Rail?

**sup2jzgte** · 10-17-2005, 09:10 AM

Ok I searched for what a rail is, but it came up with like 20 or 30 pages, so if someone doesnt mind, could you explain to me what exactly a rail is?

**Peoples** · 10-17-2005, 09:24 AM

rail in what sense?

like a 12v rail, 5v rail?

ruby on rails?

rail road?

**sup2jzgte** · 10-17-2005, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by Peoples

rail in what sense?

like a 12v rail, 5v rail?

ruby on rails?

rail road?

12v, 5v, etc rail. I guess you would call it a voltage rail

**Peoples** · 10-17-2005, 10:30 AM

a power supply does not consist of a single voltage, theres a 12v rail a 5v rail a 3.3v rail etc. I'm def no expert on the subject. But basically there is a differnt amount of wattage supplied to make up each rail. So a lot of controversy is seen on this forum about what makes a 150 watt psu versus a 400 watt psu. A power supply might offer 5 amps on the 12v rail and .5 amps on the 3.3v rail. 5A x 12v makes 60 watts on the 12v rail versus .5A x 3.3v 1.65 watts. Depending on where the wattage is pulled may determine the usefullness of a psu's watt rating.

the above number are complete bs....but it illustrates my point

**Cris** · 10-17-2005, 10:46 AM

I think he means rail as in wire...

**Peoples** · 10-17-2005, 11:13 AM

would been nice if he gave a context

**sup2jzgte** · 10-17-2005, 11:23 AM

Sorry guys for not being more specific, but I have no clue what a rail is and what different kinds there are. I found this posted by Numbers.

I'd say the opus 150 would suit you just fine, but so many folks seem to be overloading the 5v rail even though their overall consumption is under 150 watts. It's hard to say without actually measuring the draw on each rail.

So in this post what is he refering to as a Rail?

**Peoples** · 10-17-2005, 11:26 AM

in this post they are referencing the use of USB devices, which pull from the 5v rail in the context of which I explained above. Each USB devices pulls round 500 mA......having 10 usb devices in addition to anything else that uses 5v will be a huge burden on the 5v rail (the portion of the psu providing a 5v supply).

**sup2jzgte** · 10-17-2005, 11:28 AM

Originally Posted by Peoples

in this post they are referencing the use of USB devices, which pull from the 5v rail in the context of which I explained above. Each USB devices pulls round 500 mA......having 10 usb devices in addition to anything else that uses 5v will be a huge burden on the 5v rail (the portion of the psu providing a 5v supply).

Ok so its pretty much something added, that draws power I.E. a game controller.

**atlharry** · 10-17-2005, 11:32 AM

No, a 'rail' is part of the power supply that provides power to those 'add-ons'.

If you have 5V accessories, then the 5V RAIL is going to provide them power.

If you have 12V accessories, then the 12V RAIL is going to provide power.

etc, etc