How we choose the Power Supply Unit (PSU)
Quick review of Power Supply technology
Some might view the power supply unit as the most boring component of
the lot. But with no power...! Anyway, the most important attribute
needed is stability. Which really means choosing a manufacturer with a
reputation for quality. For reliability two names quickly come to mind -
Sparkle Power and Fortron/Source. And now they are the same company -
FSP Group! There are certainly others with reliable quality too.
It's clearly important to have enough wattage and matching connectors for
what's currently installed, but its nice to have reserve power and
connectors for components you might add in the future. Like the
motherboard, we think the PSU where possible, should allow for upgrading
to the next level of technology without having to change the PSU. For
example, it is desirable for the PSU to have spare power and a PCI Express
connector if you plan on adding a power hungry video card when prices
drop in the future.
It's a common misconception that a PSU with more wattage means more
power consumed. A larger PSU just has more capacity and only supplies the
power needed, not more. At the same time under utilised power capacity
doesn't help performance in any way and PSUs with high wattage are
expensive. Money saved by selecting a wattage with sufficient head room
for expansion but no more, will be better spent on a more powerful CPU,
graphics or memory.
Cooling is a factor and a large 12cm exhaust fan included in the PSU moves a
lot of air quietly keeping the computer cooler.
Quick review of Power Supply technology
Some might view the power supply unit as the most boring component of
the lot. But with no power...! Anyway, the most important attribute
needed is stability. Which really means choosing a manufacturer with a
reputation for quality. For reliability two names quickly come to mind -
Sparkle Power and Fortron/Source. And now they are the same company -
FSP Group! There are certainly others with reliable quality too.
It's clearly important to have enough wattage and matching connectors for
what's currently installed, but its nice to have reserve power and
connectors for components you might add in the future. Like the
motherboard, we think the PSU where possible, should allow for upgrading
to the next level of technology without having to change the PSU. For
example, it is desirable for the PSU to have spare power and a PCI Express
connector if you plan on adding a power hungry video card when prices
drop in the future.
It's a common misconception that a PSU with more wattage means more
power consumed. A larger PSU just has more capacity and only supplies the
power needed, not more. At the same time under utilised power capacity
doesn't help performance in any way and PSUs with high wattage are
expensive. Money saved by selecting a wattage with sufficient head room
for expansion but no more, will be better spent on a more powerful CPU,
graphics or memory.
Cooling is a factor and a large 12cm exhaust fan included in the PSU moves a
lot of air quietly keeping the computer cooler.
CurrentBuild PC is a trademark & product of CurrentBuild Computer. Components are trademarks & products of their respective owners.
Sparkle Power Action 600,
600W power supply unit
600W power supply unit
Sparkle Power 450W
power supply unit
power supply unit
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