A Detailed Look Into PSUs

crmaris · Apr 2, 2011, 08:11 PM

To read this article go to: http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/...ocking/psu/160

InnocentCriminal · Apr 11, 2011, 02:16 PM

Thank you!

Ra97oR · Apr 11, 2011, 02:42 PM

Seriously a great read and very informative.

v12dock · Apr 11, 2011, 02:45 PM

awesome article I look forward to reading it

Andrea87 · Apr 11, 2011, 03:12 PM

Great reading. Thanks.

PHaS3 · Apr 11, 2011, 03:29 PM

Awesome article... Very in depth and informative... Thank you

theJesus · Apr 11, 2011, 05:42 PM

Very informative article. Now I know some more things to look for in choosing the "perfect" power-supply (whenever I actually have enough money to buy more stuff to need a new PSU for lol)

BTW, I noticed some errors/typos on page 4:
-The APFC subheading has different opening/closing tags ([subheading][/heading]
-Second to last paragraph mentions PWM as "pulse mode modulation" but I think it's supposed to be "pulse width modulation"
-Last paragraph has one instance of "MOFETs" instead of "MOSFETs"

crmaris · Apr 11, 2011, 07:09 PM

Thanks for pointing them. All fixed

Mussels · Apr 12, 2011, 03:54 AM

great, this was badly needed

Roph · Apr 12, 2011, 04:01 AM

Just finished reading, that was an excellent job

Mussels · Apr 12, 2011, 04:04 AM

i'm still reading it, most of it goes over my head.

that said, its still an excellent reference source when i want to look up one part of a PSU. already found some interesting information in there

for example

Quote:

High efficiency power supplies use a relay that bypasses the thermistor after the PSU starts up, in order for the thermistor to cool down and operate normally in a hot switch restart (off/on) of the PSU. Also by bypassing the thermistor efficiency is improved a little bit since no energy is wasted by heating the resistor.

i've ran into some weird PSU's that only powered on from cold boots, but ran stable when they did. from your information i can assume that something was up with that thermistor bypass relay.

crmaris · Apr 12, 2011, 10:53 AM

if you hear a clicking sound when the PSU starts then it's this relay. Almost all hi-end PSUs like Seasonic X series, Antec HCP etc. have one.

Mussels · Apr 12, 2011, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crmaris

if you hear a clicking sound when the PSU starts then it's this relay. Almost all hi-end PSUs like Seasonic X series, Antec HCP etc. have one.

honestly never heard that before, but i havent listened for it either.

countcristo · Apr 12, 2011, 03:06 PM

I feel more informed about modern power supply units than I did when my professor taught it. Thank you.

Frick · May 24, 2011, 09:24 PM

Thank you. Thank you again thank you. Super article, just what I needed. I understood this better than my swedish electronic books.

hhumas · Jun 30, 2011, 06:23 AM

thanks for it................

LukcyYu · May 6, 2013, 02:59 PM

Hello,

Really interesting article.

I have a question, what kind of PC PSU is the best for using with a car-audio amplifier @home? Well, I need ~70 amps in 12volts...

Thank you for your answers!

Mussels · May 7, 2013, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LukcyYu

Hello,

Really interesting article.

I have a question, what kind of PC PSU is the best for using with a car-audio amplifier @home? Well, I need ~70 amps in 12volts...

Thank you for your answers!

you just answered your own question. if you need 70A, buy one with 70A on the 12V rail.

newtekie1 · May 7, 2013, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LukcyYu

Hello,

Really interesting article.

I have a question, what kind of PC PSU is the best for using with a car-audio amplifier @home? Well, I need ~70 amps in 12volts...

Thank you for your answers!

I think a dedicated 12v supply would be a better option.

Mean Well probably makes something that will fit your needs.

Apr 2, 2011, 08:11 PM	#1
crmaris Reviewer Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Greece Posts: 313 (0.39/day) Thanks: 23 Thanked 301 Times in 117 Posts	A Detailed Look Into PSUs To read this article go to: http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/...ocking/psu/160 Last edited by crmaris; Sep 9, 2011 at 04:30 PM.

Apr 11, 2011, 02:16 PM	#2
InnocentCriminal Resident Grammar Amender Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: 'ereyfurd, UK Posts: 5,471 (1.82/day) Thanks: 198 Thanked 855 Times in 667 Posts System Specs	Thank you! __________________ *Post count isn't* an intelligence meter. During the rectification of the Vuldronaii the Traveler came as a large, moving Torb. Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the Meketrex supplicants they chose a new form for him—that of a giant Sloar! Many Shubs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Sloar that day, I can tell you. Musek*: "InnocentCriminal - a Chuck Norris of the TPU - knows what you are about to type and he WILL type it faster than you."*

System Name:	BeeR 6
Processor:	Intel Core i7 3770K
Motherboard:	ASUS Maximus Gene V
Cooling:	Corsair H100i
Memory:	8GB Samsung Green 1600MHz DDR3
Video Card:	2GB XFX HD6950 (PCIe)*
Hard Disk:	256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD
CRT/LCD Model:	20.1" Viewsonic VX2025WM/32" Vistron HDTV
Case:	Fractal Design Arc Mini
PSU:	Corsair HX750W
Software:	64bit Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
Benchmarks:	* flashed to 6970.

System Name:	ARiA
Processor:	Intel Core i7-2600K CPU @ 4.50GHz
Motherboard:	ASUS P8P67 Pro
Cooling:	Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme
Memory:	16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz CL-9 DDR3 (4x4GB)
Video Card:	NVIDIA GTX470
Hard Disk:	2 x Samsung F3 1TB RAID 0, Samsung F4 2TB
CRT/LCD Model:	BenQ FP92W
Case:	Fractal Design Define R3
Sound Card:	ASUS Xonar Essence ST to ATH-AD1000PRM/STAX SR-404LE
PSU:	Antec Signature 650W
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Benchmarks:	CPU Max Stable OC (ATM, just got this): 4.7Ghz Prime95 stable

System Name:	Compute 0 / Compute 1
Processor:	i7 720 QM / i5 750 @ 4.2GHz
Motherboard:	Toshiba knows / Gigabyte P55A-UD4P
Cooling:	Shitty laptop cooling / Noctua NH-D14
Memory:	DDR3 1066Mhz x 6GB / DDR2 1600Mhz x 4GB
Video Card:	Geforce 360M / Geforce 470
Hard Disk:	60GB SSD + 320GB HDD / 80GB SSD + 1TB HDD
Optical Drive:	Fancy BluRay Drive / DVD drive
CRT/LCD Model:	17.3" 1080P / 23" Acer 1080P
Case:	This cool looking laptop one
PSU:	Powerbrick / TX750
Software:	Windows 7 64-Bit

Apr 11, 2011, 02:42 PM	#3
Ra97oR Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 304 (0.20/day) Thanks: 7 Thanked 60 Times in 55 Posts System Specs	Seriously a great read and very informative.

Apr 11, 2011, 02:45 PM	#4
v12dock Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central Illinois Posts: 1,285 (0.80/day) Thanks: 280 Thanked 240 Times in 160 Posts System Specs	awesome article I look forward to reading it

Apr 11, 2011, 03:12 PM	#5
Andrea87 Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 22 (0.02/day) Thanks: 1 Thanked 22 Times in 10 Posts System Specs	Great reading. Thanks.

System Name:	Bloodrage
Processor:	Amd Phenom II 965BE @ 4.214GHz / 1.525V
Motherboard:	Asus M4A78 PRO
Cooling:	Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Memory:	4Gb OCZ DDR2 1066
Video Card:	MSI N460GTX @ 900/1800/2150 - 1.075V
Hard Disk:	WD Caviar black 500gb as boot, 4x Caviar Green 1,5TB raid 5 as storage
Optical Drive:	LG DVD±RW 22x
CRT/LCD Model:	Asus VH242H
Case:	Cooler Master Centurion V
Sound Card:	Creative Sound Blaster X-FI extreme music
PSU:	Enermax Modu82+ 525w
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate, Ubuntu 10.10

Apr 11, 2011, 03:29 PM	#6
PHaS3 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: South Africa Posts: 177 (0.15/day) Thanks: 656 Thanked 84 Times in 59 Posts System Specs	Awesome article... Very in depth and informative... Thank you

System Name:	H3AT
Processor:	AMD Phenom II x6 1100T @ 4.0GHz, 2.8GHz NB
Motherboard:	MSI 990FXA-GD65
Cooling:	Corsair H100
Memory:	8 GB (2x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600
Video Card:	MSI NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB
Hard Disk:	Many = 7TB
Optical Drive:	Pioneer Blu Ray ROM / DVD Writer
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung P2770 27" LCD
Case:	Cooler Master HAF 922
Sound Card:	Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D PCIe
PSU:	Corsair HX620W
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Benchmarks:	@_@

Apr 11, 2011, 05:42 PM	#7
theJesus Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 3,116 (1.77/day) Thanks: 2,301 Thanked 865 Times in 612 Posts System Specs	Very informative article. Now I know some more things to look for in choosing the "perfect" power-supply (whenever I actually have enough money to buy more stuff to need a new PSU for lol) BTW, I noticed some errors/typos on page 4: -The APFC subheading has different opening/closing tags ([subheading][/heading] -Second to last paragraph mentions PWM as "pulse mode modulation" but I think it's supposed to be "pulse width modulation" -Last paragraph has one instance of "MOFETs" instead of "MOSFETs" __________________ HEAT “congratulations! you have successfully been inflicted with tpuitis! symptons include: prolonged computer usage, urge to make tpu your homepage, posting at rapid posts-per-day ratios (also known as post whoring), and the urge to waste lots of money on high end computer hardware that you dont need!” -panchoman “Modding to me is something best shared with others.... Kind of like a fine wine, but without the drunk driving arrest and hangovers.” -MKmods “i'm going to punch you in the face now Jesus..” -BumbleBee

System Name:	BEHEMOTH
Processor:	Intel Core i5 2500-K @ 4.6ghz
Motherboard:	ASUS P8Z68-V
Cooling:	Corsair Hydro H100
Memory:	2x4gb Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 9-9-9-24 1.5v
Video Card:	EVGA GTX 560 Ti SuperClocked 950/1900/2100 core/shader/mem
Hard Disk:	Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 2TB (OS/pro) \|\| 2x SAMSUNG EcoGreen F2 1.5TB RAID0 (storage)
Optical Drive:	Sony Optiarc AD-7240S-0B
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung SyncMaster 2343BWX @2048x1152
Case:	Antec P280
Sound Card:	HRT MusicStreamer II+
PSU:	SeaSonic X650 Gold
Software:	Win7 Ultimate x64

Apr 11, 2011, 07:09 PM	#8
crmaris Reviewer Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Greece Posts: 313 (0.39/day) Thanks: 23 Thanked 301 Times in 117 Posts	Thanks for pointing them. All fixed

Apr 12, 2011, 03:54 AM	#9
Mussels Doctor Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bendigo, Australia (NOT THE USA) Posts: 34,544 (10.98/day) Thanks: 3,699 Thanked 8,686 Times in 6,387 Posts System Specs	great, this was badly needed __________________ Edumacational thread about PC Audio My external HDD's.5x samsung 1TB + 2x Seagate 1.5TB = 8 TB external storage 32 Bit OS vs 64 bit OS information How to get hardware accelerated H264 playback (DXVA) Netbook Owners United!

System Name:	Real Men use Real Cores!
Processor:	Phenom II x6 1090T: 3600Mhz undervolted (NB+HT at 2.6)
Motherboard:	Gigabyte 890FXA-UD5
Cooling:	Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (Lapped + ducted)
Memory:	8GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 - 1600Mhz 7-7-7-20 1.65V
Video Card:	AMD Radeon 5870 1GB Crossfire
Hard Disk:	Intel 520 SSD (120GB), 500GB OS + 18TB of storage (mostly external)
Optical Drive:	Samsung Blu Ray drive (SH-B083A)
CRT/LCD Model:	23.6" Samsung 1080P / Samsung 40" HDTV - 1360x768P
Case:	Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced (non window)
Sound Card:	Auzentech X-Mystique (Logitech Z5500D + sennheiser HD555 + RE2's)
PSU:	Corsair HX 1000W
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate x64 - kaspersky internet security 2011
Benchmarks:	Laptop: AMD A6 APU 1.4GHz @2.2GHz quad core + APU crossfire. 8GB DDR3, 750GB HDD

Apr 12, 2011, 04:01 AM	#10
Roph Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 252 (0.15/day) Thanks: 383 Thanked 65 Times in 37 Posts System Specs	Just finished reading, that was an excellent job __________________

System Name:	No name, built for quietness / efficiency
Processor:	Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200, @ 3.1Ghz
Motherboard:	Asus P5QL SE
Cooling:	Arctic Cooling Alpine 7
Memory:	4GB OCZ Gold XTC DDR2 800Mhz
Video Card:	XFX Radeon HD 7770 1GB
Hard Disk:	Samsung Spinpoint F1 640GB, Spinpoint F3 1TB, Spinpoint F4 2TB, Hitachi Touro USB3.0 2TB
Optical Drive:	Samsung DVD+/-RW
CRT/LCD Model:	Digimate 23" 1920x1080 LCD
Case:	Cooler Master Elite 330 Black
Sound Card:	Realtek Built in HD Audio
PSU:	Coolermaster eXtremePower 460W
Software:	XP Pro SP3

Apr 12, 2011, 10:53 AM	#12
crmaris Reviewer Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Greece Posts: 313 (0.39/day) Thanks: 23 Thanked 301 Times in 117 Posts	if you hear a clicking sound when the PSU starts then it's this relay. Almost all hi-end PSUs like Seasonic X series, Antec HCP etc. have one.

Apr 12, 2011, 03:06 PM	#14
countcristo Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: East Coast, USA Posts: 3 (0.00/day) Thanks: 5 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post System Specs	this was awesome I feel more informed about modern power supply units than I did when my professor taught it. Thank you.

System Name:	Panda
Processor:	Core 2 Quad Q9550 @3.06
Motherboard:	Gigabyte ep45-ud3p
Cooling:	stock
Memory:	4GB Twin Corsair XMS6400-C5
Video Card:	Radeon 4870 512MB 785 core, 925 mem
Hard Disk:	4 Caviar Blacks, used to be RAID 0
Optical Drive:	LG H22N
CRT/LCD Model:	Benq G2400WD
Case:	Antec P182
Sound Card:	Asus Xonar DX PCI-E
PSU:	Corsair 750TX
Software:	Win 7 64-bit Pro

May 24, 2011, 09:24 PM	#15
Frick Fishfaced Nincompoop Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sweden Posts: 7,866 (2.98/day) Thanks: 1,073 Thanked 1,442 Times in 1,148 Posts System Specs	Thank you. Thank you again thank you. Super article, just what I needed. I understood this better than my swedish electronic books. __________________ Typemachine: Acer Aspire One D250 \| Atom N280 1.6 Ghz \| 1GB DDR2 \| 160GB SATA \| 10.1' 1024 x 600 \| Lubuntu 12.10 Oldbox: HP D530 \| Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz \| 1GB DDR \| 40GB \| Windows XP "The 'gentle biker' look is overdone. I'm going for 'psycho hillbilly.' "

System Name:	Ongoing scavanging
Processor:	Sempron 140
Motherboard:	MSI 760GM-P23 (FX)
Cooling:	Somesuch
Memory:	2GB DDR3
Video Card:	HD 2400 Pro
Hard Disk:	160GB + 1TB
Optical Drive:	Yes
CRT/LCD Model:	19" 1280 x 1024

Jun 30, 2011, 06:23 AM	#16
hhumas Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Islamabad Posts: 529 (0.76/day) Thanks: 170 Thanked 22 Times in 13 Posts System Specs	thanks for it................

System Name:	Hhumas-PC
Processor:	Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme CPU X9650 @ 3.00GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Motherboard:	Asus P5W DH Deluxe
Cooling:	ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet
Memory:	OCZ Platinium 2x2GB
Video Card:	ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Hard Disk:	WD Green 500 GB , WD 500 GB
Optical Drive:	None
CRT/LCD Model:	Dell U2410F
Case:	Casecom
Sound Card:	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro
PSU:	Corsair HX1000
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit

May 6, 2013, 02:59 PM	#17
LukcyYu Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 1 (0.08/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	how2 hook a car-amp @home? Hello, Really interesting article. I have a question, what kind of PC PSU is the best for using with a car-audio amplifier @home? Well, I need ~70 amps in 12volts... Thank you for your answers!

Processor:	Intel Core i7 875K@4.0GHz(200x20)
Motherboard:	eVGA P55 FTW 200
Cooling:	Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme w/ Corsair SP120 High Performance Edition
Memory:	8GB Corsair DDR3-1600 7-7-7-20
Video Card:	ASUS GTX 670 4GB DirectCU II @ 1015/3600
Hard Disk:	1TB Seagate 7200.12(OS), 3x 1.5TB Seagate 7200.11 in RAID 5
Optical Drive:	Lite-On Blu-Ray Combo Drive IHES108
CRT/LCD Model:	HP 25" 2509m 1080p LCD
Case:	Lian-Li Lancool Metal Boned K7 w/ Windowed Side Panel
Sound Card:	Onboard is good enough for me
PSU:	Corsair HX850
Software:	Windows 7 x64 Professional

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Health issues forcing me to look into a new system	DTV DRAGON	System Builder's Advice	19	Sep 13, 2010 03:09 PM
Prolimatech MegaShadow Detailed	btarunr	News	9	Aug 24, 2009 08:14 PM
Codemasters F1 PC 2009 gets detailed !	wolf2009	Games	3	Mar 21, 2009 08:18 PM
Mario Kart Wii 'Detailed'	zekrahminator	News	7	Feb 8, 2008 12:58 AM