PC WORKSHOP

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Publication №7: How to choose PSU
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Power supply is the most important component in a PC. From it directly depends on the service life of components and their protection. Choose a power supply, not the easiest task, since you need to have knowledge of circuitry. Even looking at the PSU in the reviews when it is disassembled, you probably will not be able to make a detailed conclusion.
But we will tell you about some trifles, paying attention to which, you will be able to navigate the choice of PSU without having extensive knowledge.

Form Factor​

The mainform factors PSU are ATX, SFX and TFX. For convenience, there is a table from issue number 6 How to choose a case.

This is an approximate table, so when choosing a power supply, pay attention to what PSU format your chassis supports.

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As you can see, ATX is the most frequently used form factor, therefore we will talk about it today.

Platform
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Many power supplies are available on the same platform, from the same manufacturer. For example, PSU of thecompany Corsair are not exactly its development, they are bought from OEM suppliers. The highest quality platform makes Seasonic and Super Flower. The next step is CWT and FSP. Less known are Sirfa, Hipro, Enhance, Andyson, Flextronics and others.
Such companies as Corsair can put another cooler, stick a sticker, paint the case in a different color, stick it with RGB tape and make minor changes to the circuitry. But you can meet the same power supply significantly cheaper from another manufacturer, with a different name and appearance. Every manufacturer has successful and unsuccessful platforms, in order to find out, you need to read reviews and reviews that are often paid for. To find out which platform is used in a specific PSU, go to the website: http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/PSUReviewDatabase.html

Do not let marketers mislead you, do not overpay for an inscription on the case. Be smarter!!!

Power​

To begin with, we will determine the powercapacity supply. To do this, go to the website of the manufacturer of the video card and see thein the specification. recommended power PSU for a specific model. You can also additionally check the power consumption of yourconfiguration PC through the online calculators below.

be quiet!

be quiet!

www.bequiet.com

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MSI designs and creates top-tier gaming gear for gamers.

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But remember that the more loaded PSU the more noise its cooler makes. To avoid acoustic discomfort, choose models with a power margin for your system.

80 plus certification​

Next, we turn our attention tocertification 80 plus. Certification may indirectly indicate the quality of the PSU filling. Silent and energy efficient power supplies are usuallycertified 80 PLUS Goldor higher. But you can not judge the quality of the filling PSU only by the presence of the certificate.

Certification 80 plus pass those power supplies whose efficiency with a load above 80%.

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After we decided on the power, we figured out the certificates and picked up to begin a deeper analysis.

Features of a good power supply​

A good power supply can be identified by the presence of some features. To do this, you need to look at the label of a particular PSU. You can find it in any of the text reviews, as well as other information presented below.

1) If the operating voltage is specified in wide voltage ranges, for example, 115-230 volts (50-60Ghz support for Euro standard and US), then the power supply unit has an active PFC.

Active PFC - designed for power factor correction, as well as additional stabilization of the input voltage of the main stabilizer of the unit.

This helps theoperate PSU toon a network with low voltage and constant drops.

2) The total power of the PSU corresponds fully or almost completely to the power of the 12-volt line, which indicates the presence of DC-DC converters.

DC-DC converters are used to convert the voltage to the desired level.

Thanks to the DC-DC converters, PSUs increase efficiency and reduce the heat generated. This information is best rechecked in the review.

3) I installeddon or taiwan capacitors. Low quality capacitors quickly lose their capacity and the power supply will increase pulsation, which adversely affects the hard drives, until the failure. I'm not talking about the failure of the power supply itself.

4) Ball bearing fan. In budget power supplies most often install coolers with a sleeve (sliding bearing). The cooler on the sliding bearing may start to produce an unpleasant extraneous noise in a few years and you will have to replace it. This item can be ignored if the budget assembly is going.

If your old PSU is designed on one of the quality platforms and has these features, do not rush to change it to a new one. If it is not under warranty, disassemble it and clean the dust, inspect the condensers for swelling, lubricate the cooler and continue to use.

List of models recommended for purchase​

Summary​

Unfortunately, I am not a professional in circuit engineering, I also need to learn a lot just like you. Ideally, you would need to buy these power supplies. Conduct a series of tests for ripple, current strength on the lines, measure the temperature of the components, check the noise of each model and much more. But I do not have the tools, extra time, money, and even the necessary skills and knowledge to conduct research of this magnitude. In writing this issue, I relied on my personal experience and reviews of other people. I would like to add more information and recommend other PSU models. But a lot of information is simply not in the public domain. I tried to offer the most balanced solutions between price / quality / necessity. On this I have everything, thank you all!

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