSU, that I modded both case and PSU to support ATX system. It has 4 * 12V rails. 2 rails support 16 amps and 2 rails support 20 amps. I had modded 1 16 amp rail for the CPU only, 1 16 amp rail to general system, and the 2 20 amp rails was dedicated to GPU. This gave me 192W directly to CPU, and 480 W total for GPU. With the GPU pins that I have in it, it is limited to 450w max. It is a max of 3 * 8 pin, or up to 6* 6 pin connection. Or 1.5 GTX 980 Ti. Which my Corsair VS 650 can handle a GTX 980 Ti wth room to spare.

[@r3dleh107]

i'm not sure if i'm happy seeing jonhny in corsair... how am i going to trust is corsair units review? i'm a fan of he's work for more almost 12 years or so and i never expected this. i have this feeling he sold out.

[@akeelshah7904]

great video

[@AxeMastersinc1]

So then this thing I just got is a piece? Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200W SLI/CrossFire Ready ATX 12V V2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified 7 Year Warranty.

[@devalsays]

Best Fucking Video ever...

[@efrenhermosillo8250]

great vid

[@smokingflowers]

Whoa, thought Jonny was dead!

[@jonnyGURU]

smokingflowers That hurts my feelings. :(

[@cunninghamb505]

Nice

[@sundhaug92]

Then again, you don't know if you're gonna have a problem until after the problem happens

[@m-copyright]

Ok so what company screwed up? What company was Johnny talking about?

[@camdened123456]

muiecopyright probably corsair themselves...

[@m-copyright]

***** Thanks for the answer.

[@cee128d]

***** Correct. The makers of some of the most over-hyped, over priced, and under performing psus ever built.

[@spacecadet2827]

cee128d that spot is currently occupied by XFX. budget junk sold at a premium price

[@kyran9818]

Space Cadet no it's not. XFX only uses Seasonic platforms, which perform great. But these platforms from Seasonic aren't cheap.

[@NonoNonaa]

i learned

[@ThaexakaMavro]

and now most corsair power supply are single rail

[@64Fedoras]

WOO!

[@thisoldminer]

What software joony? Also if a graphics card draws maximum 20 amps then there should be a 21 amp fuse in place for extra protection. And all psu's should have a simple surge protection build into it. So in my opinion ALL psu's are garbage. thx

[@Earmuffin585]

Wait wait wait. Jonny Guru works for Corsair?!?!?!

[@AlValentyn]

Yup, hired a few years back. Strangely he's prefers EVGAs latest PSUs over Corsair in reviews. The review site is still very unbiased and they really take those PSUs to task.

[@Earmuffin585]

I bought Seasonic and EVGA PSUs becasue of his reviews. I am surprised how unbiased he is.

[@Willielikesmonkeys]

Poor guy's blood sugar is going nuts, I hate it when that happens and you can't even speak.

[@girl_frotter]

William Gracia Dude what?

[@diePod1]

William Gracia I use to be a salesman at a computer retailer, same would happen to me. Wouldn't be able to get my words out in a a concise message, and could totally tell/feel I was messing up and the words would be hard to come up with.

[@theglumslum7942]

11:37 just alt+tab man..

[@milchkopf3881]

nice laptop though

[@SanyaTheNightWitch69420]

johnny corsair of teach me?

[@MakeSh00t]

Single rail bunch of problems when u oc memory CPU AND GPU.... multi rail 2 rail u can OC MEMORY AND GPU.. 4 way ,, u can oc 2 gpus memory and CPU. 6 way RAIL.. u can OC 3 gpus and MEMORY AND CPU.

[@thereddog223]

my 1000 watt power supply has 110 amps

[@neko77025]

Grrr .. so I have been lied too eh ? .... been buying single rails for years now cause they were better for my GPUs ... or were they ?

[@thefinder8087]

So the question now that needs to be answered is how often GPUs draw over 40 amps, and which ones are more likely to do it. If it only happens when you're running quad 290x's then it won't matter to 99.9% of people.

[@theFrizzleFry]

Nathaniel Graham If you run 4 290x your house is going to burn down anyway. (yes i know the aftermarket coolers do a pretty good job cooling the card, it was a joke!!!)

[@camdened123456]

Nathaniel Graham They should never run over 40 amps per connector (That'd be 960W of power draw over two) as there is NO WAY you'd cool that without phase change or some other crazy way no one can actually manage normally.

[@zark474]

God i almost forgot to watch this..pheww

[@kuhrd]

What this guy is describing is not the difference between a single and multi rail PSU. He is describing over current protection and distribution. Multi rail means that you actually have separately regulated rails in the PSU. This means you will have 2 or more separately voltage regulated 12 or 5 volt rails that can be used independently of each other and can have slight voltage differences between them (this used to be a real issue if you used power from 2 different rails to power a single GPU because it could result in uneven loading of the 2 separate rails since the voltage on one may be lower than the other. Very few PSU's are made this way because it is expensive but it will provide isolation between components (a short circuit in a failing device on one rail will not effect devices on the other rail(s)). The overwhelming majority of PSUs are single rail so they will have a single 12 volt, 5 volt and 3.3 volt regulated rails but they will then divide up those rails with over current protection either per wire (the safest most expensive way[and the only way that should be used]), per plug or set of plugs (the less safe but cheaper way[this is the status quo for many PSU brands]) or by rail only (the dirt cheap low quality burn your house down way). Their is no reason they should be giving users the power to disable over current protection. A single rail PSU is still the best way to do things for consumer machines but OCP is not the same as number of rails. If you do buy a true multi rail PSU make sure it has an isolated voltage reference signal between all rails of a given voltage so you can combine rails when you need to for more current.

[@kuhrd]

Smoking Crop That is hardly a wall of text. In fact it takes up less than half a page on a standard word processor when single spaced and 12 point Arial font. That response is also one cohesive paragraph so it doesn't need any line breaks. Maybe if more people around the world would take the time to read real content, a single paragraph response like mine would not be such a daunting task to read.

[@kuhrd]

Smoking Crop All the line breaks make it harder and longer to read because you are telling the brain that it doesn't need to read other sections to get the content of the post. This is also creating breaks in thought between one section and the next. That is almost as bad as people who feel they need to double space everything they type, just so that it looks like it takes up more space.