Power supply to your PC is necessary and essential. Without it, you wouldn’t be able to use it. Simple.
However, if you’ve ever built your own PC, you will probably have a better understanding of the basics of power supply but people make two every common mistakes: the first being they buy too much power and the second is that they buy the cheapest power supply unit (PSU) available, with the wattage they think they need.
The Basics of the Inner Energy Supply ‘Workings’ of a PC
You won’t be blinded with science here, but we do need to have a basic idea. Your PC takes power from the wall at 240 volts, running at 50 hertz (Hz). This current from the wall is converted into direct current (DC) and then converted back to a high frequency alternating current (AC). This AC is then converted back to DC.
Now, within your tower there is a component called a ‘power supply rail’ and they represent a single voltage source. For most ardent PC users who hanker after fast performance, a single +12v is the most important, with the other +3 and +5 rails storing power and driving motherboard and component circuitry.
How Much Power?
This is a bit more complicated and there are various power supply calculators that exist, and you can find them on the internet. They list various components available of the market today and from this list, you should be able to work out the power supply needed. However, as with most things in life, it isn’t always straight forward and you may find some of your more ‘technical’ or advanced components are not listed. Most people can take an educated guess, but it is worth remembering that most components do not draw power at full throttle.
The main lesson when buying a power supply unit (PSU) is that you get what you pay for. So, if the PSU is a ‘cheap as chips’ as the famous saying goes, it will probably work fairly poorly if and when it gets to the top end of its voltage rating. Consistent power supply is essential to your PC; a lower budget PSU will make your system unstable so in the long run, do yourself a favour and buy the best you can for the job you need it to do, for the money you have available.
So, with our basic understanding of how a power supply to our PC works, we have learnt so far that selecting the right power supply for your PC is essential and, in a nutshell are the 5 ways of making sure you do this;
1. Do Your Research as PSU Quality Varies from Manufacturer to Manufacturer:
… and even among the units of the same manufacturer. Check that the company brand on the unit is a reputable company. A cheap PSU could ruin your whole computer. If you know what you are looking at you can open up the unit as to the trained eye there are several components that tell you if it is a good unit. However, for those of us less converse with the inner workings and colours of a PSU, all we need to do is take note of the ventilation fan of the PSU. A fan that has been stamped out of the casing is a cheaper way on inserting ventilation into a unit. A fan casing that is obviously a separate piece to the casing indicates that more money has been spent manufacturing it (but expect to pay more for this one!).
2. A Power Supply That Says “80+”:
Not heard of this before? No problem. This 80 plus designation is a way of measuring the efficiency of the PSU. This is important as lost energy is turned into heat… so if your PSU leaks energy, your fan will be working harder to keep everything cool. So this 80 plus standard is way of independently testing PSUs with the 80+ referring to the fact that the PSU meets the efficiency requirements at 20%, 50% and 100% load.
3. Avoid Power Supplies with Multiple 12V Rails…
… as it is thought that they make it more difficult for the PSU to access the 12v current. This can be problematic for graphic processing units (GPUs) as they can find it difficult to access the power it needs.
4. Read the Label!
Modern PSUs can have lower power ratings, but can be more suited to modern PCs; just checking the wattage isn’t enough.
5. Buy a Power Supply Unit that will Suffice Your Needs… and No More:
You might be surprised at the little amount of power your PC needs to run, even though when you do your research you’ll see there are some PSUs with whopping power to them. Efficiency decreased when a PSU is operating under 20% of its capacity (remember, lost energy means heat!) and so your fan will be working hard to keep everything cool. So, unless you do plan on running large GPUS that need BIG power, save yourself some money and get the power supply that suits your needs.
There are free online power supply calculators that can help you work out the maximum power supply you need. And remember, cheap isn’t always best!
