How Intel is changing the future of power supplies with its ATX12VO spec

guest · Mar 9, 2020

How Intel is changing the future of power supplies with its ATX12VO spec
A major change will rejigger the balance of power in PC power supplies for the first time in 20 years
March 9, 2020
https://www.pcworld.com/article/351...-of-power-supplies-with-its-atx12vo-spec.html

We don’t often talk about power supplies, but Intel’s new ATX12VO spec—that’s an ‘O’ for ‘Oscar,’ not a zero—will start appearing soon in pre-built PCs from OEMs and system integrators, and it represents a major change in PSU design.

The ATX12VO spec removes voltage rails from the power supply, all in a bid to improve efficiency standards on the PC and meet stringent government regulations. But while the spec essentially removes +3.3-volt, +5-volt and -12-volt and +5-volt standby power from the PSU, they aren’t going away—they’re just moving to the motherboard. That’s the other big change, so keep reading to find out more.

ATX12VO won’t be replacing ATX12V for individual PC builders.

“Intel plans to continue to publish the ATX Multi Rail spec to maintain compatibility with existing motherboards and power supplies to provide the most options for our OEMs and customers,” Intel officials told PCWorld.
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It’s about the efficiency
This efficiency gain is the main reason for the push toward ATX12VO. “As desktop computers continue to become more energy efficient, the power supply AC-to-DC conversion loss can be the biggest consumer of power in a computer at idle,” Intel officials told PCWorld.

The new ATX12VO spec significantly improves that efficiency. “By converting to a single rail power supply,” Intel explains, “the conversion losses can be minimized, reaching up to 75 percent efficiency at the same DC Load levels.”
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Another board vendor said ATX12VO was “interesting” and really could help with the internal aesthetics of a systems.
One vendor noted that controlling noise on the PCB could be a challenge, let alone performance. The first ATX12VO-compatible motherboard will likely be expensive as a result, but costs could come down as volume ramps up.

Intel first released the ATXV12VO spec in July, 2019, but there’s no set timeline for hitting the streets.
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Design Guide (July 2019): "Single Rail Power Supply ATX12VO Design Guide" (PDF):
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/guides/single-rail-power-supply-platform-atx12vo-design-guide.pdf

Bill_Bright · Mar 9, 2020

Wow, there sure is a lot of misinformation in that article.

Nevertheless, this has been a long time coming. Still I think it is important to remember that notebooks and AiO computers have been using single voltage output power supplies for years.

guest · May 14, 2021

Intel ATX12VO might finally see wider adoption with Alder Lake-S
May 14, 2021
https://www.neowin.net/news/intel-atx12vo-might-finally-see-wider-adoption-with-alder-lake-s/

Intel's ATX12VO specification, which it debuted in June 2019, might finally see wider adoption with its upcoming Alder Lake-S desktop platform. This report comes from VideoCardz which says it received this information from an anonymous tipster. According to the report, Intel apparently wants its Socket LGA 1700, 600-series chipset motherboards to carry its new ATX12VO support. But sadly for Intel, the vendor partners and PSU makers are allegedly not as enthusiastic about the idea.

Intel is apparently giving its partners up to around five months of time starting from the current month of May to design the new ATX12VO-based LGA 1700 motherboards.
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However, this would evidently require a ton of work as well as a lot of planning on the part of PSU manufacturers as they would have to not only design new PSUs, but it would also mean their older models would be useless to anyone who purchases an Alder Lake-S system.
Likewise, motherboard makers are also reportedly not too happy as they too will have to do some of their own share of work as moving the other rails onto the motherboard would mean significant redesigning for the LGA 1700-based 600-series chipset.

Source and image: VideoCardz
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How Intel is changing the future of power supplies with its ATX12VO spec

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