The power supply is the heart of the PC. We say it many times, but it is reality because the performance of the rest of the components of our PC depends on it. Next, we are going to give you a series of arguments why it is worth investing in a better power supply , since this is synonymous with a better user experience on the PC.
Clean, stable, efficient and noise-free energy – is a better power supply worth it?
The main function of PC power supplies is to convert the alternating current (AC) that comes from electrical outlets into direct current (DC), which is what PCs use. The most basic power supplies have a single AC / DC converter for all the DC voltages used by the PC (+ 12V, + 5V, + 3.3V) at the same time, while good quality and more modern supplies, They convert AC current to + 12VDC and have small DC / DC converters to convert those + 12V to + 5V and + 3.3V.
Doing the latter is much more efficient and safe , since the voltage is not converted unless it is necessary to do so – remember that bad models convert everything – and, on the other hand, a DC / DC conversion is much more efficient than AC / DC , there are fewer losses, less heat is generated, and fewer components are required to do so.
Once the current has been converted to the voltages we need, it is when it passes through the filters – good quality sources also include input filters so that the current already reaches the converters quite clean – which are nothing but capacitors and inductors (coils) . These serve both to “clean” the current and to regulate its waves.
Thus, there are two critical values that determine whether a power supply is better or worse: voltage regulators and filters that reduce noise. Power supplies use a switching method to convert alternating current to direct current, with a rectifier turning on and off to produce direct current in the form of pulses, at a rate determined by the frequency at which the current enters. alternating (50 Hz for example, which is what we have in Spain). This is what is called “noise”, because they are waves that come and go following a beat.
First, the voltage passes through an inductor or “choke”, which makes the frequency of the wave more homogeneous while reducing the frequency of the noise . Then the capacitors come into play, which store the charge and are able to deliver it noiselessly as they discharge. The charge change in capacitors is much lower than the frequency that charges it, and this is precisely how electrical noise is filtered .
Of course, although the noise is filtered, the so-called ripple is created (small peaks and valleys in the DC voltage), and this is where the huge capacitors that we usually see in power supplies come into play (Japanese 105º in the best ), although bad sources what they do is put several small capacitors in series instead of one large one, something much less efficient. These capacitors serve to reduce the frequency again, making the changes between the peaks and the valleys smoother and, thus, the energy they deliver is more stable and with less ripple.
Here you can see what ripple looks like when measured with an oscilloscope on a power supply that doesn’t do a very good job of filtering. Besides ripple there is a lot of noise.
And then, a screenshot in which we can see how a power supply of the best on the market delivers energy.
The difference, of course, is obvious, right?
To finish with the technical explanation, we must explain yet another component: the voltage regulators . They are responsible for responding to load changes, because a PC does not always consume the same power. Let’s say that a source is working at + 12V with 2A of current intensity, which in this case would be equivalent to the load. We start a game and that load goes up to 10A or even more, and here Ohm’s law comes into play: the more the intensity (amps) is increased, the resistance is reduced, and the less resistance, the lower the voltage.
And how does this affect having a better PC experience?
Consider this: if the power supply does not do a good job of filtering and regulating voltage, the components are not receiving power as designed and therefore not working as they should.
Let’s use a processor as an example. Currently, the + 3.3V rail is intended for the processor , but with modern processors that value has been increasingly reduced, so voltage regulators are also necessary on the motherboards (although from Haswell this is integrated on the processor itself for greater efficiency).
Sure, converting a DC voltage to another DC is efficient, but logically the regulators of the boards are not like those of the power supplies, so the cleaner and “exact” that energy reaches them, the better they will do their job and the processor you get exactly what you need, reducing the heat generated by wasted power and reducing the amount of work the processor has to do . The same happens with graphics cards, hard drives and the rest of the PC components.
In short, the better the PSU does its job, the better all components will perform, heat up less, and have a longer lifespan, not to mention improved overclocking capabilities.
80 plus power supplies
The 80 plus label certifies the quality of a power supply and we have several categories from best to worst.
- 80 Plus Titanium assures us the best efficiency of all superior to 90%
- 80 Plus Platinum
- 80 Plus Gold
- 80 Plus Silver
- 80 Plus Bronze ensures an efficiency above 80%
Choosing a power supply is vital for our computer as it ensures that we avoid damage to our components.
