The power supply is the source of energy for the entire desktop computer. As stated in the famous article 'Ma Shuo', 'insufficient food leads to insufficient strength'. The power supply serves as the energy supply for the entire desktop computer, and the power size is the first consideration. Based on the power level of your platform, choose the corresponding rated power supply to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

The selection of desktop power requires a simple estimation of the power consumption of your platform.

Normally, we usually choose a power supply with a platform power greater than the value. The general main method is to perform calculations on the platform's CPU and graphics card. Because these two parts are the main power consumers. By checking the power consumption of your CPU or graphics card toaster through the network, it is generally greater than rounding (for example, if it is 180 watts, it is considered 200 watts, and if it is 240 watts, it is 250 watts). After solving these two problems, the power consumption of the motherboard, memory, hard disk, and fan heat is generally not too high, and reserving an additional 50 watts is not a problem for a normal platform.

Desktop computer power supply

When choosing the power supply, it can also be slightly inflated, usually by 50 watts. However, it is also important to consider that some users may be involved in overclocking and other behaviors. Under normal circumstances, CPU+GPU+100 watts ≈ the total consumption of the platform.

After selecting the corresponding size of power supply, we can further understand which power supply is good, which is to pursue quality.

There is also a very simple way here, which is the familiar 80PLUS certification. Simply put, this certification means that as long as the entire machine and server manufacturer use a full load, 50% load, 20% load conversion efficiency above 80%, and a power supply with a PF value greater than 0.9 under rated load conditions, this certification can be obtained. Of course, this certification is hierarchical.

The higher the 80PLUS rating, the smaller the heat generation of the power supply, the quieter it is, and at the same time, it is more energy-efficient and energy-saving. For users who frequently use computers, perhaps the electricity bills saved in a year are enough to buy another power supply, so the better the quality of the power supply, the more cost-effective it is in daily use.

Of course, there are also some common misconceptions about the power conversion rate. It is necessary to explain. Firstly, the conversion efficiency (i.e. the percentage on the graph) refers to the ratio of output power to input power consumed. For example, when a 300W power supply has a conversion rate of 80%, the actual power consumption is "300 ÷ 0.8=375W" when it provides 300W output power to the computer, which means that 75W is wasted as heat. So it's not 'power x conversion rate=actual output power'. Many people believe that a standard 300W power supply with an 80% conversion rate is only 240W. In fact, the actual output depends on the number of power labels provided by the manufacturer, provided that there are no false labels.

Measuring the excellence of a power supply at the same time is not entirely based on conversion rate and PF value, but also refers to other performance factors such as ripple, stability, and material selection. So 80PLUS cannot represent the comprehensive performance of the power supply. It can only indicate that the high conversion rate can maximize energy and electricity conservation.

At the same time, we also need to pay attention to the single and dual 12V scheme. I don't know if you have noticed when choosing a power supply. The single 12V scheme is often used on a good power supply, without the need to worry about the power distribution issues of hardware such as CPUs and graphics cards, and the utilization rate is also high.

Dual 12V will appear on low-cost low-end power supplies, often with 12V1 supplying power to the graphics card and 12V2 supplying power to the CPU, with separate outputs. You need to calculate for yourself, and if one circuit exceeds the current limit, it will power off for protection, which is very troublesome; The power consumption imbalance between CPU and graphics card can cause waste, but the advantage is that it is cheap.

So for those with sufficient budgets, it is definitely the first choice to choose a single power supply, after all, it is worry free and easy to use. Basically, without the blessing of faith, manufacturers still get what they pay for. As long as they are not greedy for small gains, users can easily choose a preferred power source to protect their platform.