Computer power supplies installed inside your computer case are the energy source for your computer hardware. Of course without the power supply your computer is plain dead.
In this guide I will explain to what hardware the connectors are plugged or where on the motherboard and an easy way for identifying good and bad power supplies.
Does 300 Watt Power Supplies Give Enough Power Or Should You Go With 400 Watt Power Supplies Or Even Higher?
Did You Know?
You could save money just
by knowing how much power
your computer require.
Why would you pay more when
you do not need it.
This is the kind of question that comes up all the time. Peoples tend to not understand how computer power supplies work. To find out, you need to understand how the energy is distributed throughout the hardware.You could save money just
by knowing how much power
your computer require.
Why would you pay more when
you do not need it.
The hardware inside your computer case require a certain amount of power. It is ranging from 4W to around 80W for a single piece. If you have 200W as requirement then a 300 Watt power supply is enough.
What will happen if you have 300 Watt as requirement?
Computer Power Supplies are not built to work at full capacity. After a while the power supply will die caused by an overheating and in the process might damage the hardware.
I recommand to have at least 75W over your computer requirements. That way your power supply will live older and your hardware will always have enough power.
Power Supply Connectors, Where To Plug Them?
Main power connectors are plugged to the motherboard. The connector with 20 pins may be used on ATX motherboards and the connector with 4 pins is used for extra power for CPUs and graphic cards. Not all motherboards require the use of connector with 4 pins , if it's the case; do not bother, you do not need to use all connectors anyway.
The fan connector is used for plugging the back/front wall or side panel case fans. As fans do not require a lot of energy, the connector is small and very fragile, be careful when working with them.
The Serial ATA connector is used for hard disk drives. Having that connector on your power supply is a good thing as this technology speed up drives data transfer.
The peripheral connector with 4 pins is used for optic drives as hard drives. It was the only connector for mass storage devices before the SATA.
The small connector with 4 pins is used for floppy drives. Here too, I recommend caution when working with small connectors like this.
Fast And Easy Way To Identify The Best Power Supply Unit
A nice little tip you can use to figure out if a power supply is good or not, is to put the unit in your hand and to feel its weight. Light power supplies mean they have few components inside, and that is no good. Today's computers require more and more powers. If your power supply does not have the required components to meet today's computers, your computer parts may die faster.Heavier power supplies have more components than lighter one, so better suited for today's computers. Of course there is more than this to know about good power supplies, but without any knowledge this is the best tip I can give you.
[I hope you appreciated the power supply introduction
and I invite you to take a look at the other guides.]
and I invite you to take a look at the other guides.]