Comparison Aerocool Value VX-500 vs FSP PNR ATX-300PNR

The output power of the power supply, in other words, is the maximum power that it is capable of delivering to the system. For the computer to operate efficiently, the power supply must be greater than the total power consumption of the system at maximum load. The latter can be calculated by summing the power of individual components, however, in general, for office configurations , about 400 W — 450 W is considered sufficient, for medium gaming — about 600 W( 500 W, 550 W, 650 W, 700 W, 750 W), and for the top ones — power of 800 W and above ( 850 W, 1000 W and even more than 1 kW).

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, 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").

A standard for power supplies that supplements the ATX specifications regarding power supply along the 12 V line. Introduced into use since the time of the Intel Pentium 4 processor. In the first series of the standard, the +5 V line was mainly used; from version 2.0, the +12 V line was introduced to fully power the components computer. Also in the second generation, a 24-pin power connector appeared, used in most modern motherboards.

The number and type of connectors provided in the PSU to power the motherboard or processor.

This parameter is written as the sum of several numbers, for example, "24+4". The first number in such an entry means the number of contacts in the connector for powering the motherboard; in the vast majority of cases, this is just 24, since modern motherboards use a 24-pin connector as standard. The second number describes the socket for powering the processor; most entry-level and mid-range CPUs use 4-pin power, but powerful chips may require 8-pin power. There can be several 4- or 8-pin connectors — based on powerful high consumption processors.

A separate case is the blocks of the "24 (20 + 4)" format. They have two separate plugs — 20 pin and 4 pin, which allows you to power both 24-pin motherboards and older 20-pin motherboards from such power supplies. At the same time, such models do not provide a separate power supply for CPU — it is powered only through the socket, and the 4-pin plug cannot be connected to any other components except the motherboard.

Now on the market there are PSUs with such power supply for the motherboard: 24 pin (20+4), 24+4 pin, 24+8(4+4) pin, 24+8+8(4+4) pin.

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.

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.

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).

The maximum values of current and power that the PSU can provide on individual power lines.

The power line can be simply described as a pair of contacts for connecting a particular load; one of these contacts is “ground” (with zero voltage), and the second has a certain voltage with a plus or minus sign, this voltage corresponds to the voltage of the power line. In this paragraph, it is + 3.3V (such power is present in 20- and 24-pin connectors for motherboards, in SATA power connectors and some other types of connectors).

In general, power and currents are rather specific parameters that the average user rarely needs — mainly when connecting high-power components such as video cards, as well as when starting a PSU without a computer to power other electronics (for example, amateur radio stations). It is also worth mentioning that the sum of the maximum powers on all lines can be higher than the total output power of the PSU — this means that all lines cannot operate at full power at the same time. Accordingly, when the PSU is fully loaded, some of them will produce less power than the maximum possible.