Choose a high-quality power supply through multiple approaches

The selection of power supplies is an old topic. For users who often pay attention to computer information, choosing a power supply is no longer a difficult task. For general computer users, even if they have consulted with experienced people or written down the hardware model on the Internet before going to the store, they will be at a loss after being fooled by the merchants when they actually arrive at the store, and the original plan will be ruined.

Some users are wondering, the structure of a power supply is just a piece of iron sheet wrapped with circuit components. If you don't take it apart, you don't know how it is made. How can you judge whether the power supply recommended by the merchant is good or not? This is what the author is going to talk about next, how to choose a power supply when consumers don't understand computer hardware and circuits.

For power supplies that consumers specify to buy, merchants have many excuses to discourage them, such as: out of stock, high return rate, bad reputation, high price, etc., so that consumers can accept the power supply recommended by the merchant. This practice is not limited to power supplies, it is also a common trick used by stores, and it can be said that it works every time! With the shrinking of the PC industry, hardware manufacturers are subject to the survival of the fittest, and there are only a handful of well-known manufacturers left on the market, and product homogeneity is more serious, especially for hardware products such as power supplies. The most mainstream solution at present is active PFC technology + dual-tube forward, whether it is a high-end product of thousands of watts or an entry-level product of 300 watts.

Mainstream active PFC technology + dual-tube forward

Below, I would like to give some suggestions to novices who go to the store to buy power supplies. If you are an experienced reader, you can ignore them. Buying a power supply without guidance is like a doctor treating a patient. The four key points of "looking", "smelling", "asking" and "feeling" are indispensable.

Beginner's Guide "Wang"

"Look" means to let consumers see, so what should they see? Of course, they should see the power supply. The nameplate of the power supply is very important. It is a symbol of the identity of the power supply and also marks many important parameters.

There are many parameters marked on the power supply nameplate, and several of them are very important: 1. The specific model of the product, 2. The rated power of the power supply, and 3. The +12V output capacity. For some users of integrated graphics platforms without independent graphics cards, the first two parameters are more important.

Some friends may ask, aren't some national certification safety signs important? They are important, but for counterfeit power supplies, these certification icons are printed on them casually, which is meaningless.

The nameplate of the knockoff power supply is extremely irregular and has no specific model

Standard parameter table, models, output parameters are all available

1. The specific model of the power supply product is an identification card/ID of the power supply. Currently, many power supplies on the market claim to have passed the US 80plus certification and have high conversion efficiency, but there are no parameters on the nameplate to indicate the specific model of the power supply. This also breaks the slogan of "passed 80plus certification" because 80plus certification requires detailed product models.

2. The power output table on the power supply explains in detail the maximum output capacity and rated power of the power supply. Counterfeit and inferior power supplies are often poorly printed, unclearly labeled, and not in compliance with the specifications. Consumers can compare several power supplies before deciding to buy. As for the rated power, if consumers buy a discrete graphics card, they should carefully consider the power consumption of the graphics card and the margin for future upgrades.

+12V Output

3. +12V output capability is mainly reflected in overclocking and independent graphics cards. If the user only has an integrated graphics platform, it can be basically ignored. If the user wants to overclock the CPU and use an independent graphics card, it is recommended to choose a power supply with a single-channel +12V output power or support 2-channel +12V output. If the user wants to crossfire with two graphics cards, a 2-channel or 3-channel +12V output power supply is required. Of course, the premise is that the number of 6+2pin interfaces on the power supply must be sufficient.

Beginner's Guide "Ask"

When you get a power supply recommended by a merchant, in addition to carefully checking the nameplate, you should also ask about the brand, origin, and after-sales service of the power supply. Consumers who pay a little attention to computer information will know a thing or two about power supply brands. If the merchant recommends a common brand, there is no problem. If you are not sure, you should understand the origin of the brand's supply and the after-sales service of the product. After all, power supplies are now highly homogenized, and basically all brands on the market use the same solution. The specific difference is still in the price of materials.

If conditions permit, consumers can consult with friends who are familiar with computers on site by phone, or search for product information online.

A Beginner's Guide to "Smell" and "Cut"

"Smell" and "feel" mean that in addition to looking and asking, doctors also need to listen to the patient's voice and feel the pulse in person, which means that consumers need to try out the power supply products in person. The power supply supplies power to the hardware through the wire, and the length and quality of the wire will affect the future use of the power supply.

Please listen carefully to the video. At 15 seconds , the power supply starts to make a sharp noise (PS: The clicking noise in the background is the factory testing the power supply).

Finally, after purchasing a power supply and installing it, consumers must test it on the computer. Currently, there is no professional power supply testing software on the Internet. If users want to know whether the power supply is stable, they should mainly check the stability of the power supply when the computer is fully loaded. The main software that makes the computer fully loaded are: AIDA64, Prime95, etc. for CPU full load, furmark for graphics card full load, and ORTHOS for full system full load.

Try to bake the machine for as long as possible, and bake it for 20 minutes to check the stability of the power supply. During the baking process, the user can put his ear close to the power supply to listen to whether the power supply makes any noise or squeaking sound when it is running, which may become the source of the power supply failure in the future.

After the above points are in place, users can avoid buying inferior power supplies and protect consumer rights.