In this article, we will help you choose a power supply for your computer to properly dispose of the means and not overpay for "unnecessary watts".
Many people when buying a computer at all pay little attention to choosing a power supply. They believe that anyone is installed in the body purchased.
And in vain. The power supply is one of the most important components of your working, home or gaming computer.
Because of the cheap (poor, poor-quality) power supply, the cost of a couple of dozen dollars can "go to the forefans" equipment worth a few hundred, or even thousands of dollars.
So on the power supply of the computer should not save. This is a well-known fact confirmed by regular outlets of expensive components.
So why is it worth starting when choosing a power supply?
First thing
It is necessary to roughly calculate the power consumed by all components of the system.
That is, we find out which power of the BP we need.
You can do this with the help of the so-called "Power Supply Calculator" calculator.
You need to select the components of your computer in each section: processor type (CP), motherboard, RAM, video card, hard drive and optical drive, as well as specify the number of components installed. Then click the "Calculate" button.
The resulting number will be the necessary power for your system (and with a slight margin), respectively, we need to choose the power supply of the most closely as possible to our settlement value.
Power Supply Power Calculator
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Our calculator when counting takes into account a small power supply. Why it is necessary, you can get acquainted in the article.
Second step There will be a choice of the type of power supply.
Power supplies are different from the type of connecting lines: modular and standard.
To modular You can connect the cable as needed, depending on the need. Very practical property - allows you to get rid of unsupened beams of wires inside the system. Used mainly enthusiasts.
In standard BP All beams of wires are carried away. This is a cheaper and simple model.
Also distinguish power factor power factor correction type - Power Factor Correction (PFC): active and passive.
Passive PFC. It is implemented as a conventional choke smoothing the tension pulsation. But the effectiveness of such PFC is very low.
With a passive power correction system, the simplest power supplies are produced, which are installed in low-cost budget corps.
BUT active PFC. It is implemented as an additional fee and is another pulse power supply, and the voltage increases. In addition to the fact that the active PFC provides close to the perfect power factor, it is still, in contrast to passive, it improves the operation of the power supply - additionally stabilizes the input voltage, and the unit becomes noticeably less sensitive to reduced voltage, and also "swallows" short-term (shares Seconds) voltage failures.
With an active system, later models of high-quality power supplies of well-known manufacturers are produced: Seasonic, Chieftec, Highpower, FSP, ASUS, Coolermaster, Zalman.
Note: There were sometimes conflicts between BP with active PFC and some UPS (uninterruptible power sources).
In addition, you need to pay attention to the power supply cables connectors to be used to connect your components.
There is so-called standard ATX Power supplies. This standard is due to the presence of the necessary connectors for connecting all the equipment.
We recommend BP Standard not lower ATX 2.3 for all modern gamers systems (where the additional power of video cards is used), and not lower ATX 2.2 for office and multimedia systems. Connectors must be in sufficient quantity to connect your devices: video cards 6 + 6 PIN or 6 + 8 PIN, mat. payments 24 + 4 + 4, SATA devices etc.
Third point There will be an overview of the specification specified by the manufacturer on the power supply label.
Important! When buying, always pay attention to nominal Power BP, not peak (PEAK) (peak always more).
Rated power of BP - This is the power that the block can produce a long time, constantly.
Peak power - This is the power that the power supply can only be issued briefly.
The most popular parameter is currently the power of BP on the channels + 12V.
The more channels the better. It happens from one channel + 12V to several: + 12v1, + 12v2, ..., + 12v4, + 12v5, etc.
In modern systems, the main burden has to have to these channels: processor, video cards, coolers, hard drives, etc.
Therefore, when choosing between several BP, suitable for you. the decisive factor is the total power over the + 12V lines.
The more this total capacity, the better the components of the BP are implemented.
In other words, for example, if you chose three BP to say the total capacity of 500W, then among them you need to choose the one that has more total current (respectively and power) along the + 12V1 .. + 12V2 lines, etc.
Consider on the examples where the information you need on the sticker.
The first will be the power supply from Zalman..
Vanity is one line + 12V, only 18A and only 216 watts.
But there is an active PFC in it, which is an indisputable plus.
This block is quite enough for the average budget system.
The second will be BP FSP..
In it, we already see two lines + 12V (15a and 16a). Despite the fact that the label indicates the capacity of 500 watts, in the "denomination" it is 460 watts.
This is a high-quality, but inexpensive BP of the budget sector. It is quite capable of providing a light gamer system.
Unfortunately, there is no PFC information on the label, you can get it on the site FSP..
Well, and the third will be the BP also from Zalman..
In it 6 (!) Lines + 12V with a total power of 960 watts. The table shows the diagram of connecting devices on branches.
Such a power supply is suitable for the most demanding and "charged" gameimar overclocking system.
Another very important parameter for the power supply is the efficiency (efficiency).
Distinguish power supplies mainly by threshold value KPD, which is 80%. All power supplies that have an efficiency below 80% refer to simple-budget, which are used mainly in office systems.
And those BP whose efficiency is above 80% belong to productively-gamers. Such BP has an international certificate. 80plus.
In turn, the standard 80plus It has categories Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum:
The last feature
To pay attention to when choosing a power supply, there will be a cooler or a fan.
Everything is simple here: the more cooler, the smaller the noise from his work.
The current BP is completed with 120 mm fans and more. Moreover, in good, branded power blocks, the fan changes the number of revolutions depending on the download. This helps to reduce noise.
I would not recommend purchasing a BP with one 80 mm fan.
And now let's summarize the learned material.
To buy the best BP need:
- buy a high-quality BP of a trusted / verified manufacturer with "honest watts";
- Select BP with active PFC (APFC);
- Determine the BP with the maximum total current over the + 12V lines;
- ATX 2.3 standard (at the extreme case of ATX 2.2) with the maximum set of congesters for our devices, as well as where the main power is transferred to the branches + 12V;
- Mandatory with the efficiency of at least 80%, which has 80Plus certificate;
- The fan (cooler) must be at least 120 mm.
So, I think we gave you enough information to properly select the power supply.
The power supply is one of the most important details of modern PCespecially game.
But many pay very little time to his choice, believing that if the box climbs and the system starts, it means that it is all selected perfectly. Many manage to watch only two things when choosing it.
1.
Low price. (Not more 1000 rubles)
2.
Number of watts in bp. (Of course, the tissue on the sticker should be higher.) The Chinese love to throw such buns when the power in reality Bp Even closely does not stand at the figure they wrote.
To help not spend money, I will write about what you need to look in order not to make a mistake in the choice. After all, buying a cheap Chinese Bp Can lead to breakage of all components of a non-cheap computer.
http://i036.radikal.ru/1304/90/254cdb4e6c47.jpg
Paragraph 1.1
1.
Do not save on the power supply.
2.
Choose a manufacturer who has proven itself in the market and in this segment.
For example: Seasonic, Chieftec, Highpower, FSP, Coolermaster, Zalman
3.
Calculate power consumption of all computer components. (You can find components on the manufacturer's website, where all characteristics are usually indicated. Or simply entering the search engine.) However, there are many options, the main desire to find.
4.
After calculating, add a power supply to the amount received, so that for sure (suddenly the error of the ITD). 3 item in general can be left if there is an intention to buy immediately watt 800-900
++.
1. Modular type.
Modular blocks can add and remove the cables as desired. As far as it is convenient, I understood after buying such a BP: you can easily remove unused wires until they use. And you do not need to break your head where to fasten, to wind the wire data so as not to interfere. Although this type is characterized by an increased price.
2. Standard type.
Cheaper, all wires are soldered directly into the block and are not removed.
In principle, if the budget allows you to buy a modular option because of its convenience, although you can choose a standard option. To your taste. :-)
Paragraph 1.3.
There are also differences in the correction of factor-power - POWER-FACTOR CORRECTION (PFC): active, passive.
1. Passive PFC.
In passive PFC. An ordinary throttle is used that smoothes the voltage ripple. The effectiveness of such a variant is low, often used in the low price segment blocks.
2. Active PFC.
In active PFC. An additional fee is used, representing another pulse power source, and however, the rapid voltage. What helps to reach the ideal power coefficient, also helps in stabilization of voltage.
Used in delusional blocks.
Paragraph 1.4.
Standard ATX. The standard indicates the presence of the wires you need. Better to take no lower ATX 2.3. Since they are installed in them. Additional connectors for video cards 6 + 6 PIN - 6 + 8 PIN, motherboard 24+4+4
Paragraph 1.5
1.
You should always pay attention to the specified block data.
Extremely important! Pay for nominal power Bp, not peak.
Nominal is the power that is represented constantly. While peak is issued for a short time.
2.
Power Bp Channel should be + 12V..
What their more is better. There are also several channels: + 12v1, + 12v2, + 12v3, + 12v4, + 12v5.
Example:
1. Power supply from Zalman.
It has one line + 12V, total 18A and only 216-W.
Active PFC is used, and this is a big plus.
Here already 2 lines + 12V (15a and 16a). Although the manufacturer pointed to the sticker 500 watts, in the "par" only 460 Watt..
Quite a high-quality unit of the budget segment.
3. Another one Zalman.
Hi friends! When building a computer, the main power supply parameter is its power. Today I will give a few ways to calculate the power of the power supply for the computer, if you decide to collect it yourself.
Power Calculator Power BP
This is the easiest option, since you do not need to look for a specification for each part. There are both online calculators and specialized software. Personally, I do not recommend using this option, and that's why.
Each program or site is created by a programmer that enters these parameters manually. It can have erroneous data, and in the absence of information, take it from the ceiling, based on its experience and intuition. Also should not exclude the likelihood of a banal error.
In total, these factors lead to the fact that different calculators eventually demonstrate different consumption for computers with the same configuration. Do we need it? Of course not!
Option for lazy
The easiest way to choose the required power of the power supply is to remember simple rules:
- For an office PC with a weak video card, there is enough energy in 400 watts;
- A computer with a medium video card is required by 500 watts;
- Powerful video cards require the presence of a power supply from 600 watts.
Another hint - to be highlighted on the manufacturer's website, the video card specification: usually the manufacturer specifies the recommended power of BP.
We consider it yourself
The most reliable way, to calculate the desired output energy - to do it yourself with the help of a calculator (or in the mind, if the "converter" works well). The principle is simple: you just need to calculate the amount of power consumed by all components of the PC.
The task is greatly simplified if you are going to buy all components in the online store: in the description of each position, the characteristic of interest is commonly specified.
To make it more clear, I will give an example of calculating electricity on a specific configuration:
- Intel Core i5-7400 3.0GHz / 8GT / S / 6MB processor (BX80677I57400) - 65 W;
- Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2 motherboard - 20 W;
- RAM GOODRAM SODIMM DDR4-2133 4096MB PC4-17 000 (GR2133S464L15S / 4G) (2 pcs) - 2 × 15 W;
- Western Digital Blue 1TB 7200RPM 64MB Hard Drive WD10EZEX - 7 W;
- MSI PCI-EX GeForce GTX 1060 Aero ITX (GTX 1060 Aero ITX 3G OC) - 120 W.
Considering the amount, we get at the exit of 242 watts. That is, the supply unit with a capacity of 400 watts is enough for normal operation of such a system. The manufacturer in the characteristics of the video card indicates the same required power.
For a PC, which will be used for mining, as well as for the farm, the principle is the same: having thought out the configuration, the amount of energy consumed and based on this is to choose power supplies.
Why are blocks in the plural? A competently designed farm is made from several clusters, where 3-4 video cards are hung on one motherboard. Each such cluster requires separate BP.
If you are an advanced user and decided to assemble a farm for mining cryptocurrency, consider that this method has lost relevance a few more years ago. Special devices - miners, sharpened precisely under this task, show a higher hashrai, while buying is usually cheaper.
A few notes
This is not good way to calculate whether the power of the power supply is enough to actuate the system. What will happen if there is not enough power? In general, nothing terrible: computer or will not start at all, or will be cut down during peak loads.
When calculating, I recommend to take the BP "with a margin" - even if you collect a gaming device that can run current new products, it is unknown that it will be in a few years and do not want to perform an upgrade by setting a more powerful video card. In addition, the best efficiency power supplies are usually demonstrated at 50% load.
Also note that not all online stores indicate the power of devices in characteristics. Perhaps for some details will have to look for the parameters of interest on the manufacturer's website - they are exactly there.
When you hike in a regular store, it is not necessary to believe that you will get a competent consultant, who remembers all the necessary parameters, and will be able to unmistakably determine the required power.
Practice shows that one such specialist accounts for 10 abacks, with which it is better not to contact - they guarantee you will try to drive a device with redundant characteristics for which you have to overpay.
Power supply power. This parameter is individual for each computer. To calculate the power of the power supply unit, it is necessary to sum up the amount of electricity consumed by each computer component.
Of course, the usual user is quite difficult to independently fold all the values, especially on some simply not specified the power consumed by the manufacturers themselves or the values \u200b\u200bare obviously overestimated. If you do not want to spend time on learning all the characteristics of components, you can use the online power supply calculator calculator (links at the end of the article), even in these services, the values \u200b\u200bare not always truth, but you can get an approximate value, which is enough to determine the power Power supply.
After receiving the conditional power of the power supply, you need to add "spare watts" - it is about 10-20% of the total power. The stock is needed so that the power supply is not operated at maximum power.
If the power supply is insufficient, it will cause a number of problems: freezing, independent reboot, clicking the hard disk head, and turn off the computer.
For what you need to calculate the power of the power supply
If you collect a powerful system, then the standard power supply for 300, 400-watts supplied with the body is simply not enough. Of course, you can not torment yourself by counting and selecting the power supply, but immediately take 1500 watts, but who wants to overpay.
Conditional recommendations can be made, because to calculate the power of the power supply, it is necessary to sum up all components included in the computer. Here you only need to take into account that each slot consumes up to 75 W, as well as take into account possible ligaments of video cards in or. It should also be borne in mind that high-end class consume significantly more electricity than the LOW-END processors.
- for modern office and home computers, the power supply units with a capacity of 400-450 W, with a built-in video card or a discrete video card LOW-END class;
- for mid-level gaming computers (without SLI and CrossFire) - 550-650 watts.
- for Hi-End Gaming Computers with multiple video cards (SLI or CrossFire) - 700 W and above.
Power supply power
Power supply power Manufacturers are printed on a large font sticker. Power supply power is how much it can give the energy connected to it.
As it was written above, you can calculate power through an online power supply calculator calculator and add 10-20% "spare power" to it. However, in fact, everything is a bit more complicated, because the power supply gives a different voltage of 12V, 5V, -12V, 3.3V, that is, each voltage line uses only its power. But in the power supply itself, one transformer is installed, which generates all these voltages to power the computer components. There are, of course, power supplies with two transformers and most often use them for servers. But in ordinary computers, power supply units with one transformer are used and therefore the power of each voltage line may well "swim" - that is, increase, if the load is weak or decreased on the other lines, if other lines are overloaded. And on the power blocks, they are the maximum power for each line, and if they are summing up, the resulting power will be higher than the power of the power supply. That is, the manufacturer deliberately overstensify the rated power of the power supply, which it is not capable of providing. And all the voracious components of the computer (s) are powered by from +12 V, so you need to pay attention to the current values \u200b\u200bspecified for it. If the power supply is high quality, then this information will be shown on the side sticker in the form of a table or list.
The task of the power supply of the computer is to turn 220 volts of alternating current into three different voltages permanent. The incoming network voltage is constantly slightly fluctuating, and the load on the video card, the central processor and other components often very much "jumps." At the same time from the power supply, it is necessary to constantly and accurately maintain the desired voltage.
The power supply refers to key components that affect the security of the system as a whole: If there is any defect that the currents passing in it can damage the components connected to it and even become a cause of ignition. In general, the arguments for a serious approach to the choice of high-quality BP abuse.
Good BP should work as efficiently as possible (that is, with low heat loss). It is also undesirable that his fans are very noisy. And the electrical elements are completely obliged to be silent at low load (choke noise should be heard).
Power
Depending on the components, computers can consume power from several watts to several kilowatts. The power supply must be designed to cope with the maximum load, and it is desirable to have reserves - only in this case it will be effectively and work quiet.
The optimal power of BP can be calculated by the sum of TDP (thermocouple) processor and video card multiplied by 1.5. So, for the Core i5-8600 processor (TDP 65 watts) and the AMD Radeon RX 560 video card (TDP 75 watt), the power supply unit is not lower than 450 watts. The 450-watt block would be loaded by about 50%, 750-watt - by 30%. For accurate count, use the power supply calculator: Bequiet.com/ru/psucalculator.
| Power BP | 400 watt | 550 watt | 800+ watt | |
| CPU | middle class | high class | high class | high class |
| Video card | middle class | high class | ||
| Second video card | - | - | - | high class |
| SATA connectors | >8 |
Office PC Power Supply
If you collect a simple PC for office tasks, it is not necessary to buy a powerful power supply unit at all. Enough and 300 watts. But the stock still needs to be. After all, you can work not only in Word, but also edit graphics and even build 3D models. For these purposes, it is excellent with a capacity of 500 W, special savings when buying a device with a smaller return, you will not feel (if you take quality).
Depending on the components used in them and the cooling system, the price of them varies from 2,000 to 7,000 rubles. In order for your PC to serve for a long time, we recommend hard not to save and stop your choice on the power supply from a well-known brand, for example, thermaltake TR2 S 500W, worth about 3,200 rubles.
It has a very quiet cooler, high-quality elastic wire braid and gives 75 W through line 5 V and 420 W through the line +12 V.
Efficiency
So, a good power supply provides the highest possible power consumption all components of the PC. To estimate the efficiency of the power supply before purchase, manufacturers certify them according to the 80 Plus energy saving standard with additional levels of Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and very rare Titan.
Each power supply generates heat, which in rare models with a passive cooling system is allocated only by the radiator, which requires accurate planning and constant optimal environmental conditions. For users extremely sensitive to noise, we recommend a power supply with a hybrid cooling system, for example, Corsair RM550X., worth about 8,000 rubles.
Corsair RM550X. Notable in that its fan is turned on only when the load exceeds 40% or the temperature rises. This ensures stable continuous operation under any circumstances. We recommend the rest of the users with the usual BP with the active cooling system - for example, be Quiet Straight Power 10. Its fan with a small load running almost silently. Noise appears only when complete power is required.
Dear condensers are more durable
The first step to high quality is the choice of well-known manufacturers: be Quiet!, Cooler Master, Corsair, Enermax, Thermaltake Xilence And others. As for the equipment, when the power supply is selected, you should pay attention to the presence of all the necessary plugs - the available models are often idle without the power connector for SATA devices, and some can meet the outdated standard.
Also check the exact compliance with the number of 12-volt plugs (6- or 8-pin) for your video card. And modern modular connection technology Cable Management Allows you to connect to BP only the necessary cables and do not make a mess in the housing..
Dear capacitors of top models of BP are withstanding high temperatures (for example, not 85 °, and 105 ° C), which serve longer. Manufacturers may foresee this fact rather accurately. Durable power supplies can be searched among models with a guarantee of five years. For example, Cooler Master G650m., 650 watts and cost of about 5,600 rubles.
Photo: Manufacturers companies
