Dell [ATX power] is Proprietary: Not! [COLUG]

[jep200404]

Earlier I wrote: 

> o  I knew that one Dell PS from the dumpster was special. 
>    It has a 24 pin version of the ATX connector. The first 
>    20 pins are standard, with the exception that -5V is absent. 
>    Four more pins are added to one end of the connection for 
>    more power. This non-standard power connector is interesting 
>    in that it _can_ be plugged into normal motherboards, 
>    as long as there is no mechanical clearance problems with 
>    the four extra pins past the end, and except for the missing 
>    -5V supply. Also, the Dell computer that the special power 
>    supply came from, _probably_ could work with normal ATX power 
>    supplies, although there might be voltage drop on the fewer 
>    number of wires. 

It turns out that this power supply connector seems to be compliant 
with the (new) ATX 2.2 specification. 

   http://www.hardwarebook.info/ATX_v2.2_Power_Supply

Apparently, the only deviation is that Dell used 
white wire instead of yellow wire for +12V on pins 10 and 11. 
That's a trivial difference that I can live with. 

Rob Funk wrote:

> I believe the -5V line has been deleted from recent versions of the ATX 
> standard. 

You're right. Thanks. That's the tip that got me to look further. 

Jim