A computer power supply is a secondary power source that is necessary to supply computer components with DC energy by converting the mains voltage to the required values. The power of the power supply is one of its main components, thanks to which smooth and stable operation of the PC is guaranteed. If the power is not enough, you can expect problems to appear. For example, at peak values, the computer will simply shut down, as it does not have enough power to operate all system components.
How to find out the required capacity of the power supply?
In order to avoid such problems during PC operation, you must initially take care of buying a powerful PSU, which is more than enough for work. How to do it? Some people calculate the approximate power on their own, or you can use some service that will make the calculations for you.
Take, for example, a service from the well-known site casemods.ru (http://www.casemods.ru/services/raschet_bloka_pitania.html). In order to make calculations, you will need to enter some data:
- Processor core type
- CPU overclocking (optional)
- Number of processors
- Cooler power
- Number of optical and hard drives
- Motherboard power
- Number of memory slots
- Video card model
- Overclocking video card (optional)
After entering all these data, the system will show you the average and peak power, based on which you can see the approximate power of your future PSU.
You can use another service, of which there are plenty on the network, and they are mostly English-speaking. This does not play a special role, since the difference between the final data, if any, is very small.
By the way, when choosing a power supply, special attention should be paid to the manufacturer. Why? The fact is that, according to independent experts, a huge number of companies producing power supplies slightly increase the real power of power supplies by 10-20%. As a rule, this does not affect performance, but you should not forget about this fact. Lesser-known companies often increase real power by 30-50%, which, you know, can really lead to breakdowns. Moreover, power supplies from little-known companies are often famous for their mediocre quality, which in turn can lead to a quick failure of the power supply itself.
However, even a well-known manufacturer cannot always protect its buyer, and this is because PSUs from well-known manufacturers are very often faked. In order not to buy a fake, purchase components only in well-known and trusted stores.
As for manufacturers, it is recommended to give preference to such well-known companies as Zalman, Termaltake, CoolerMaster, PowerMan, Hiper. These are one of the market leaders that you should definitely trust, unless, of course, you come across a fake.
How to find out the power of the installed power supply?
No matter how strange it may sound, it is currently not possible to determine the power of the PSU using software methods. No program can do this. And this is in the 21st century...
But don't worry. You can still find out the power, only for this you will have to carry out a few simple steps. Remove the sidewall of the system unit, find the installed PSU in it and carefully inspect it - on one of its sides there will be a sticker, which, among other things, indicates the power of the PSU.
All? Not really. A little higher, I mentioned that manufacturers often overestimate the real power, so in fact it will most likely turn out to be somewhat less than what is written on the sticker. On the other hand, if you initially took a PSU with a power reserve, then this should not cause any problems.
