In the DIY host process, many DIYers will have difficulty selecting the power supply. Should they not add money to the high conversion efficiency of the power supply, or can they buy cheaper low conversion efficiency? Today we took out the draft paper A calculation, to discuss how to buy power in the end to save money.
Power supply related knowledge review
First of all, we need to review the relevant knowledge in this part. When selecting the power supply, we must keep a 20% margin, that is, the host full load power does not exceed 80% of the rated power of the power supply. This ensures that the power supply can be safely and stably protected for a long time. jobs.
Of course, high-end power does not need to consider this issue. Many high-quality power supplies can operate at higher than rated power for a period of time.
Next is the core part of today: Power conversion efficiency We know that when the PC power supply is at 50% load, the power conversion efficiency can reach its maximum value and gradually decrease toward both sides. Below 20% load, the power conversion efficiency becomes very low.
For example, suppose a host runs at 300W, and the power rating of this host is 600W. The conversion efficiency is achieved at 300W load. 90% maximum, Then the power of this host is 300W at the input of the mains.90%≈ 333W.
In other words, under a certain load condition, the higher the power conversion efficiency, the lower the actual power input of the utility power, Less electricity , Lower electricity bill.
When we choose a more power-efficient power supply, we can follow two standards: 1 The average power of the host is close to 50% of the rated power of the power supply. 2 Select a power supply with higher conversion efficiency.
Calculate and analyze how to choose different conversion efficiency, rated power supply
As of May 2018, the odor master personally believes that the most cost-effective game console configuration is as follows:
Intel's 8-generation Core i5-8400 with the new B, H series motherboard can be described as cost-effective, plus 'standard' GTX 1060 graphics, enough to challenge most of the game.
The GTX 1060 graphics card consumes about 120W at full load, while the Core i5-8400 is about 65W. Overclocking After the whole power consumption is also Less than 250W (Yes, the platform power consumption of NVIDIA graphics and Intel processors is so confident.)
Select 4 power supplies with different features
According to the selection criteria, a 450W power supply is the most suitable. I took several power supplies for example, which are:
Antec VP450P (white card), low cost and low conversion efficiency
Delta NX450 (Bronze) with 80PLUS Bronze Certification, Moderate Power Supply
Zhenhua Iceberg Kingdee 450W Battle Edition (Gold) with higher conversion rate but higher prices
Zhenhua LEADEX 1000W (white gold), high power, high conversion efficiency of high-end products
Compute and compare power data
Average daily 4 hours the Lord machine Full load game time calculation, assuming the host is full of power 225W, Guangzhou current electricity tariff 6 hair/kWh (degrees) (The data is not accurate. It only expresses the difference of each power supply.)
From the table we can visualize the power consumption of each power supply, as well as electricity and other data.
Analyze data and compare
First of all, we know that comparing 3, 4 sets of data, Power conversion efficiency is not directly linked to the degree of power saving.
Under a certain range of load, the gold power supply is more power-efficient than the platinum power supply, so we are choosing the power supply Can't blindly pursue For a high conversion efficiency power supply, the relationship between the rated power of the power supply and the power of the host must be taken into account.
Therefore, we have to compare the conversion efficiency of different power supplies under a certain load to obtain the most power-saving power supply model.
Comparing 1, 2, 3 sets of data learned when using Longer time , The higher the unit price of electricity , High conversion efficiency power supply saves more electricity.
Although the electricity bill for the rest of the year is not enough to eat a takeaway, Environmental protection , resource utilization From the point of view, we should still use high conversion efficiency power supply.
It's normal to use a power supply for more than 5 years under normal use conditions. We can see that More than 2 years After the Zhenhua Iceberg Kingdee 450W combat version is more economical than the Delta NX450. Moreover, due to high power conversion efficiency, waste heat is relatively reduced, the host cooling pressure is also reduced.
Compared with 2, 4 sets of data, it is known that the Platinum brand's Zhenhua LEADEX 1000W power supply is 22.5% load The conversion efficiency is still higher 50% load Delta's NX450 is more than 6%.
It can be seen that the power supply with a sufficiently high conversion efficiency basis can achieve higher conversion efficiency than a low-standard power supply even under low load conditions.
If you take one Platinum and a bronze medal The 600W power supply is compared under 50% load, the conversion efficiency difference is 92%-85%7%If it is used on a host that is working on 365 x 24 hours, the electricity fee will be about 235 yuan a year!
More thinking
First, let's take a look at the conversion efficiency standard for '80PLUS' certification at 115V:
Titanium gold standard more standard is to take into account High-rated power supplies must maintain high conversion efficiency when the host is low-power standby , In order to develop titanium gold power supply power conversion efficiency must be higher than 90% under 10% load.
For example, some of my buddies have installed one of the most cost-effective consoles I mentioned above. In order to meet higher quality and more new games, I decided to replace the accessories like: Core i7-8700K with GTX 1070Ti Even GTX 1080Ti , At this point a 450W power supply is not so suitable.
Therefore, we also need to consider the possibility of future upgrades when selecting the power supply. The conversion efficiency standard of the Platinum power supply under the 20% load is equivalent to the conversion efficiency of the Gold power supply under the 50% load. We can choose a white with high power rating. Gold power supply.
But remember to consider the warranty period of the power supply, after all, this choice is based on the convenience of future upgrades.
end
There is basically no silver standard power supply on the market. After a series of analysis above, we can clearly see that the '80PLUS' gold standard and the bronze standard are a Huge watershed.
When purchasing electricity with the goal of saving electricity, we must at least choose Gold standard power supply With the development of science and technology, there are many gold medals with suitable quality and clearance prices listed. We have more suitable options.
When we do not consider the host for a large-scale upgrade, we can choose The average power of the host is about 40-60% of the rated power of the power supply Gold power supply. If you consider that the host needs to be upgraded in the future, we can choose 600W-850W white gold power supply This is sufficient for Core i7 overclocking and multi-graphics platforms.
The higher the host power, the greater the power consumption, the higher the conversion efficiency power can play a greater role. In more than 600W power supply, we can buy a better platinum power supply to save more electricity.
On the contrary, if it is assembled Light office, home host We can put aside the conversion efficiency for a while. Few low power, high conversion rates , two is When the host power is low, the impact of conversion efficiency will be less pronounced.
At this point we follow Average host power close to 50% of rated power Select the power supply for the standard.
After reading this article, everyone can comment on the choice of power in the comment area.
