Power Supplies and 80 Plus Ratings Explained

March 27, 2025 admin Tools & Equipment 50

Power Supplies and 80 Plus Ratings Explained

This is an animated video explaining computer power supplies and their connectors. It also explains the 80 plus efficiency certification that’s given to power supplies and the difference between non-modular, fully modular, and semi-modular.

Coolermaster power supply calculator
https://www.coolermaster.com/power-supply-calculator/

My power supply (Amazon affiliate)
https://amzn.to/3E54ZZY

#psu #powersupply

Topics Include:
Intro: 00:00
Connectors: 00:43
Power Supply Wattages: 03:53
Modulars: 05:00
80 Plus Ratings: 06:37
Power Supply Story: 09:51

50 Comments

  2. Absolutely golden reference worth more than any gold in the world. Knowledge is absolute power and knowing all of these brilliant knowledge from you absolutely amazes me. I was able to take away all the core components of the PSU and all thanks to you for providing with us the necessary information. Apart from your concise and precise explanation, the editing of the video where you are providing us information visually is also what matters and helps to understand better. Since, I’m a visual learner and this helped me to learn much effeciently.

    Reply

  13. I tell you what our Prophet taught usThe Messenger of Allah

    May God reward you well, for he has been effusive in his praise.”

    Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, said: If one of you knew what he has in his saying to his brother: β€œYou would have more of it, some of you to one another.”

    God reward you ;

    Dhikr councils

    Sahih Al-Jami’ Β» (708) / Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah Β» 436/1)

    Reply

  14. I am looking to get a new Power Supply for my old HP Compaq 6000 Pro because I want to update the graphic card and add another HDD and a SDD, plus some other cards (USB, SATA/eSATA, etc…). The Compaq has no 24 or 20 pin connector but the motherboard has different connections, take the power from the power supply to the motherboard and then power with SATA the HDD and the optical drive from there. So no direct connection from the power supply to the HDD/optical drive, but they are powered from connections from the motherboard, kind of weird… However, all of that makes it hard for a new power supply with higher wattage than the 320W mine has today… And HP ceased the support for my machine that still works perfect… Oh well, if anyone knows more, thank you in advance!…

    Reply

  15. The power requirements of todays components means that if youre building the pc for gaming then harddrives, optical drives or fans dont really have to be taken into account when choosing a psu. They just use way too little power compared to even ram.

    Reply

  16. The Power Supply Calculator you linked is bad.
    Its a really unrealistic number and doesent even let me choose things like a AIO Cooler, the count of installed fans or the choose of DDR5 Ram.
    I dont believe that: "702Watt" is enough for a overclocked 4090 and all the other conponments.

    Reply
  19. @ΰ²“ΰ²Ÿΰ³ΰ²—ΰ²Ύΰ²¨ΰ³ΰ²‘ΰ³Šΰ²²ΰ³ΰ²—ΰ³Šΰ²°ΰ³ΰ²Έΰ³ΰ²°ΰ³†ΰ²¨ΰ³ says:

    πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘

    Reply

  20. Does anyone know if it’s possible that the power supply affect microphone/ sound cards? Because I’ve been trying to fix a white noise that comes from my microphone via a focusrite sound card. Maybe my 600W 80+ Bronze power supply is too much and is leaking some of that power to my microphone. I already tried everything (changing microphones, plugs, cables, outlets, cleaning, reseting, and restarting everything) the only thing I’m yet to do is change power supply to see if the noise stops. But I don’t want to buy another power supply only to figure out that, that is also not the problem.

    Reply

  21. What’s the difference between the 8 pin VGA vs PCI-E cables that BOTH plug into the same spots on GPU and the Power supply…. the PCI-E with run my ASUS 970 GPU and the VGA won’t ???

    Reply

  23. I’ve been studying for my A+ through Comptia’s website for a college course I’m taking and I always end up watching your videos for each topic I study to fully understand it.

    Reply

  26. Are you going to talk about 2011 power supplies or the 1895/1920/1988 vintage junk used in PCs? There has been an amazing amount of progress made over the last 100 years. None of it is used in PCs. Integrated Magnetics, Hybrid Mode switching. LC scaling. etc. Only NASA, the Air Force, and some server companies are working with Teslaco on current designs.

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  29. I use a EVGA supernova 80 plus NEX 750B, it’s been flawless after several years of use and more than I really need. I don’t skimp out when it comes to PSU’s, it’s actually the most critical PC part for longevity of a computer. I also don’t skimp out on PC components, quality stuff is all i use. Buy good the first time and be done with it and the odds of problems decrease drastically. I built my last computer 7 years ago and still use it to this day, never once had any issues.

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  32. Watching this in 2023, bought an Asus Loki PSU and it somehow fried my motherboard and it didn’t even start.

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  35. If my psu has the 6 pin pcie cable for my gpu but if I need an 8 pin and it is not available in my psu, can i buy the cable alone that can be connected to my psu and gpu directly?? (I don’t wanna use the 6 to 8 pin converter)

    Reply

  38. Hi. I don’t suppose the operator of this channel is going to become a multimillionaire with this kind of material but I want to say how much I appreciate the really excellent quality explanations of these technical subjects.

    Reply

  41. Why make it so complicated with the 80 certification and add a metal to it? Why not just put a sticker 82, 85, 91, 92 or so on it? Minimum 80, but without the metal rating stuff… Good video, thank you!

    Reply

  46. ChatGPT Summary :
    In this video, the presenter discusses computer power supplies. A power supply, as the name suggests, provides power to a computer by converting electricity into the specific voltages required by the computer. It is typically a square metal box with wires and connectors that fit inside the computer case, usually located at the top or bottom of a standard tower case.

    The video highlights different types of connectors found on power supplies, including the main power connector (P1), which can have 20 or 24 pins, and the P4 connector introduced in the early 2000s to supply more power to the CPU. The P8 or EPS connector is an 8-pin connector for newer, power-hungry CPUs. Additionally, there are 6 and 8-pin PCI-Express power connectors used for high-end video cards and SATA connectors for storage and optical drives. The older Molex connectors, once used for hard drives and optical drives, have been largely replaced by SATA connectors.

    The video discusses power supply wattages, which can vary from 200 to 2000 watts. The wattage you need depends on the components in your computer, with average computers requiring 500 to 600 watts, while high-end systems with multiple components may need 1000 watts or more. The presenter mentions a power supply calculator on Coolermaster’s website to help determine the appropriate wattage.

    Power supplies also come in different configurations: non-modular, fully modular, and semi-modular. Non-modular power supplies have permanently attached cables, while fully modular ones allow for manual attachment and detachment of cables as needed, leading to better cable management and airflow. Semi-modular power supplies have only essential cables permanently attached.

    The video touches on 80 Plus ratings, which certify power supplies with at least 80% energy efficiency at 20%, 50%, and 100% load. The presenter explains that these ratings also have different levels, such as bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and titanium, depending on the efficiency rating.

    Lastly, the presenter shares a cautionary story about the importance of purchasing a quality power supply from a reputable brand to avoid potential issues.

    Reply

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