POWER SUPPLY

A Presentation by :

Mr. Rohit V. Kamalakar

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 INTRODUCTION
 If there is any one component that is absolutely vital to the
operation of a computer, it is the power supply.

 Without it, a computer is just an inert box full of plastic and metal.

 Power supplies should actually be called power converters because

the largest single function they perform is a conversion of power
from 120V or 240V to something that can be used by the computer
system.

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 The power supply converts the alternating current (AC) line from
your home to the direct current (DC) needed by the personal
computer.

 power supplies deliver the power to the PC hardware via a number

of cables with connectors.

 There are four terms that you should learn in order to deal with
power in computer systems. These four terms are volts, amps,
ohms, and watts

 Having a firm grasp on how they relate to each other, you will be
able to understand how power is measured and used within
computer systems.

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Voltage

 Unit is volts or milli volts.

 It is the electrical pressure, which is given to the circuit to allow the
current to flow through them.

Current

 Unit is ampere or milli ampere.

 It is the measure of electricity that flows through the wire.

Watt

 It is a product of voltage an current in a circuit.

P=V*I
 In this formula, P is power (Watts), V is voltage (Volts), and I is
current(Amps).

Ohm

An ohm is a measure of resistance or electrical impedance.

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 Classification Of Power Supplies
• Linear power Supply
• The linear power supplies dissipate more power during the conversion
process. As a result process is inefficient & requires large heat sink to
cool the system. Hence they’re not suitable for computers
• E.g. A Battery Adapter

• Switch Mode Power Supply

• The switch mode power supply uses a transistor switch and a closed
feedback loop to generate DC output from the SMPS is a regulated
voltage irrespective of the variations in the input voltage

• Following figure displays the block diag. of SMPS unit.

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 Primary
AC VOLTAGE Rectifier Primary Filter

Secondary Solid State

Secondary Filter Rectifier Transformer Switch

Sensing /
Voltage Sense Switching Circuit
DC VOLTAGE

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 The power supply in your PC provides all of the
different voltages your computer needs to
operate properly.

A PC power supply removed from its

Inside View of a PSU PC case. Cables and connectors at right
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supply DC voltages.
 An Inside View

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Front View Rare View
 Identifying the Purpose of Power
Supply Units
• A computer’s power supply is responsible for several tasks.
• The following list contains typical tasks and specifications related to power
supplies:

1. Conversion of voltage from the building-supplied AC voltage to various DC

voltages used by components inside the computer.

2. DC Voltage Regulation to provide a very small tolerance of error to the

devices receiving the power. Typically a +/–5% voltage differential is allowed
through the specification for 12VDC, 5VDC, and 3.3VDC connections.

3. Over Current Protection specifies that the power supply should handle some
level of abnormally high current to prevent fuses in the power supply from
blowing unnecessarily.

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 Identifying the Purpose of Power Supply Units

4. Input Under Voltage specifies that if the voltage being supplied by the
building drops below the normal operating level, it should not cause
damage to the power supply itself — it will, however, likely cause your
computer to turn off. For a 120V power supply, this low voltage level is
usually 100V, so at voltages below that level, the power supply will simply
turn off.

5. Energy Star is a specification that defines how much power the power
supply should provide to the computer components during reduced power
states, such as when the computer is put to sleep or on standby.

6. The PS_ON# feature allows the motherboard to control the power supply
though a soft power switch. Power supplies for ATX motherboards do not
use a physical switch like your light switch, which allows a circuit to be open
or closed; but rather your computer’s power button is connected to the
motherboard, and when you press the button, the mother-board
determines what action will be taken. The power supply allows the
motherboard to control the power state through the PS_ON# feature.
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 Systems devices and power usage estimates
• Device Power

1. AGP video card 30–75W

2. PCI video card 30–35W
3. AMD Athlon XP 1.5MHz–2.5GHz 66–77W
4. AMD Athlon 64 3.0GHz–3.4GHz 89W
5. Intel Pentium 4 2.2GHz–2.4GHz 80W–90W
6. Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz–3.0GHz 90W–105W
7. Intel Celeron Socket 478 45W–65W
8. ATX motherboard 40W–65W
9. PC133 RAM 12W
10. PC2100+ DDR RAM 10W
11. PC3200+ DDR2 RAM 7.5W
12. CD-ROM drive 20W
13. CD-RW drive 30W
14. DVD-ROM drive 25W
15. 5,400RPM IDE hard drive 15W
16. 7,200RPM IDE hard drive 25W
17. Floppy drive 5W
18. Network card or modem 5W
19. Sound card 7–18W
20. SCSI controller card 25W
21. FireWire or USB 2.0 controller card 40W
22. USB device 5W
23. FireWire device 8W
24. CPU or case fan 2W
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 Multiple Places for Efficiency Loss
fans
100% 70%
AC/DC DC Load noise

HVAC

100% 70%
AC/DC DC Load 1

120
VAC
80%
DC/DC DC Load 2

100% 20%
AC/DC Battery Charge

50%
80%
DC Load Battery Discharge

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 Power Connectors
• A computer uses many different types of power
connectors. They include the main power, floppy,
peripheral, 12 volt (+12V2DC), and SATA connectors.

The ATX main power connector

• On new power supplies, the ATX main power connector

is a 24-pin Molex 39-01-2240 connector, and, in many
cases, it is a 20+4-pin connector for back-ward
compatibility with older version 1.3 motherboards.

• This is a keyed connector, so you can’t connect it the

wrong way without a lot of effort.
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Figure : Power connectors that may be used on power supplies.

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 KEY POINTS
 The current specification of power supplies is ATX, and the
ATX power supply will be found in one form factor or
another on most current computers.
 The main power connector has 20 or 24 pins, four-pin
floppy and peripheral connectors supply 5 volts and 12
volts, and five-pin SATA connectors supply 3.3, 5, and 12
volts.
 Power supplies convert 120VAC or 240VAC power into DC
power for the computer.
 Power supplies come in a variety of power sizes, from 160
watts up to and beyond 800 watts.
 AC adapters are used on laptops to convert power from AC
to DC and usually automatically switch between 120V and
240V.
 Surge suppressors, line conditioners, and UPS deal with
various power-supply problems, including surges and
brownouts. 16
 Qs & As (Select All That Apply)
1 What are the main power voltages that are provided by standard computer
power supplies?

A 2.1V
B 3.5V
C 5V
D 12V

Ans: B, C, D

2 What is the name given to the main type of power supply used in modern
computers?

A AT
B NLX
C ATX
D WPA

Ans: C
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 Qs & As
3 What components influence the purchase decision of a power supply?
A Hard drive
B Monitor
C RAM
D Parallel port scanner

Ans: A, C. Both of these devices, as well as most other internal devices, affect the
total power required by a power supply. Monitors have their own internal
power supplies, and most parallel port scanners come with their own AC
adapters

4 What are the standard input voltages for power supplies?

A 110VDC
B 120VAC
C 240VDC
D 240VAC

Ans: B, D
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• Thanks to my Instructors, Prof. Gulabchand
and Prof. Surinder, for their support & timely
guidance
References:
Wikipedia
Formfactors.org
HowStuffWorks.com
PCMech.com

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