 |
|
Power supply failure can damage components.
Get a great deal on a Cheap Computer Power Supply here.
The components of a computer system are particular about the type of electricity they use. They don't use regular household alternating current (AC). They use +3.3, +5, +12, -5 and -12 volts of regulated direct current (DC). Today's high-powered computer systems require extra power for high-end processors and video cards; hence the addition of extra 12-volt and 6-volt supplies.
A device called a Power Supply is used to convert the AC to DC.
Always unplug the system before servicing your Computer Power Supply
CAUTION! - It is never recommended to repair a power supply since it does not contain user-serviceable parts. Repairing power supplies can be dangerous and hazardous.Never open it to repair it because it stores electricity even when the computer is turned off and unplugged!
The microelectronic components in a computer perform best when they receive low voltage DC. Some of the components (such as the CPU) use 3.3 volts. Some of the Pentium 4 CPUs require additional power in the form of a 4-pin plug connected to the motherboard.
The floppy, optical drives and hard drives require 5 and 12 volts.
To satisfy these components, a converter or power supply is installed in every computer.
Power supplies have a wattage (W) or volt-amp (VA) rating which denotes the amount of power it can produce. An extremely old power supply provided little more than 60 watts but most present-day power supplies provide between 400 and 500 watts of power.
Computer Power Supply Form Factors:
Just like how a computer case and a motherboard belong to a particular form factor, power supplies also come in different form factors. There are approximately eight industry standard form factors for power supplies. They are:
PC/XT, AT(Desk Type), AT (Tower Type), Baby-AT, LPX, ATX, NLX and SFX.
Some types such as the PC/XT and the AT desktop types are rarely used or obsolete today. The ATX is now the standard for both desktops and towers even though there are exceptions - One being the Small Form Factor (SFF) made by Shuttle. Many different power outputs are available with the different power supplies.
Computer Power Supply Connectors:
Very old power supply connectors such as those obsolete PC/XT, AT (including Baby-AT) and LPX systems had two six-pin connectors (P8 and P9) that connected to the motherboard.
At present, power supplies are equipped with 20/24 pin connectors.
Whichever connector is used, the P8 and P9 or the 20/24 pin, there is one wire present in each that carries the power good signal.
This signal tells the motherboard that the current from the power supply is within the acceptable range thus preventing accidental damage to the system from erratic current.
Selecting a Computer Power Supply
You should select a power supply that is 500 watts or higher. I would recommend that it should be Intel or AMD certified.
You can
click here for a great deal on a Cheap Computer Power Supply.
Conclusion
Your Computer Power Supply should never be loaded to its full capacity.Computer Power Supply to Motherboard
Introducing the X2 550 Watt Power Supply
All New Redesigned 550 Watt Ultra X-Connect (X2). Click here to order this remarkable computer power supply.
Build Your Own Cheap Computer Tutorial.
Return from Computer Power Supply to Cheap Computer Home Page
