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Powenetics V2 – Power Measurements Device – Review

crmaris

After lots of thought, I decided that it would be for the best if I opened the Powenetics V2 project to the community. This is a lab-grade tool, not a gadget, addressing experienced users who need to know what is going on (exactly) with the power consumption of various parts in their systems. 

A few years ago, during a Computex show, as I remember, a close friend of mine and legendary OCer, Ronaldo Buassali, was telling me the importance of accurate GPU power measurements. Back then, there was nothing to allow a reviewer to make accurate and accessible measurements on GPUs, especially on the PCIe socket. I gave it a thought, and once I found the time, into a week, the first Powenetics was made. I gave the first Powenetics to TecLab, Ronaldo’s own media site and YT channel, Tom’s Hardware, Kitguru, back2gaming, and even NVIDIA bought one long ago it released PCAT, apparently to study my solution and built its own.

Speaking of PCAT, which I don’t own because NVIDIA refused to send or sell me one, although I was eager to help them with my solution, it is an easy-to-use kit, and the integration with FrameViewis a great asset, but the fact is that it is slow, providing only ten measurements per second. This is unacceptable for any proper power measurement, and PCAT is also restricted to GPU power measurements and cannot take ATX or EPS connectors. It is embarrassing that I never managed to get a PCAT device from NVIDIA, especially since I had some email exchange initially with the team that made it. But this made me want to make something WAY better, which I eventually did.

Powenetics v2 is a game changer for CPU, GPU, and mainboard power measurements. This is the ultimate tool for every reviewer or highly enthusiastic user who wants to see what is going on with their system in real time and doesn’t want to rely on inaccurate or low-polling rate software solutions.

The Powenetics v2 has the following sockets/cables

  • ATX 24pin
  • ATX 10pin (12VO)
  • 3x EPS
  • 3x PCIe 6+2
  • 2x PCIe 12+4
  • 1x Proprierty 4-pin for connection with the PCIe expansion card

There are 13 sensors, and Powenetics V2 can pull 1000 readings from them simultaneously! The resolution is 1mV for Voltage and 5mA for Amperage.

The 12VHPWR connectors can handle up to 60A sustained and up to 150A power spikes of up to 1 ms to cover the PCIe 5.0 transient response scenarios.

Cybenetics GPU Database

 

The Cybenetics GPU database uses data deriving from Powenetics, mostly the first version, which relied on parts found on the market and not custom-designed ones. This is why the first Powenetics was a huge pain to build, and I couldn’t support it as much as I wanted. Moreover, although it was faster than NVIDIA’s PCAT, much faster, it was still far below 1000 readings per sec (or one reading per ms), which is what I needed for my testing.

Before I released Powenetics v2, we performed a long and painful development circle, where along with my partner in crime, CWT, we made three upgrades or revisions to the original board. So the current Powenetics v2 is revision 3. Some of the changes were to change the connection with the PCIe expansion board to an easier-to-use one, redesign the latter board, install a reset button, use a more tolerant to abuse USB connector and power the Powenetics board through USB and not the 5VSB rail as it was initially designed. The last change allows Powenetics to get power from another PC and not the one that it is installed.

Technical Specifications:
  • Brand Name: Cybenetics
  • Model Name: Powenetics V2
  • Manufacturer: CWT
  • Number of sensors: 13x
  • Maximum readings per sec  on all sensors: 1000 +- 50
  • Number of ATX12V/ATX12VO sockets: 1/ 1
  • Number of EPS sockets: 3
  • Number of PCie 6+2 sockets: 3
  • Number of 12VHPWR sockets: 2
  • Connection: USB Type-B
  • Dimensions (W x D): 335 mm x 80 mm
  • Price (excluding VAT): 975€
  • Warranty: only against DOA

Since this is a lab-grade tool, which can be used under extreme testing conditions, the provided warranty is only against DOA (dead on arrival). Moreover, you should avoid connecting and disconnecting the connectors on the Powenetics, especially the 12VHPWR ones, because the more you do this, the loosen they get, and at some point, they can fail. It is highly advised to keep the cables on Powenetics permanently attached and only disconnect the cables from the GPU and mainboard side.

Pages:
  1. Prologue & Technical specifications
  2. Powenetics V2 Kit & Cables
  3. Software & Firmware Update Process
  1. Usage Scenarios
  2. Epilogue & How To Get One!
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5
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71 thoughts on “Powenetics V2 – Power Measurements Device – Review”

  1. Isn’t a sustained load of 55A on a 12VHPWR connector kinda low considering that there are already graphic cards with OC BIOSes that allow them to draw 1000W?

    Reply

  14. ola os meus amigos do teclab nos indicou vocês o melhor canal de teste hardware impressionante o trabalho de vocês S2

    Reply

  33. I came on the recommendation of Ronaldo from the TecLab channel (source of many useful and interesting information).

    Reply

  42. hello, did you have a corrspending email for contact with, I would like to know the details(including the stuff in v2 kit and procedures, and any others) and assess if it would be a fit for my lab, also how to order(the order page is written in a language Icouldn’t understand), thanks

    Reply

  43. • How many Amps of sustained load can each of the PCIe 6+2 sockets/cables handle?
    • Is it easy to use two Powenetics V2 in parallel on systems that require more sockets than a single Powenetics V2 provides? This question aims mainly at the software as I don’t see why there should be a problem on the hardware side.

    Reply

    1. 12VHPWR can handle up to 55A sustained and PCIe 6+2 are good to go at up to 21A sustained, these at room temperature and not at high temps.

      You can but you need special software. For the moment the software is only for a single powenetics board. In Computex one board handled four RTX 4090 through special cables.

      Reply

  44. Don’t get me wrong, the Powenetics V2 is surely a step in the right direction, but there is room for improvement:
    How long was this in development? I’m wondering as it only comes with 1 ATX12V, 3 EPS and 3 PCIe 6+2 whereas there are mainboards that come with 3 ATX12V or 4 EPS and MB + GPU combos that require 5 PCIe 6+2 sockets total and the Powenetics V2 does not look like it was designed to run more than one in parallel.
    Why no SATA or Molex sockets? Would have been nice to measure the whole computer.
    The low Amps rating on the 12VHPWR effectively means that there are scenarios where you need a custom made 2 12VHPWR to 1 12VHPWR adapter or another 4 PCIe 6+2 sockets.
    And why are the readings per sec fluctuating so heavily? It’s also more than just +- 50.
    Is there an ETA for a Powenetics V3 that addresses all these shortcomings?

    Reply

    1. No worries, we are always open to suggestions.

      You can hook up as many Powenetics in parallel as you want, but the software is not ready yet!

      Powenetics is for desktop mainboards and not server ones. There are mainboards that can have numerous sockets yes, but Powenetics is for the 99% of users and not for the 0.1% of cases. If I installed so many sockets and sensors, then I would have to deal with increased cost and lower polling rates. That said, if there is demand, we might release a special version in the future.

      Low amp ratings on 12VHPWR? It can go up to 650W sustained and 1800W peaks.

      Readings per sec fluctuates +-50 but it is 1000 on average. USB and system limitations.

      V2 is already in its 4th revision. V3 will be at some point yes, but for the moment I don’t have anything in mind since I need to focus on other projects, too.

      About SATA and Molex, we didn’t put these because most users don’t use them anyway. Powenetics V1 has them and very few used them. The more the sensors the tougher is to find a proper MCU to handle all of them and keep a fast enough polling rate.

      Thank you for your suggestions!

      Reply

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