Will Phantom 500 work w/ K8N Neo4 AMD SLI Plat (-5V wire?)

All about them.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
ExpertNovice
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Apr 29, 2005 7:28 am

Will Phantom 500 work w/ K8N Neo4 AMD SLI Plat (-5V wire?)

Post by ExpertNovice » Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:36 pm

The U.S. tax code is less complex than current U. S. Supreme Court decisions which is infintely less complex than buying a computer. ---ExpertNovice 6-28-2005 /sarcasm off


Ok, I THOUGHT I was almost at the end of the tunnel in deciding on components for this computer. Now, I'm wondering what that light really is.

On 2-3-2005 Interitus stated "The MSI SLI board is going to have the most clearance. IF...you use only 1 card. 2nd slot is practically piggybacked onto the chipset. Also it has onboard Creative 5.1 sound. BUT...it requires a PSU with a -5v wire."

A look at the Antec Phantom 500 specifications turns up nothing about having a -5v wire.

Next, a look at MSI to see if a -5v wire (what does -5v mean?) is really necessary and, of course, nothing is found.

It would be nice to have all the components components actually work together rather than ending up with a few hundred RMA's.

If it matters: I will not be under or over clocking. I will not be using SLI but want this MoBo because it best matches the features I want. Specifically I will be using the onboard sound.
Last edited by ExpertNovice on Wed Jun 29, 2005 11:37 am, edited 2 times in total.

teejay
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 749
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2004 2:23 am
Location: The Netherlands

Post by teejay » Tue Jun 28, 2005 3:01 pm

I was going to post Interitus was mistaken when he made that claim, because surely a recent board like the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI could not demand a -5V line that has been dropped from the power supply standards since version 1.3 - which dates back a few years.

But, then I decided to look around a bit since I was considering this board for a friend... and found stuff like this (MSI forum link). It appears that this particular MSI board requires a PSU with a -5V line, i.e., a PSU that is neither ATX1.3 or ATX2.0 but something completely different. Besides the -5V line, the power supply should have a 24pin connector and supply in excess of 26A on the 12V line. That's one "which one to buy" question the recommended lists won't answer I think. Apparantly there are a few PSUs out there that can actually meet these requirements (see the linked forum for them). Their noise-level will definitely be anything but that of the Phantom though...

To answer your question, the -5V line (or minus five Volts line) is basically a different wire coming from the PSU that supplies another voltage to the motherboard, alongside the 3.3V, 5V and 12V already there. It used to be required (I think by old ISA cards) but it has not been needed for a long time... that is, until MSI decided to dig it up as a requirement. Truth be told, this is due to the on-board Creative sound chip, but I still think this is very odd. This is one of the most obscure incompatibility issues I have run across in the last year or so... and not one I'm about to get involved in.

ExpertNovice
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Apr 29, 2005 7:28 am

Post by ExpertNovice » Wed Jun 29, 2005 8:37 am

:evil:

I picked out the case. Once the case arrived the MoBo was chosen. Now, I have to start over? :x

To summarize, in late April and early May the threads began indicating that the -5V wire was no longer necessary. However, another thread had a post dated May 20 that the -5V wire was still necessary.

Yesterday at http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?topic=82599.0 an MSI forum admin said the Seasonic 12 PSU's would have no problem with any hardware on the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI Socket 939 ATX Motherboard.

I have asked if this was an official MSI response that the -5V wire was no longer necesary.

NP. Actually, the DFI was my first choice with the MSI being a distant runner up. I will simply choose the DFI and try to ensure the components already picked out will work.

ExpertNovice
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Apr 29, 2005 7:28 am

Post by ExpertNovice » Wed Jun 29, 2005 9:44 am

The lastest response from MSI did not answer the question directly. Their response was to download these x64 sound drivers from Creative.

I see nothing about these drivers that say using them eliminates the need for a -5V wire.

ExpertNovice
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Apr 29, 2005 7:28 am

Post by ExpertNovice » Wed Jun 29, 2005 9:45 am

The latest response from MSI did not answer the question directly. Their response was to download these x64 sound drivers from Creative.

I see nothing about these drivers that say using them eliminates the need for a -5V wire.

Landroval
Posts: 77
Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2003 9:54 am
Location: Finland

Post by Landroval » Wed Jun 29, 2005 9:52 am

I have the K8N Diamond which is the same as K8N SLI Platinum with some slight differences. It can be used with 20-pin or 24-pin PSUs, but if there's no -5V line the onboard Creative sound wont work. I dont think that can be fixed with drivers.

ExpertNovice
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Apr 29, 2005 7:28 am

Post by ExpertNovice » Wed Jun 29, 2005 10:15 am

I found this:

http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=379858

UPDATE 6/17/05: Many boards are starting to ship with a voltage regulator modification that removes this requirement. Look for the three post regulator close to the sound chipset.

The bord is the K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI and the requirement is the -5v wire. However, this is a review not an official statement.

Don't shoot me for the multiple posts, or at least do it quickly. I'm trying to get an official answer and finding bits and pieces.

Edited to add K8N to description

Post Reply