Power Supply

By Mohd Zuhaimi Zolkifli

Inside PC Power Supply

Connector

Introduction
A power supply unit (PSU) is the component that supplies power to the other components in a computer. Convert general-purpose alternating current (AC) electric power from the mains (220-240V) to usable low-voltage DC power for the internal components of the computer.

PC Power Supply
In a personal computer (PC), the power supply is the metal box usually found in a corner of the case. The power supply is visible from the back of many systems because it contains the powercord receptacle and the cooling fan. Power supplies, often referred to as "switching power supplies", use switcher technology to convert the AC input to lower DC voltages. The typical voltages supplied are: 3.3V, 5V and 12V. The 3.3V and 5V are typically used by digital circuits, while the 12V is used to run motors in disk drives and fans.

Types of Power Supply

The first generation of computers power supplies were linear devices, but as cost became a driving factor, and weight became important, switched mode supplies are almost universal. So that, two(2) types of PC Power Supply are:
Linear Power Supply Switching Power Supply

Overview
Linear Power Supply Switching Power Supply

Linear Power Supply

An AC powered linear power supply usually uses a transformer to convert the voltage from the wall outlet (mains) to a different, usually a lower voltage. A rectifier is used to produce DC. Capacitor is used to smooth the pulsating current from the rectifier. Some small periodic deviations from smooth direct current will remain, which is known as ripple. These pulsations occur at a frequency related to the AC power frequency.

Further information, please refer to E1002. You had learned it.

Switching Power Supply

Prior to 1980 or so, power supplies tended to be heavy and bulky. They used large, heavy transformers and huge capacitors (some as large as soda cans) to convert line voltage at 120 volts and 60 hertz into 5 volts and 12 volts DC.

How it work?
The AC input is rectified and filtered to give a steady DC voltage. This DC input to the voltage switching block is either blocked or allowed to pass through depending on the state of the switch. The resultant waveform which is a square wave is rectified and filtered (This waveform is sampled). If the current required at the load is high, then the switching control ensures that the voltage switch is on for longer periods.

 The sampling is done by a comparator and DC amplifier along with a DC reference. The output voltage is compared with a DC reference. If the output voltage reduces due to increase in load current, the comparator sends a positive signal to the pulse width modulator and increase the on time of the pulse.

Fault Testing

We need correct load resistor to test the power supply. Also need isolation and auto transformer.
Isolation transformer : for safety Auto transformer : provides adjustable AC output.

Power Supply Form Factors

Technically, the power supply of PCs described as a constant voltage switching power supply.
Constant Voltage: the power supply puts out the same voltage to the computers internal components, no matter what the voltage of AC current running it or the capacity of the power supply. Switching: the design and power regulation technique that most supplier use.

Power Supply Form Factors

ATAT-style vs. ATX-style ATX-

AT-Style vs. ATX-Style

There are two basic differences between AT and ATX power supplies:
The connectors The soft switch.

On older AT power supplies, the Power-on switch wire from the front of the computer is connected directly to the power supply. On newer ATX power supplies, the power switch on the front of the computer goes to the motherboard over a connector labeled something like; PS ON, Power SW, SW Power, etc

AT Power Connector

AT Power Connector
Two main power connectors (P8 and P9, also called P1 and P2), each with six pins that attach the power supply to the motherboard. These are rated at 5A per pin, at up to 250V. P8 and P9 connectors have them installed end to end so that the two black wires on both power cables are next to each other.

ATX Main Power Connector

ATX Main Power Connector

The industry-standard ATX power supplyto-motherboard main connector is the Molex Mini-Fit, Jr. connector number 3929-9202 (20 pins ATX connector). Molex rates each pin to handle 6A, at up to 600V.

ATX Auxiliary Power Connector

ATX Auxiliary Power Connector

In particular, chipsets and DIMMs were designed to run on 3.3V, increasing the current demand at that voltage. This type of connector are rated for 5A per pin at up to 250V. The connector is normally keyed to prevent a misaligned connection. The additional +5V wire allows a total of 29A of +5V to be available to the motherboard, and the additional two +3.3V wires allow a total of 28A of +3.3V power to be available to the motherboard.

Peripheral Power Connector

Floppy Power Connector

RED BLACK BLACK YELLOW

+5V GND GND +12V

Y-Adapter Power Cable

Common Power Problem

Power failure: total loss of input voltage. Surge: momentary or sustained increase in the mains voltage. Sag: momentary or sustained reduction in input voltage. Spikes; brief high voltage excursion. Noise; high frequency transient or oscillation, usually injected into the line by nearby equipment. Frequency instability: temporary changes in the mains frequency. Harmonic distortion: departure from the ideal sinusoidal waveform expected on the line.

Power Protection System

Sometimes power supply by AC outlet not in stable condition (up to 280V). It called Power Surge. To overcome this situation, there is few power supply supporting peripherals such as:
Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) Power Line Conditioner (PLC)

UPS

A small free-standing UPS

A large datacenter-scale UPS

UPS
An electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source fails. It will provide instantaneous or near-instantaneous protection from input power interruptions by means of one or more attached batteries and associated electronic circuitry for low power users.

AVR

AVR
A device intended to regulate voltage automatically: that is to take a varying voltage level and turn it into a constant voltage level. An automatic voltage regulator combined with one or more other power-quality capabilities such as:
Surge suppression, Short circuit protection (circuit breaker), Line noise reduction, Phase-to-phase voltage balancing, Harmonic filtering, etc.

PLC

PLC
A device intended to improve the quality of the power that is delivered to electrical load equipment. A device that acts in one or more ways to deliver a voltage of the proper level and characteristics to enable load equipment to function properly.

Power Supply Specification

PC Item Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) card Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) card small computer system interface (SCSI) PCI card floppy disk drive network interface card 50X CD-ROM drive RAM 5200 RPM Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) hard disk drive 7200 RPM IDE hard disk drive Motherboard (without CPU or RAM) 550 MHz Pentium III 733 MHz Pentium III 300 MHz Celeron 600 MHz Athlon

Watts 20 to 30W 5W

20 to 25W 5W 4W 10 to 25W 10W per 128M 5 to 11W

Power Supply Wattage

5 to 15W 20 to 30W 30W 23.5W 18W 45W

Power Use Calculation

One way to see whether your system is capable of expansion is to calculate the levels of power drain in the various systems components and deduct the total from the maximum power supplied by the power supply. Example:>>>>>>>

 200-watt power supply rated for 20A at +5V and 8A at +12V. Power Consumption Calculation
Available 5V Power :
Motherboard 4 slots filled at 2.0 3 floppy drive logic 3 hard disk drive logic CD-ROM/DVD drive logic

20.0 A
- 5.0 A - 8.0 A - 0.5 A - 0.5 A - 1.0 A

Remaining Power:

5.0 A

 Available 12V Power:

4 slots filled at 0.175 each 3 hard disk drive motor 3 floppy drive motor Cooling fan motor CD ROM/DVD drive motor

8.0 A
- 0.7 A - 1.0 A - 1.0 A - 0.1 A - 1.0 A

Remaining Power:

4.2 A

With half of slot filled, a floppy drive, and one hard disk, the system still has room for more.

Maximum Power Consumption Per Bus Slot (Amps)

Bus type ISA EISA VL-bus 16-bit MCA 32-bit MCA PCI +5V Power 2.0 4.5 2.0 1.6 2.0 5 +12V Power 0.175 1.5 n/a 0.175 0.175 0.5 +3.3V Power n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 7.6

Power Supply Troubleshooting

List of PC problems that often are related to the power supply:
Any power-on startup failure Spontaneous rebooting Intermittent parity check Hard disk and fan failing to spin (no +12V) Overheating due to fan failure. Electric shocks felt on the system case Slight static discharges that disrupt system operation Erratic recognition of bus-powered USB peripherals.

Power Supply Troubleshooting

Fairly obvious symptoms point right to the power supply as a possible cause:
System that is completely dead (no fan, no cursor) Smoke Blown circuit breakers

Zero in on common power supplyrelated problem

1. 2. Check the AC power input. Make sure the cord is firmly seated in the wall socket and in the power supply socket. Try a difference cord. Check the DC power connections. Make sure the motherboard and disk drive power connectors are firmly seated and making good contact. Check for loose screw. Check the DC power output. Use digital multimeter to check for proper voltages. If its below spec, replace the power supply. Check the installed peripherals. Remove all boards and drive and retest the system. If it works, add items back in one at a time until the system fails again. The last item added before the failure returns is likely defective

3.

4.

Repairing the Power Supply

Simply replacing the supply with a new one is usually cheaper. Even high-quality power supplies are not that expensive when compared to the labor required to repair them.