Class Notes
Class Notes
1st Quarter
INSTRUCTOR: DR. WENDY WRITER
[email protected]
● Desktops, laptops, phones, and other electronics simply can’t function using the
kind of electricity that we usually get from the wall socket, which is AC power.
Electronics require Direct Current (DC) instead of Alternating Current (AC) to
function properly.
● PC power supplies are responsible for this conversion of AC power from the wall
socket to DC power, which can then be used to run your computer. This DC power is
distributed to the various system components of your computer. This includes your
CPU, graphics card, motherboard, RAM, etc.
● DC power
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● AC power
- is what you get from wall sockets around the world
- Not constant
TYPES OF PSU
GENERIC
- any cheap very low-end product that we can't find out who the manufacturer
is.
- can be a little less than truthful about their actual capability (pretend they are
more powerful than they really are) and sometimes do not include some
safety features like over voltage protection. They also generally lack build
quality or Quality assurance.
- 79% Efficiency
True Rated
- Higher quality PSU's are generally more accurate about their capabilities (even
underrating their capability), including over voltage protection. Over voltage
protection is very important in case a PSU blows up. It does not allow excess
currents to flow through to damage other components like motherboards, CPUS,
GPU'S and Hard drives. Without over voltage protection the excess current runs
right through your system.
- uses better components and are more reliable.
Non Modular
- Without any modularity, or ability to remove cables from the PSU, all cables must be
run at all times, even if they are not in use.
- The cheapest
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Semi-Modular
- are much less restrictive. You can remove almost any cable from a Semi-Modular
Power Supply except the one that you will definitely always need: the motherboard
power cable
- Most of the benefits of a Fully-Modular Power Supply.
- Cheaper than Fully-Modular Power Supplies.
- Can’t remove motherboard power cable for purposes of hardware testing or cable
replacement.
Full Modular
- the ability to remove all cables, even the one you should ostensibly always need, the
motherboard power cable.
- Complete modularity!
- Since all cables can be removed, all cables can also be replaced with cables of your
choice. This is most compelling for SFF (Small Form Factor) PC builds with extreme
space restrictions or simple aesthetic customization.
- Most expensive.
1. 80 Plus
- offer the bare minimum efficiency required under the 80 Plus certification program.
They offer 80% efficiency under 20%, 50%, and 100% loads. While they are adequate
for home PCs (and even some light/ casual gaming PCs), opting for a higher-tier PSU
will serve you better.
2. 80 Plus Bronze
- They are abundantly available and offer decent efficiency. Choose a high-quality PSU
from a reputable manufacturer, and it won’t burn a hole in your PC either
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- 80 Plus Bronze PSUs offer 82% efficiency at 20% load, 85% efficiency at 50% load,
and 82% efficiency at 100% load.
3. 80 Plus Silver
- They offer 85%, 88%, and 85% efficiencies at 20%, 50%, and 100% loads,
respectively.
4. 80 Plus Gold
- best suited for mid-range to high-end PCs and are often higher quality than their
predecessors in the 80 Plus lineup.
- They offer 87% efficiency at 20% and 100% loads and 90% efficiency at 50% loads.
They are very reliable PSUs,
5. 80 Plus Platinum
- These are generally more suited for industrial systems or data centers.
- You will get excellent efficiency, i.e. 90% efficiency at 20% load, 92% at 50% load, and
89% at 100% load.
6. 80 Plus Titanium
- are designed for the industrial space (servers and data centers)
- 90% efficiency at 10% load, 92% efficiency at 20% load, 94% efficiency at 50% load,
and 90% efficiency at 100% load.
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PSU Voltages
- The positive output voltages produced by a power supply unit are +3.3V, +5V and
+12V. Negative voltages of -5V and -12V are also provided, together with a +5V
standby voltage.