Wiring two OPUS to one computer system

**lookinco** · 09-06-2004, 06:51 AM

Here is what my system have:

Shuttle SN41G2 version 2
AMP Athlon XP 2800
2 stick of 512MB ram
160GB 7400rpm Samsung harddrive
Audigy 2 ZX PCI sound card
ATI All In Wonder 9600xt video card
Floppy drive
DVD drive
10.4" LCD

USB HUB
GPS mouse
wireless keyboard and mouse receiver
touch screen

1. I highly doubt that just 1 OPUS will be able to power up my system.
Would I be able to power my computer using two OPUS ?

Say one OPUS for :
AMP Athlon XP 2800 68 watt
ATI Radeon 9600 45 watt
2 568MB DDR RAM 20 watt
Audigy 2 sound card 10 watt
Motherboard 25 Watt
CPU FAN 3 Watt

And another OPUS for :
Floppy Drive 5 Watt
harddrive 25 Watt
DVD Rom 25 Watt
3 USB device 20 watt

All the numbers are for reference only.

A problem might occur to the OPUS that doesn't have the ATX power plug connected since it won't know when to turn the power supply on or off.
Pin 14 (green wire) from the ATX connector is the "PS_ON" wire. It turns on the power supply whenever it is shorted grounded.

If I splice the "PS_ON" wire of one OPUS and connect it to the "PS_ON" wire of the other OPUS which is connected to the mother board with the ATX connector, when the motherboard switch on the power supply by grounding the "PS_ON" wire, both "PS_ON" wire on both OPUS will be grounded thus turning both on. Would this work ?

**no1knows** · 09-06-2004, 08:09 AM

PS_ON is a signal sent to the motherboard NOT the powersupply, the mobo then tells the powersupply to boot the main 12V rails. In ATX boards the power supply always supplies some power to allow the motherboard to boot on lan for example.

The only way i can think of is to split one of the wires in the ATX connector from one of your power supplies and have the wire connected to the unused ATX connector of the other one. This wire is the one the motherboard uses to send the signal to the power supply to liven up the main rails and boot the PC.

As for which wire that is, have a search for ATX specifications or similar, i also think this has been brought up on this board before.

**no1knows** · 09-06-2004, 08:11 AM

BTW, dont connect the 2 opus' PS_ON connectors, bad things will happen, have one wired to the motherboard to control on/off and the other PS_ON not connected, the PSU should still function as a simple voltage converter without the shutdown controller function, just make sure u connect the correct wire to your 2nd PSU's ATX connector.

**lookinco** · 09-06-2004, 03:57 PM

I am not sure what you mean by "dont connect the 2 opus' PS_ON connectors" and "just make sure u connect the correct wire to your 2nd PSU's ATX connector"

Which wire should i connect and connect to where ?

I know for a fact that whenever the "PS_ON" wire is grounded, the power supply will provide power to the computer. If I don't connect this wire, then the power supply would never turn on except for the 5v standby power. If I permenantly ground it then it will always have power which would then drain my battery.

Could I connect one ATX connector to the motherboard normally, then tap the "PS_ON" wire of the other opus into the ATX connector connected to the motherboard like the drawing below?

**lookinco** · 09-07-2004, 12:40 AM

Anyone know if this would work or burn anything ?

**lawrence** · 09-07-2004, 12:53 AM

Opus is under rated ---------
I have a shuttle w/xp2200
512 ram
2 full size 250 GB hard drives
16x DVD burner
Win TV capture card w/FM
64 Mb video card
2 case fans

USB—
Delorame eatrhmate
Xmpcr
D link wifi 802.11g
Touch kit
Optical mouse

10.4 xenarc 500 nit monitor

All running off of one opus
150 for the shuttle

Try it first and see if one works for you.
2 opus will = more heat and need more cooling

**antimatter** · 09-07-2004, 01:30 AM

Yea.. I would try it first.

**RS3RS** · 09-07-2004, 01:56 AM

Yeah, try one OPUS first. You'd be surprised, it just might work

**lookinco** · 09-07-2004, 02:34 AM

Right now I have one OPUS ordered and waiting. Hopfully it will all work out right. But IF in case it coudln't power up, will my suggestion work ?

**ppgt94** · 09-07-2004, 02:46 AM

Here's what I'm running on the Opus 150:

Full sized ATX Intel Mobo.
600Mhz PIII
3.5" 7200 RPM HDD
3.5" DVD-ROM
Slimline DVD/CD-R Drive
3 Slot Toaster
IDE -> USB converter
2 On-board USB ports (full)
George Foreman Grill
3 PCI USB 2.0 PCI Card (2 slots used)
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz PCI Sound Card
4 Port USB 2.0 Hub (powered) (3 slots used)
2 Case Fans.

The opus can handle it.

OK...well, I haven't installed the toaster and grill - yet