PFC
The type of power factor correction (PFC) provided in the power supply.
The power consumed by the PSU is divided into
active and reactive; the first goes to perform useful work, the second does not produce such work and is dissipated in the form of heat. The power factor is the ratio of active power to the total power consumed; the closer it is to one, the more efficient the PSU.
PFC correction is applied to improve the power factor. It can be done passively or actively. The first option provides the presence of a coil (choke), which partly compensates for the operation of the reactive components of the PSU; such a correction is simple and inexpensive to implement, but not very effective. The active method, in turn, provides the presence of a specialized controller. It is more expensive, but the power factor in such PSUs can reach 0.95 or more; in addition, the device is more resistant to voltage drops.
In general, for use in a home or small office, passive correction is more than enough; active PSUs should be specifically looked for mainly in cases where we are talking about numerous computers connected to a powerful UPS.
Efficiency
Efficiency, in this case — the ratio of the power of the power supply (see "Power") to its power consumption. The higher the efficiency, the more efficient the power supply, the less energy it consumes from the network at the same output power, and the cheaper it is to operate. Efficiency may differ depending on the load; the characteristics can indicate both the minimum efficiency and its value at an average load (50%).
It should be noted that compliance with one or another level of 80PLUS efficiency directly depends on this indicator (for more details, see "Certificate").
SATA
The number of SATA power connectors provided in the PSU.
Nowadays, SATA is the standard interface for connecting internal hard drives, and it is also found in other types of drives (SSD, SSHD, etc.). Such an interface consists of a data connector connected to the motherboard, and a power connector connected to the PSU. Accordingly, in this paragraph we are talking about the number of SATA power plugs provided in the PSU. This number corresponds to the number of SATA drives that can be simultaneously powered from this model.
MOLEX
The number of Molex (IDE) connectors provided in the design of the power supply.
Initially, such a connector was intended to power peripherals for the IDE interface, primarily hard drives. And although the IDE itself is completely obsolete today and is not used in new components, however, the Molex power connector continues to be installed in power supplies, and almost without fail. Almost any modern PSU has at least
1 – 2 of these connectors, and in high-end models this number can be
7 or more. This situation is due to the fact that Molex IDE is a fairly universal standard, and with the help of the simplest adapters, components with a different power interface can be powered from it. For example, there are Molex - SATA adapters for drives, Molex - 6 pin for video cards, etc.
PCI-E 6pin
The number of 6-pin (6pin) PCI-E power connectors provided in the power supply.
Such connectors are used for additional power supply of those types of internal peripherals for which 75 W is no longer enough, supplied directly through the PCI-E socket on the motherboard (video cards are a typical example). The 6-pin connector on the power supply additionally provides another 75 W — thus, when using this connector, it becomes possible to connect boards with a power consumption of up to 150 W.
Note that some video cards have several connectors for additional power at once. Thus, the PSU can provide both
one PCI-E 6pin plug, and
two such connectors. However, in general, this type of plug is used quite rarely — this is due to the spread of a more convenient and versatile 8pin connector in the “6 + 2” format, which can be used both as six- and eight-pin (see below for more details).
PCI-E 8pin (6+2)
The number of PCI-E 8pin (6+2) power connectors provided in the PSU design.
Additional PCI-E power connectors (all formats) are used to additionally power those types of internal peripherals for which 75 W is no longer enough, supplied directly through the PCI-E socket on the motherboard (video cards are a typical example). In PC components, there are two types of such connectors — 6pin, providing up to 75 W of additional power, and 8pin, giving up to 150 W. And the 8pin (6 + 2) plugs used in power supplies are universal: they can work with both 6-pin and 8-pin connectors on the expansion board. Therefore, this type of plug is the most popular in modern PSUs.
As for the quantity, on the market you can find models
for 1 PCI-E 8pin (6 + 2) connector,
for 2 such connectors,
for 4 connectors, and in some cases —
for 6 or more. Several of these plugs can be useful, for example, when connecting several video cards — or for a powerful high-performance video adapter equipped with several PCI-E additional power connectors.
Manufacturer's warranty
Manufacturer's warranty provided for this model.
In fact, this is the minimum service life promised by the manufacturer, subject to the rules of operation. There are both models with a small
warranty up to 3 years, and more advanced power supplies, in which the warranty can reach
7,
10 years and even
12 years. In general
, a 5-year warranty(for example) does not mean that the device will fail after the specified time. Most often, the actual service life of the device is much longer than the guaranteed one.
Specific warranty periods may vary even for similar drives from the same manufacturer. So not
