How To - X99 mATX Gaming Rig - Part 1
Published by Luca Rocchi on 07.02.15Page:
Power supply
Overview |
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power supply is always an important component and there are three main
aspects that need to be taken into consideration: output power,
efficiency and warranty. Usually if you choose a unit with the right
output power you don't have to replace it even if you want to upgrade
your setup with for example a second graphics card. Since we're building
a small system here we'd also like the PSU to feature cable management,
which makes cable routing much easier. For our system, we chose to use a high-end product from Antec, which goes by the name 750W Edge series. The unit uses a completely modular design that allows a good cable managment. The dimensions of the Antec Edge 750 PSU are slightly above average and it measures 86 mm x 150 mm x 170 mm and weights 1.8 Kg. There is a fan with white LEDs which can be deactivated by the push of a button. On this model Antec uses their so called 135mm FDB Silence fan. As we mentioned before, the wattage of the PSU is by far not everything, as we highly recommend to also consider the certification of the unit. Todays power supply also come with different protections and preferably you go with a unit that make intense use of capacitors and components made in Japan, since those are generally of the highest quality. We admit that it is not always possible to know and understand all of these specifications, which are usually hidden inside the unit. However, the main specifications are always printed on the packaging and on the official website of the manufacturer. The Edge 750 features an 80Plus Gold certificate. This means that the efficiency of this power supply is 87% with 20% load, more than 90% at 50% and more than 87% at 100%. In our case, we will not reach the maximum load with only one graphics card so our unit will always be cool and quiet. Another thing to keep in mind when choosing the PSU concerns the warranty terms. This is usually a good indicator on how reliable a unit is. Basically the longer the warranty period the higher the quality of the product. The reason for that is very simple. Does a power supply break down during the warranty period the manufacturer needs to replace the part and this causes cost on the manufacutrers side. The vendor will do everything possible to avoid such additional cost. A good power supply in general costs about 100 to 150 Euro, when it features 750 Watt output power. Basically most power supplies within this price range, 80Plus Gold or Platinum certificate and 5 or more years warranty are a solid choice. |
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| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Cooler |
| Page 2 - Our target | Page 5 - Power supply |
| Page 3 - Case | Page 6 - Conclusion |
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