Why would I need dual 12V rail PSU?

[Mac29]

It's nearing the time to replace my single 12V rail PSU (650W) and I've been told single rail 12V was antiquated. I'm considering a model from Seasonic but it is also single rail 12V.

I will keep aiming for downsizing, favor AMD ryzen cpu's, currently mATX, middle of the road GPU and 4 or less drives. Mostly use productivity appl's, some gaming and some video editing (when I find time). I won't OC or add more than the above components.

Regardless of the make and model I currently sport, why do you really need dual rail? Would dual be useful for someone like me?

Also, what is this 'balancing' of the rails? Regardless if modular or not, you plug in what you need to plug in. I thought power hungry card users would opt for multi-rail PSU's but some think a good single rail would be better in that case. Not that I desire a thirsty, hot bigass card.

Thanks,

Mac

 

[Lysrin]

You can likely Google as well as I can, but this might help you. Simple description of the main difference:

Settling the Debate: Multi Rail Vs. Single Rail Power Supplies

Ever since multi-rail PSUs were introduced, we’ve seen enthusiasts adamantly claim that one or the other PSU type is better. Some claim single rail is better for overclocking. Some claim multi-rail is safer. Single rail is cleaner. Multi-rail more efficient. The list goes on and on, so who’s...

thinkcomputers.org

Based on that I'd say single or multi rail doesn't matter for lower wattage power supplies. Now what is "lower wattage"? Not sure but I'd guess perhaps 750 watts and below these days?

The power supply experts on here can provide more info, or correct me if that article is off. I'd guess anything from Seasonic would be a good choice.

 

[Mac29]

Nevermind, the egg just jacked the price from what showed as "'till Oct 4' so now the pricepoint is much more debatable. Jesus I hate this new age of every price you see is fluid. Jesus.

Now the site is showing the orig sale price but states out-of-stock and will replenish asap. My only question is if the SFX cables will be too short for my mATX mobo.

 

[Soultribunal]

Single rail is not antiquated. And Multi-Rails are just as good out there in the world too.

Multi was only a problem and compicated when you had TRI-SLI and you had to make sure you didn't trip the OCP on one of the rails.
A lot of PSU's as well use multi and bridge to a single.

Go with whatever is a reputable brand, and that you can afford.

-ST

 

[Bond007]

I would worry about the quality of the PSU more than the number of rails, and it is not antiquated. A few years ago there was a lot of arguments about rails, but most seem to be single rail now.

What PSUs are you considering?