[Hardware] How much does our computer really consume?

[UltimaTexCS]

Is my font powerful enough to move my system? This question is constantly asked in the Hardware and Hardware Budgets forums of the ADSL Zone, but before answering this question it would be convenient to analyze the importance of the power supply in our system.

The power supply is the heart of our system. It is responsible for supplying the required power to the different components that make it up in a stable way, without voltage peaks or parasitic noise in the current it supplies and with the voltages within parameters of 5% of the nominal value set by the ATX standard. , What are they:

Why is it important that the voltages stay between these two values? Because if the value is too low, the component does not receive enough power so it cannot function and random system hangs will be generated, generally when the component is stressed; If the value is too high, what we do is fry the component with an excess of voltage which will cause it to burn. To find out the voltages of your source, you can look at it in the Bios of the motherboard that always usually incorporates a section that indicates these measurements. Programs such as HardwareMonitor or Everest are not 100% reliable for these issues since they depend a lot on the type of sensor that the motherboard incorporates, and if this is an ITE IT87, you can forget that their readings are correct.

However, it is probably the least valued element when building a system. Most users simply put the first thing they catch on him and that makes the system move with some ease, without really understanding the consequences of their actions, consequences that are usually quite expensive the day Paco arrives with the sales.

Why not buy generic power supplies?

http://hardzone.es/app/uploads/2010/10/078-800x600-300x225.jpg

Because plain and simple, it's the worst thing you can do. As a general rule, generic sources are usually manufactured with old technology and very low quality components that are unable to supply the power they advertise, so it is quite common to see ultra powerful sources in this segment (in theory) boosting systems that do not they actually consume a lot.

Installing a generic font can lead to the following problems:

-Since most of them do not have active PFC, there is an increase in the consumption of the system.

-The energy efficiency of this type of source is usually very low, between 60 and 70%, which also translates into an increase in consumption.

-Given the low energy efficiency they suffer from, these sources tend to be very prone to getting quite hot, which produces more noise due to having to run the fan at a higher speed. They can even go to the extreme of literally melting.

-These sources do not usually carry any type of protection against overvoltages, so if you have one of these in your power line, rest assured that some of the components of the computer will take over.

-The rectifier bridge of these sources is usually quite bad, which makes the voltages, instead of being stable, do not stop jumping, which shortens the life of the mosfets of the components.

-The poor quality of the components and, especially of the high-voltage transformer, makes the voltage lines (also called "rails" or "channels") full of parasitic noises that generate an increase in temperature in the components.

-If these parasitic noises go beyond certain limits, they can cause random hangs of the system.

Therefore, do not let yourself be blinded by a zillion watt sources that cost cheap because such bargains do not exist in computer hardware. If you prefer to pay € 20 for your source and risk that when it breaks down, your motherboard, processor, RAM or graphics card will be carried away and you have to pay € 100 or more extra to replace one of these components, that is my opinion that it is not the best choice.

What to look for when buying a power supply?

There are several parameters that we must look at when choosing a power supply.

-The advertised power. The power must always be in line with the system we want to feed. It is useless to put a 1000 W source in a system that will only consume 300 W at full load.

-The amperage that each rail is capable of supporting. Each source usually incorporates a sticker on one side where the amperage that each rail supplies is described.