ENERMAX, an industry-leading force dedicated to designing high-performance computer hardware and cooling solutions, announces its latest power supply and the PCMag CES 2024 Best Power Product award winner, the PlatiGemini 1200 W, is now available. The PlatiGemini sets a new standard as the only 80 Plus Platinum power supply that supports both Intel ATX 3.1 and ATX12VO standards. Designed for system integrators and professionals working on mission-critical projects, this revolutionary 12VO power supply, which removes the 3.3 V and 5 V lines, will reduce losses from energy conversion and align your workstation with stricter environmental standards.

World's First Dual-Standard 12VO Power Supply
The PlatiGemini, as the world's first dual-standard power supply, supports both 24-pin mainstream motherboards and 10-pin energy-saving 12VO motherboards, offering versatility for current and future technological requirements. By supplying only 12 volts to the system components, the power supply eliminates the need for conversion to other voltage levels, reducing energy loss and improving overall energy efficiency. And with the support of the 24-pin mainstream motherboards, it ensures adaptability to any current or future tech needs, bridging the gap between different specifications, and being ready for sustainable computing.

ENERMAX has showcased its new power supply lineup at the CES 2024 show in Las Vegas, including the new PlatiGemini and REVOLUTION D.F. 12 PSU series. The new PlatiGemini series is certified with Intel ATX 3.1 and ATX12VO compliance and features 80 Plus Platinum efficiency. What makes it special is the fact that it comes with both 24-pin ATX and 10-pin 12VO connectors, ensuring support for both current and future updates as well as bridging the gap between specifications. The ENERMAX PlatiGemini is a full modular PSU that comes will initially be available with 1200 W power output, uses 135 mm dual-ball bearing fan with patented Dust-free Rotation (D.F.R.) function, and comes with individually sleeved cables.

In addition to the new PlatiGemini PSU series, ENERMAX new REVOLUTION D.F 12 series which has been announced at CES 2024 show is one of the smallest ATX 3.1 power supply units on the market, where the 750 W version measures just 122 mm in depth. This means that it can also be installed in a Mini-ITX case without an additional SFX to ATX mounting bracket. As said, the REVOLUTION D.F 12 series meets Intel's ATX 3.1 standard, has 80 Plus Gold efficiency, and comes with native 600 W 12VHPWR connector. It uses a 115 mm dual-ball bearing fan with the same Dust-free Rotation (D.F.R.) function, features a silent mode where the fan is switched off below 50 percent power load.

MSI is planning to expand its small lineup of motherboards with ATX12VO power connectivity—the new desktop motherboard power standard that does away with the 5 V and 3.3 V power domains, and relies entirely on 12 V, with the aim of simplifying PSU designs and desktop PC power cabling. ATX12VO is still an emerging standard that hasn't gained traction in the DIY channel, but PC OEMs and systems integrators are beginning to catch on, for the cost savings to be had. MSI has been targeting this class of customers—OEMs and small SI, with motherboards under its mainstream PRO series. For the Socket LGA1700, the company has the PRO H610M 12VO, and now the company has its first ATX12VO motherboard for AMD Socket AM5—the PRO B650M 12VO/WiFi.

The company hasn't finalized the board design, but we know from its silhouette to be a Micro-ATX (240 mm x 240 mm) board, with the Socket AM5 wired to two DDR5 DIMM slots, a PCI-Express 4.0 x16, a handful M.2 NVMe Gen 4 slots, and some basic connectivity, including onboard Wi-Fi. As with all ATX12VO motherboards we've seen to date, onboard VRM is used to switch 12 V to lower voltage domains, including 5 V and 3.3 V needed for SATA drives, and the likes. MSI also revealed that it is working on a branded ATX12VO power supply series, so both the retail and OEM/SI channel customers can buy the motherboard+PSU as combos from a single source. Not much else is known about these PSUs at this point.

ENERMAX came to the Computex 2023 in full force, showcasing a wide range of new products including new PSUs with ATX 3.0 certification, as well as the new LIQTECH and LIQMAXFLO AIO liquid CPU coolers with new pump design.

ENERMAX definitely had a lot to show at the Computex 2023 event and there were some rather unique and innovative new products on display, including the PLATIMAX GEMINI, a PSU that meets both ATX 3.0 and Intel's new ATX12VO (12 V-only) standards. PLATIMAX GEMINI is an 80 Plus Platinum 1200 W power supply, that surpasses efficiency standards of the ATX12VO standard. ENERMAX also had the who new REVOLUTION D.F. X PSU lineup that is ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5 ready with a native 600 W 12VHPWR cable and an extra dual 8-pin to 12VHPWR 600 W cable, and features new patented Dust-Free Rotation (D.F.R) technology, a new feature that promises to significantly reduce the accumulation of dust around the fan blades. It also features an ARGB side panel with 14 built in lighting modes, and an RGB control button. ENERMAX was showcasing the SPLAVE X REVOLUTION D.F. X PSU, a special edition 1200 W PSU designed in cooperation with a well-known overclocker Splave.

Streacom unveiled a rather interesting power supply unit at its Computex 2023 showcase, the 800 W ZS800. While it might look a bit strange, Streacom's reasons behind such a product makes sense, considering it started as a project to create a "better" power supply for SFF builds, leading to what you can see in these pictures below.

According to Streacom, the biggest improvement to be done were on the cables, namely the 24-pin ATX cable which is bulky and quite difficult to handle, especially in tight SFF cases. The breakthrough came with the announcement of Intel's ATX12VO specification (12 V-only) and since Streacom has experience with compact DC to DC ATX converters, this led to reduced number of pins for the 24-pin cable, at least on the PSU side, as it still needs a 24-pin adapter for the motherboard. Such a hybrid solution also means that the ZS800 is actually both ATX 3.0 and ATX12VO compatible.

As one of the world's leading power supply manufacturers, FSP group is celebrating its 30th year and has announced that it will introduce a series of power supply products at COMPUTEX Taipei from May 30, 2023 to June 2, 2023 to demonstrate its green power technology and to foster sustainable values for products and the environment. FSP is set to showcase its ATX 3.0 and PCIe Gen 5 compatible power supply series, exclusive pre-installed cable design cases, and cooling products for gamers in its B2C product range. The booth will also include a Power Supply Zone for edge computing applications, a PD Charger Zone, a Microgrid Energy Storage System Zone, and a Battery Charger Zone.

As the demand for highly detailed graphics in gaming experiences increases, FSP recognizes that gamers are looking for high-performance, low-noise power supplies. To demonstrate the latest PSU specifications, FSP Group will showcase 1650 W 80 Plus Platinum power supplies compatible with Intel ATX 3.0 and PCIe Gen 5, 1200 W 80 Plus Platinum high-efficiency small form factor power supplies, and the 'ATX12VO' power supply specification in partnership with Intel. In addition, the flagship computer case CUT593, delivered with an exclusive pre-installed cable design to help players easily create a clean and tidy interior space, will also be on display at the FSP group's COMPUTEX 2023 showcase.

Intel has published the most significant update to industry power supply specifications since the initial ATX 2.0 specs were introduced in 2003. Updated ATX 3.0 specifications unlock the full power and potential of next-generation hardware and upcoming components built for technologies like PCIe Gen 5.0. Intel has also revised its ATX12VO spec to provide the PC industry with an updated blueprint for designing power supply units (PSUs) and motherboards that reduce power draw at idle, helping customers lower electrical demand.

"Power supplies based on ATX 3.0 and ATX12VO 2.0 will ensure anyone looking to get the most stable and cost optimized performance possible with highest power efficiency out of their desktop PCs will be able to do so - both now and in the future, " said Stephen Eastman, Intel platform power specialist.

Intel's 12th Generation Core "Alder Lake-S" desktop processor will see a limited launch in 2021, according to an Igor's Lab report. This will be restricted to PC enthusiast-relevant SKUs bearing the -K and -KF brand extensions, and compatible Socket LGA1700 motherboards based only on the top Z690 (Z590-successor) chipset. The series will ramp up to other (locked) models, along with more affordable chipset models (B560-successor), only by Q1-2022, on the sidelines of the 2022 International CES. Sources tell Igor's Lab that these select few models could be launched between October 25 and November 19.

Intel is expected to make several technological leaps over AMD with "Alder Lake-S." To begin with, it has the first hybrid core technology that combines high-performance "Golden Cove" cores with high-efficiency "Gracemont" cores, in a heterogenous multi-core setup comparable to Arm big.LITTLE. Next up, it is expected to debut the PCI-Express Gen 5 I/O, and DDR5 memory support. While PCIe 5.0 GPUs remain under development, the first devices to take advantage of it are expected to be NVMe SSDs, benefiting from 128 Gbps bandwidth (Gen 5 x4). It is also learned that the next-gen motherboards will retain the current ATX 24-pin + EPS power interface, and Intel won't force adoption of ATX12VO. The new ATX12VO standard increases motherboard costs as it essentially transfers DC-to-DC switching components from the PSU to the motherboard (12 V to 5 V; 12 V to 3.3 V, etc), and adds output connectors.

The ATX12VO power standard is a new specification for desktop power supplies which boasts greatly increased efficiency over regular desktop power supplies. The new standard requires a compatible motherboard with a 10-pin power connector along with a compatible power supply which only features 12 V rails. The standard requires that any voltage conversion above or below 12 V must be performed directly on the motherboard which increases the complexity and cost for motherboard manufacturers. Intel is interested in promoting the standard with their upcoming 600-series motherboards for Alder Lake-S however most enthusiast boards are unlikely to feature the standard. The standard may find higher adoption with entry-level motherboards for system integrators and pre-built suppliers who need to meet strict government power efficiency regulations.

2021 is shaping up to be a big year for Intel in the DIY desktop space, with the company preparing to launch not one, but two generations of desktop processors. Having announced them in January, the 11th Gen Core "Rocket Lake-S" desktop processors in the LGA1200 package, will release to market in March, with the company claiming a restoration in gaming performance leadership away from AMD's Ryzen 5000 series. Sources tell Uniko's Hardware that the company will announce its 12th Gen successor, the Core "Alder Lake-S" in September 2021.

"Alder Lake-S" will be Intel's first mainstream desktop processor built on its new 10 nm SuperFin silicon fabrication process. The chip is expected to be a "hybrid" processor, combining an equal number of larger "Golden Cove" cores, and smaller "Gracemont" cores, to offer significantly improved energy efficiency. Built in the new Socket LGA1700 package, "Alder Lake-S" is expected to feature more general-purpose SoC connectivity than LGA1200 chips. It will also herald new platform standards, such as DDR5 memory and possibly even mainstreaming of ATX12VO. The processor will launch alongside new Intel 600-series chipset. AMD's response is expected to be the "Zen 4" microarchitecture, a new silicon built on the 5 nm process, and the new AM5 socket that introduces DDR5 memory support.

The winds of change are beginning. The ATX12VO PC power-supply standard, earlier thought to be an OEM-mainstay with later introduction in the DIY retail channel, has already reached it. The ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4SR is the first board. Gone is the 24-pin ATX power connector, a smaller 5-pin pure-12 V input takes its place. A 6-pin PCIe connector takes in additional 12 V input. The 8-pin EPS connector (another pure-12 V input) is right where it should be, near the CPU VRM area. There are two small 4-pin connectors, which could be 5 V and 3.3 V outputs from the motherboard, to SATA power connectors.

The part of the PCB next to the memory area is bustling with a few more power phases than vDIMM. These convert 12 V to 5 V and 3.3 V (essentially what a PSU with DC-to-DC switching does). The rest of the board's I/O feature-set is fairly standard: four SATA ports, a single M.2-22110 slot, an M.2 E-Key slot holding an 802.11ac WLAN card, 6-channel audio, and 1 GbE wired networking driven by an Intel i219-V controller. The company didn't reveal pricing or availability.

Back at CES, at the FSP booth, we spied an inconspicuous-looking PSU with a curious 10-pin connector in place of the 24-pin ATX. The FSP500-30AKB turned out to be the first public exhibit of a the pure 12-Volt PC power supply standard being pushed by Intel, which is called "ATX12VO," which abbreviates Advanced Technology eXtended 12-Volt Only. According to the specification, the PSU only puts out +12 V and 12 Vsb voltage domains, and does away with the 5 V, 5 Vsb, and 3.3 V domains. This greatly simplifies the design of PSUs, as PCs of today don't use too many power-hungry 5 V or 3.3 V devices (such as half-a-dozen mechanical hard drives). The PC will still need 5 V for interfaces such as USB, but VRM on the motherboard will be responsible for DC-to-DC switching of 12 V to those lower-voltage domains. It's also likely that the motherboard will now put out a handful SATA power connectors.

Intel could debut ATX12VO within 2020 via its next-generation desktop platform, which features a 10-pin connector instead of 24-pin. It remains to be seen if the company could help the transition from current PSUs to the new standard by having its motherboard partners include a 24-pin to 10-pin adapter of some sort. In addition to the 10-pin connector, ATX12VO PSUs will put out two other purely-12 V connector types: 8-pin/4+4 pin EPS and 6+2 pin PCIe power. The EPS connector powers the CPU VRM, while the PCIe connector powers add-on cards, such as graphics cards. 4-pin Molex connectors could also be put out, but those will only feature 12 V pins (the 5 V pins will be absent).