How to choose a power supply

Importance of power supply in a computer

When building their gaming computer, many people know that the power supply plays an important role, but still do not pay enough attention to its choice, buying a power supply "in return" after choosing a high-performance processor and graphics card. Most people think that if the power supply does not give an increase in performance, then you can be quite negligent in its choice. Not rarely this misconception can lead to malfunctions in the gaming computer, unstable system operation or even to unfortunate consequences in the form of failure of both the power supply unit itself and the components of your personal computer.

Choosing the right power supply for the average user is quite a difficult task, because often manufacturers of power supplies give a rather vague idea of their products, misleading users with beautiful packaging with large numbers that have nothing to do with the real characteristics of their product. Moreover, the average user, reading all the characteristics of the power supply on the manufacturer's website, may not fully understand what the company that made the power supply offers him.

In this article we will advise you how to properly handle all that huge information and how to choose the optimal power supply for your computer.

Purpose of power supply units

Power supply

A modern power supply unit assumes several important functions in your system unit. Its central task is to supply power to the components of your PC. To achieve this, the power supply converts the alternating current in your mains supply into direct current. Due to the fact that in the household network voltage is not stable, and when the current consumption in the load increases, the voltage in the network decreases, the power supply has the role of stabilizing voltages. Also, as we all know, the outlets in our house supply 220-230v, but to power components in a personal computer the maximum necessary indicator is 12v. The power supply unit takes on this function, lowering the voltage from the standard 220v to the necessary values for computer equipment.

Protection of computer components

In addition to performing its main task of supplying the necessary power to the components of your computer, the power supply also carries the function of protecting your pc from external influences. As in the electrical network can be observed both high and low voltage, it creates a threat to components and can damage computer components or lead to instability of the system as a whole. Modern power supplies are equipped with both electromagnetic interference filters and short circuit protection. The main difference between a good power supply and a bad one is that a good power supply will fail itself in case of serious problems with the power grid, but will not let other components fail. Alas, with cheap power supply units, the same situation often ends in a pitiful way.

How to choose a power supply for your computer

In order to choose the right power supply, we need to know a few basic things that the manufacturer will tell us directly in the specifications of the power supply.

Certificates

The first thing that will greet you when you choose a power supply is the certification system. It comes in several 80 plus grades and color from white to titanium.

Certificate		load			EFFICIENCY
		20%	50%	100%
80 PLUS		80%	80%	80%	0.8 at 100% load
80 PLUS Bronze		81%	85%	81%	0.9 at 50% load
80 PLUS Silver		85%	89%	85%
80 PLUS Gold		88%	92%	88%
80 PLUS Platinum		90%	94%	91%	0.94 at 50% load
80 PLUS Titanium		94%	96%	91%	0.95 at 50% load

Power supplies with a certificate with the number 80 have an efficiency factor of 80. That is, of the power that the power supply takes from the outlet, it is able to output only 80% to your computer, the remaining 20% goes into the heating of components in the power supply itself. The highest efficiency values of power supplies are reached at a load of about half their power, so to maintain good temperature conditions, it is necessary to choose a power supply with power reserve. Overheating leads to failure of cheap components, so it is important to avoid it.

On the certificate of the power supply directly affects the platform on which the power supply is built and the quality of the elements in the power supply. For example, the highest level of certification will be given to a power supply built primarily on Japanese capacitors such as Nippon Chemicon, Rubycon, Matsushita or Nichicon. When you choose a power supply with 80-plus gold certification or higher, you can rest assured that it uses some of the best components.

APFC

Manufacturers usually indicate the presence of APFC on their website. It is an integral part of actual power supplies. The reason for this is several factors.

Power supplies draw power from the mains in short pulses with high frequency, these pulses create interference in the mains and also increase the load on the wiring in your home. The APFC choke shifts the current consumption over time, reducing the pulses to reduce the load on your wiring and the interference caused by the power supply. In addition, the APFC greatly reduces the sensitivity of the power supply to line voltage drops. If when choosing a power supply you are faced with the fact that it does not have APFC, it is better to avoid it, because it is found today in all good power supplies, and its absence indicates an outdated platform on which the block is built and its low quality.

Power

The fundamental criterion when choosing a power supply is its power. The main consumers of electricity in gaming computers are the processor and video card. These components consume power through the 12v line, so when choosing a power supply, you should look not at the total power, but at how many watts it is able to supply through the 12v line.

To select the power supply unit of the necessary power you can use this table, where the necessary power depending on the installed video card or use the configurator on our site, where the power supply units of optimal power for your gaming systems are selected.

Conclusions:

When choosing a power supply, you should not save money, but there is no sense in over-treating for excessive power either. You should choose a power supply that has passed the 80-plus certification, has APFC and delivers all the declared power to the 12v power line. It is necessary to choose a power supply with a small margin to reduce the heating of its components and increase its lifetime. Power supplies with 80-plus gold, platinum and titanium certification are a great choice as they use the best and most reliable components.

For our part, we have tried to make the task of power supply selection as easy as possible for you. In our configurator we offer power supplies with a small power reserve to maintain optimal temperatures, to create a good acoustic environment when working at the computer and to increase the life of the power supply, so, choosing any of the power supplies presented on the site, you will get a quality product.