Switching power supply of computer

Before proceeding directly to the topic, we will study some general information! The person who had to deal with the maintenance of luminaires based on tubular fluorescent lamps, certainly drew attention to the considerable weight of the choke coil. But the electric power of the lamp itself can not exceed 80 W. Also, for example, lowering transformers used in portable lamps 220/12 Volt are suitable - they also weigh significantly: one hand can not be held for long, and the power is only 100 W.

If you now go to the nearest store of digital technology and ask for a computer power supply, it will seem incredible that at a claimed fantastic power of 300 watts or more, its weight rarely reaches even half a kilogram. How so?

A technical solution that changed the world

In fact, everything is natural, and there is no deception. With the development of microelectronic technologies, a need has arisen for a compact and inexpensive power source. Classical transformers, as mentioned above, although tested by time, but their mass and dimensions were difficult to compare with the prefix "micro". Almost like in the well-known issue of "Yeralash", when a small suitcase of batteries was given to a small wristwatch.

A solution was found. The computer power unit is a pulse device in which the voltage conversion is not by means of continuous pickups in the conductor, but by the generation of high-frequency short-term peaks. This allowed us to overcome all the limitations of classical transformers. However, now with the help of a simple soldering iron, it is not possible to restore the failed block - you need certain knowledge of electronics and the ability to work with microcircuits. And the pinout of the computer power supply unit is now of interest to fewer people than before. Again, because working with the device has become more difficult. But you need to know about how to test the power supply without a computer. If only because, without this information, it is quite difficult to determine their source when a computer system crashes. To do this, connect the GND and PS-ON (the lower row of the wide connector, the 4-pin on the side of the key, and the black ground wire).

Computer power supply and its meaning

All components of the computer system are powered by the power supply. It is his quality that largely determines whether the components will work steadily, or will have to constantly deal with various failures. For example, if the home network is not 220 volts, and 219, then no one will notice. However, in microelectronics, each volt is "on the account": a decrease from 12 V to 11 can lead to application hangs and errors. And for the central processor, where the step of variation is a hundredths of a volt, such a spread is generally unacceptable.

Conclusion: the computer power supply must be of high quality. Believe me, it's better to save on any component than to risk the "health" of the whole computer.

Choosing a power source is an individual matter. It is difficult to give any advice. But in general, when choosing, you can follow the following recommendations:

- a good power supply must be heavy (this indicates that the manufacturer did not economize on the elements and radiators);

- electric power "extra" does not happen;

- the fan operation must be controlled automatically, which allows you to get a quiet system;

- the manufacturer must be known.