The task of the computer power supply is to turn 220 volts alternating current at three o'clok different voltages permanent. The incoming mains voltage constantly fluctuates slightly, and the load on the video card, CPU and other components often “jump” very strongly. In this case, the power supply is required to constantly and accurately maintain the desired voltage.
The power supply is one of the key components that affect the security of the system as a whole.: if there is any defect, the currents passing through it can damage the components connected to it and even cause a fire. In general, there are plenty of arguments for a serious approach to choosing a high-quality PSU.
A good PSU should operate as efficiently as possible (i.e. with low heat loss). It is also undesirable that its fans are very noisy. BUT electrical elements and must be completely silent at low load (the noise of the chokes should not be heard).
Power
Depending on the components, computers can consume power from a few watts to several kilowatts. The power supply must be designed to handle the maximum load, and it is desirable to have reserves - only in this case it will work efficiently and quietly.
The optimal PSU power can be calculated by the sum of TDP(thermal package) of the processor and video card, multiplied by 1.5. Yes, for processor Core i5-8600 (TDP 65 Watts) and graphics cards AMD Radeon RX 560 (TDP 75 watts) will fit a PSU with a power of at least 450 watts. A 450-watt unit would be loaded by about 50%, a 750-watt unit by 30%. For an accurate calculation, use the power supply wattage calculator: bequiet.com/en/psucalculator.
| PSU power | 400 watts | 550 watts | 800+ Watts | |
| CPU | middle class | high class | high class | high class |
| video card | middle class | high class | ||
| Second video card | - | - | - | high class |
| SATA connectors | >8 |
Power supply for office PC
If you are building a simple PC for office tasks, then it is not at all necessary to buy a powerful power supply. Enough and 300 watts. But you still need to have a stock. After all, you can work not only in Word, but also edit graphics and even build 3D models. For these purposes, a 500 W PSU is perfect, you won’t feel much savings when buying a device with a lower return (if you take high-quality ones).
Depending on the components used in them and the cooling system, their price varies from 2,000 to 7,000 rubles. In order for your PC to serve for a long time, we recommend not to save much and opt for a power supply from famous brand, for example, Thermaltake TR2 S 500W, costing about 3,200 rubles.
He has very quiet cooler, a high-quality elastic braid of wires and gives out 75 W on the 5 V line and 420 W on the +12 V line.
Efficiency
So, good block The power supply provides the maximum possible power consumption to all PC components. In order to be able to evaluate the efficiency of the power supply even before purchase, manufacturers certify them according to the 80 Plus energy saving standard with additional levels Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and the very rare Titan.
Each power supply generates heat, which in rare models with passive system cooling is only diverted by the radiator, which requires precise planning and constant optimum conditions environment. For users who are extremely sensitive to noise, we recommend a power supply with a hybrid cooling system, such as Corsair RM550x, costing about 8,000 rubles.
Corsair RM550x notable in that its fan only turns on when the load exceeds 40% or the temperature rises. This provides stable continuous work under any circumstances. For other users, we recommend conventional power supplies with active system cooling, for example be quiet Straight Power 10. Its fan runs almost silently under light load. Noise only appears when full power is required.
Expensive capacitors last longer
First step to high quality- This is a choice of well-known manufacturers: be quiet!, Cooler Master, Corsair, Enermax, Thermaltake Xilence and others. As for equipment, when choosing a power supply, you should pay attention to the presence of all the necessary plugs - available models they often do without a power connector for SATA devices, and some may even comply with the outdated standard.
Also check the exact number of 12V plugs (6-pin or 8-pin) for your graphics card. BUT modern technology modular connection Cable management allows you to connect to the PSU only the right cables and not mess up the body.
Expensive Capacitors top models BP withstand high temperatures(for example, not 85 °, but 105 ° C), so they last longer. Manufacturers can anticipate this fact quite accurately. Long-lasting power supplies can be searched among models with a five-year warranty. For example, CoolerMaster G650M, with a power of 650 watts and a cost of about 5,600 rubles.
A photo: manufacturing companies
The power supply is the most important component of any personal computer, on which the reliability and stability of your assembly depends. Quite on the market big choice products from various manufacturers. Each of them has two or three lines and more, which also include a dozen models, which seriously confuses buyers. Many do not pay due attention to this issue, which is why they often overpay for excess capacity and unnecessary "bells and whistles". In this article, we will figure out which power supply is best for your PC?
The power supply unit (hereinafter referred to as the PSU) is a device that converts a high voltage of 220 V from an outlet into values that are digestible for a computer and is equipped with necessary set connectors for connecting accessories. It seems to be nothing complicated, but having opened the catalog, the buyer is faced with a huge number various models with a bunch of often incomprehensible characteristics. Before talking about the choice of specific models, we will analyze what characteristics are key and what you should pay attention to in the first place.
Main parameters.
1. Form factor. In order for the power supply to simply fit into your case, you must decide on the form factors, based on from the parameters of the body itself system block . The form factor determines the dimensions of the PSU in width, height and depth. Most come in the ATX form factor, for standard . In small system blocks of the microATX standard, FlexATX, desktops and others, blocks are installed smaller sizes, such as SFX, Flex-ATX and TFX.
The required form factor is written in the characteristics of the case, and it is on it that you need to navigate when choosing a PSU.
2. Power. It depends on the power what components you can install in your computer, and in what quantity.
It's important to know!
The number on the power supply is the total power for all its voltage lines. Since the main consumers of electricity in a computer are the central processor and video card, the main supply line is 12 V, when there are also 3.3 V and 5 V to power some motherboard components that are in expansion slots, power drives and USB ports. The power consumption of any computer along the 3.3 and 5 V lines is insignificant, therefore, when choosing a power supply for power, you should always look at the characteristic " line power 12 V, which ideally should be as close as possible to the total power.
3. Connectors for connecting accessories, the number and set of which determines whether you can, for example, power a multiprocessor configuration, connect a couple or more video cards, install a dozen hard drives and so on.
Main connectors except ATX 24 pin, this is:
For processor power - this is 4 pin or 8 pin connectors(the latter can be collapsible and have a 4 + 4 pin entry).
To power the video card - 6 pin or 8 pin connectors (8 pin is most often collapsible and is designated 6 + 2 pin).
For connecting 15-pin SATA drives
Additional:
4pin type MOLEX for connecting obsolete HDD with IDE interface, similar disk drives and various optional accessories, such as reobass, fans and more.
4-pin Floppy - for connecting floppy drives. A rarity these days, so these connectors most often come in the form of adapters with MOLEX.
Extra options
Additional characteristics are not as critical as the main ones in the question: "Will this PSU work with my PC?", But they are also key when choosing, because. affect the efficiency of the unit, its noise level and ease of connection.
1. Certificate 80 PLUS determines the efficiency of the PSU, its efficiency (coefficient useful action). List of 80 PLUS certificates:
They can be divided into basic 80 PLUS, leftmost (white), and colored 80 PLUS, ranging from Bronze to top Titanium.
What is efficiency? Let's say we are dealing with a unit whose efficiency is 80% at maximum load. This means that on maximum power The PSU will draw 20% more power from the outlet, and all that power will be converted into heat.
Remember one simple rule: the higher the 80 PLUS certificate in the hierarchy, the higher the efficiency, which means it will consume less excess electricity, heat up less, and often make less noise.
In order to achieve the best performance in terms of efficiency and obtain a "color" 80 PLUS certificate, especially top level, manufacturers use their entire arsenal of technologies, the most efficient circuitry and semiconductor components with the lowest possible losses. Therefore, the 80 PLUS badge on the case also speaks of high reliability, durability of the power supply, as well as a serious approach to creating the product as a whole.
2. Type of cooling system. Low level heat dissipation of power supplies with high efficiency, allows you to apply silent systems cooling. These are passive (where there is no fan at all) or semi-passive systems, in which the fan does not rotate at low powers, and starts working when the PSU becomes "hot" in the load.
When choosing a PSU, you should pay attention to for the length of cables, main ATX24 pin and CPU power cable when installed in a chassis with a bottom-mounted power supply.
For optimal routing of power cables behind the rear wall, they should be at least 60-65 cm long, depending on the dimensions of the case. Be sure to take this into account so that you do not mess with extension cords later.
You need to pay attention to the number of MOLEX only if you are looking for a replacement for your old and antediluvian system unit with IDE drives and drives, and even in a solid amount, because even the simplest power supplies have at least a couple of old MOLEX, and in more expensive models there are dozens of them.
I hope this little guide to the DNS company catalog will help you with such a difficult issue on initial stage your knowledge of power supplies. Enjoy the shopping!
Overwhelming majority modern users who collect their own computers, pay attention exclusively to the processor, video card and motherboard. Only after that, a little love and warmth goes to the RAM, case, cooling system, but it is customary to buy a power supply for change. Of course, I'm not saying that everyone does exactly that, but in most YouTube assemblies, articles from the Internet, or advice from close friends, this is exactly the chain that sounds.
Why is the power supply last looked at? It's simple - it does not affect the performance of the computer. Gamers are absolutely always looking to get more FPS in their favorite games by putting their entire budget into the three main components, and buying the rest with the rest of the money. Designers and video workers invest resources in RAM, processor with large quantity nuclei. No one is interested in the BP, it only “starts the computer”.
However, it is the "engine" of your PC. If you choose the wrong power, then most of the money invested in the purchase will either be idle, or you will buy a 500W unit, and then put a more powerful video card and there will not be enough power. Arises unstable work systems, crashes, component overheating, blue screens of death. All this we will learn to avoid today. And, I must say right away, we will talk about the power of the power supply. Not about which brand is cooler, not about highlights-coloring-design, not about cooling, there will be no disputes " modular system or not". We're talking about power and the steps you need to take to acquire perfect option.
Power from specs vs real power
It is worthwhile to immediately understand that the Watts indicated in the characteristics always differ from the real indicators. Absolutely always. The only question is how much. For example, if it is written on the power supply, then this does not at all guarantee real 500 watts of output power. This is just a rounded value imposed by marketers. The same with other powers - 700 W, 1300 W. It's all beautiful numbers attracting attention.Usually, more or less decent blocks write the efficiency. Mid-range models and above will have 80 Plus certification (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum). This means that the efficiency of this model is above 80%. The higher the level of the certificate, the higher the percentage of efficiency. For example, a model with Bronze will have 82-85% efficiency of the declared figure, and a variant with Gold - 90%. Below I have given a plate that shows the percentage of efficiency under varying degrees of load. For those models that cannot boast of a certificate, the efficiency is usually 75% or less.
So it turns out that you buy a 600 W PSU without a certificate, but you get 450 W of real power. It is worth considering this point when buying a computer "engine", because very often they do not pay attention to this detail and are surprised at the constant shutdown of the PC under load. To date, most PSUs are certified 80 Plus Bronze, such models can be considered a reasonable minimum. Blocks without a certificate remain dark horses- who knows how much real power there will be.
Golden Rule
The next thing you need to know is the load level of your power supply. Often, due to budget problems, gamers take the power of the piece of iron tightly. We assembled a system for 430 W of power consumption and take a 550 W model with a bronze certificate. The element of the system works, allows you to start the computer and play games, but constantly works at the limit of its capabilities. Naturally, due to the maximum load, all elements of the power supply overheat, the fan runs on maximum speeds and wildly noisy internal components wear out much faster.
So that your "engine" does not die in a year and a half, you need to follow one rule - take rated power one and a half (maybe even two) times more than the system requires. For example, you figured (I'll tell you exactly how to do this later) that your system needs 350 watts of power. We multiply by two, we get 700 W - this is the model we are looking for. Even if you take away 20% of the efficiency that is lost, your system will load the PSU by 50-60% in high load mode. This allows the filling of the block to wear out longer, not overheat, the fan will not spin like crazy, and there will be much less noise. Using this rule, you will spend a little more money, but the system will work for three to five years instead of a year.
Count Watts
Now that we have studied the theory and learned the necessary rules, let's calculate required power for your computer. If you have assembled a PC in an online store and the purchase is hanging in the basket, or you have written down the components on a piece of paper, we will use the frequencies of the processor / video card from the characteristics. For those who have the system already assembled, you only need to replace the battery, you can use real frequencies.- Cooler Master Calculator
- MSI Calculator
- Calculator be quiet!
The first service will be a calculator from . There are a lot of switches, a lot of additional checkboxes and parameters. Experienced user even allow you to select the frequency of the processor and video card, if you already know these parameters or can guess them.
Entered the data, click on the bottom right button "Calculate" and two numbers will appear in the same place. The first - the power consumption of this system (Load Wattage) is written in black type, and that's what we need. You can't watch the second one. For example, my system has a power consumption of 327 watts.
Next, we go to MSI calculator. There are fewer options, there are no sliders for the frequency at all. We select the processor model, video card, select the number of fans, and so on. The value will be shown immediately on the right upper corner(hard to miss). In my case - 292 watts.
The last one is a calculator from be quiet!. Click on the orange button "Calculate" and look at the power consumption. In this program - 329 watts.
Based on these calculations, the MSI calculator in my case forgot to add something. Take for the average power consumption of 328 watts.
Putting knowledge into practice
So, we have 328 W consumed by the system. Multiply by one and a half (remember Golden Rule!) and get 492 watts. But we remember that power supplies do not deliver 100% power, but only 80%, in the case of Bronze. So simple mathematical calculations, we get the required power "on paper" at 615 watts. This figure can be rounded up to 600 W and take any model from bronze and above, you can take it with a little more margin - 650 or 700 W so that our "engine" is loaded by 50-60%.You just have to calculate the power consumption of your PC, do the same mathematical calculations. The remaining parameters - cable modularity, lighting, brand, noise level, smartphone applications and so on, are selected separately, depending on the budget and desires.
Instruction
If you follow the hardware market, you can see the rise in productivity of modern internals. For each past year, at least 2 new items are released. The frequency of these new products, as a rule, increases from 1.5 to 2 times. Accordingly, the blocks food forced to increase their power. Block today food at 500W it is no longer considered powerful. Blocks appeared food at 1500W. Arguing logically, one can find out the power computer devices. The appearance of 2, 3, 4-core increased power consumption from 90W to 160W. New ones also have power costs. It is on this factor that you should pay attention.
To calculate the suitable power of the future block food, you need all the components of your computer and add up their power consumption. Take into account the quantity, whether it will be double or will suit you normal version. Latest Versions motherboards also consume more power than older models.
by the most the best option is the power calculation block food via online-. There are an infinite number of such services in the network now. The peculiarity of these calculators is that when choosing a specific model of a device, the program considers the actual volume of this device, and not the one that was declared on the label. For example, at one time in stores you could stumble upon a block food with a power of 440W, and its real power was 390W. The fact is that the number 440 was included in the name of the product model. This has confused many buyers.
Sources:
- selection of power supply
- All about PC power supplies
The choice of power supply is usually required in two cases. The first is when buying a new one, if you prefer to choose components yourself, and not buy already ready computers. The second - during the modernization or in the event of a breakdown of components.
Instruction
Don't rush to choose block food and do not buy the first option offered to you by consultants in the store. This is especially true in cases where the consultant simply advises you to purchase this or that unit. food without even specifying the configuration of your computer.
Determine optimal power block food. To do this, you need to find out the total power required for work. installed components, then round it up to big side. As a result, you will get the optimal PSU power. If you buy a block food with less power than necessary, the computer may malfunction.
In the event that you have no desire to do such calculations, think about what you are planning on the computer. If you need it to watch movies and pictures, work with documents, etc., then it will be enough for you block food about 400 watts. If you work with programs designed to create and edit 3d objects, or use a computer for games, then you should choose a more powerful PSU - from 500 W and above.
Pay attention to the number of loops food hard drives. If you plan to use not one, but several hard drives, then there should be enough cables to provide power to each of them. By the way, it is worth paying attention to the length of the cables, especially if your PC case is not compact.
Rate the cooling system block food, in particular, the diameter of the fan. The larger it is, the greater the cooling airflow will be and the lower the noise level will be. In addition, some block models food equipped with special circuits that control the temperature of the PSU and change the fan speed in accordance with it. Thus, with sufficient cooling, the noise level will be relatively low.
One of critical components computer. It provides power to all other components and the stability of the entire computer depends on it. Therefore, it is very important to choose the right power supply for your computer. In this article we will talk about how to choose a power supply for a computer.
The power of the power supply.
The first thing you need to decide is how much power you need. depends on the components that are installed on the computer. The easiest way to find out the required power supply capacity is to use a special calculator. The most popular calculators are:
Using these calculators is very easy. All you need to do is fill out a form in which you need to select the components that are installed on your computer from the drop-down lists. The calculator will then show maximum amount peak power of all components you choose. You can already focus on this figure when choosing a power supply.
But, you should not pick up a power supply, the power of which is enough back to back. It should be borne in mind that the actual power of the power supply may be lower than what the manufacturer claims. In addition, keep in mind that the configuration may change over time. Therefore, it is better to take a power supply with a small margin. For example, you can add 25% to the power that the power calculator will show.
Power supply cooling system.
Another important point when choosing a power supply, this is a cooling system. Pay attention to the number of fans and their diameter. Most modern power supplies are equipped with just one fan with a diameter of 120, 135 or 140 millimeters. It must be borne in mind that the larger the fan, the more. Therefore, it is best to choose a model with the largest possible fan.
Also on sale there are models with one or two fans 80 mm in size. As a rule, these are very cheap models. These power supplies are very loud noise, so you should not buy such models.
Another option for a cooling system is passively cooled power supplies. Such power supplies do not make any noise at all, since they are not equipped with fans. But, in the case of buying such a power supply, you need to take care of additional cooling for the system block.
Cables and connectors.
Also, when choosing a power supply, you need to pay attention to the cables and connectors with which it is equipped. Power supplies are available with fixed or pluggable cables.
In the first case, the cables are rigidly fixed in the power supply. In this case, all unused cables will hang aimlessly inside the system unit, blocking the air flow and worsening its cooling. If the power supply allows you to connect and disconnect cables, then the user can connect only those cables that he really needs. This approach reduces the number of cables inside the system unit and improves its cooling. Therefore, when choosing a power supply, it is best to choose a model with plug-in cables.
Power supply price.
Price is also an important point when choosing a power supply for a computer. Do not save too much on the power supply by buying the most cheap model, which is suitable for power. As a rule, such models produce much less power than their manufacturer claims.
It is best to choose a power supply from well-known manufacturer which has long established itself in the market. Now such manufacturers are FSP, Enermax, Hipro, HEC, Seasonic, Delta, Silverstone, PC Power & Cooling, Antec, Zalman, Chiftec, Gigabyte, Corsair, Thermaltake, OCZ, Cooler Master.
