lee wrote:
Hi,

Over the years, I've kept a few ATX power supply from old computers. Now,
I'm thinking about upgrading my computer and add more hard disks. The
problem is the current power supply might not be able to support so many
hard disks running at the same time. Instead of buying a new, more powerful
power supply, I am planning to use one old piece (350w) to serve the
motherboard, CD, and 3 hard disks, then another power supply (350w too) to
serve 3 to 4 more hard disks. All components are connected to the same
motherboard. I need to know how I could turn on both power supply with a
single press of the power button on the case.

In other words, only one power supply can plug to the motherboard, how can I
jam the wires together so that the second power supply receive the power-on
signal when I press the button? I was thinking about the Power-On (Green),
Power-Good (Gray) and 5 VSB (Purple) wires. the second power supply would
only support the hard disks and nothing else, but I need them to be powered
up at the same time other hardware are up (and down when it's shut down).

Thanks.




There's a lot of wattage inflation these days, following the stereo
equipment makers in the 80s. The fact of the matter is that if you have
a *quality* 300 or 350W power supply, it should run just about anything
you can fit in the computer. I've measured a number of computers with a
power analyzer and I have yet to see one which draws more than 250W from
the wall under full load, most typical single CPU computers are down
around 160-180W even with multiple hard drives.