Power Supply and Chassis/Case Importance of the Power Supply The power supply gets no respect!

! People spend hours discussing their processor speeds, memory capacity, disk storage capacity and speed, video adapter performance, monitor size, and so forth but rarely even mention or consider their power supply. Primary Function and Operation The basic function of the power supply is to convert the type of electrical power available at the wall socket to the type the computer circuitry can use. The power supply in a conventional desktop system is designed to convert either 120-volt (nominal) 60Hz AC (alternating current) or 240V (nominal) 50Hz AC power into +3.3V, +5V, and +12V DC (direct current) power. Power Consumption Ratings for PC Devices

Negative DC Voltages The only reason it has remained in most power supply designs is that 5V is required on the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus for full backward-compatibility. The motherboard logic typically doesn't use 12V either; however, it might be used in some board designs for serial port or LAN circuits. PS_ON feature Most systems with newer motherboard form factors, such as the ATX, micro-ATX, or NLX, include another special signal. This feature, called PS_ON, can be used to turn the power supply (and thus the system) on or off via software. It is sometimes known as the soft-power feature. PS_ON is most evident when you use it with an operating system such as Windows that supports the Advanced Power Management (APM) or Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification. When you select the Shut Down the Computer option from the Start menu, Windows automatically turns off the computer after it completes the OS shutdown sequence. A system without this feature only displays a message that it's safe to shut down the computer. Advanced Power Management (APM) Advanced Power Management (APM) offers a set of five different states that your system can be in. It was developed by Microsoft and Intel for PC users who wish to conserve power. Each system component, including the operating system, basic input/output system (BIOS), motherboard and attached devices all need to be APM-compliant to be able to use this feature. Should you wish to disable APM because you suspect it is using up system resources or causing a conflict, the best way to do this is in the BIOS. That way, the operating system won't try to reinstall it, which could happen if it were disabled only in the software. The Power_Good Signal In addition to supplying electrical power to run the system, the power supply also ensures that the system does not run unless the voltages supplied are sufficient to operate the system properly. In

other words, the power supply actually prevents the computer from starting up or operating until all the power supply voltages are within the proper ranges. The power supply completes internal checks and tests before allowing the system to start. If the tests are successful, the power supply sends a special signal to the motherboard, called Power_Good. This signal must be continuously present for the system to run. Therefore, when the AC voltage dips and the power supply can't maintain outputs within regulation tolerance, the Power_Good signal is withdrawn (goes low) and forces the system to reset. The system will not restart until the Power_Good signal returns. The Power_Good signal (sometimes called Power_OK or PWR_OK) is a +5V (nominal) active high signal (with a variation from +2.4V through +6.0V generally being considered acceptable). It is supplied to the motherboard when the power supply has passed its internal self tests and the output voltages have stabilized. This typically takes place anywhere from 100ms to 500ms (0.10.5 seconds) after you turn on the power supply switch. In the absence of Power_Good, the timer chip holds the reset line on the processor, which prevents the system from running under bad or unstable power conditions. When the timer chip receives the Power_Good signal, it releases the reset and the processor begins executing whatever code is at address FFFF:0000 (usually the ROM BIOS).

Hardware reset switch Power_Good feature as a method of implementing a reset switch for the PC. The Power_Good line is wired to the clock generator circuit, which controls the clock and reset lines to the microprocessor. Badly designed power supplies, which are found in many low-cost systems, often do not delay the Power_Good signal properly and enable the processor to start too soon. (The normal Power_Good delay is 0.10.5 seconds.) Improper Power_Good timing also causes CMOS memory corruption in some systems. The power supply is visible from the back of many systems because it contains the power-cord 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: 3.3 volts - used by digital circuits 5 volts - used by digital circuits 12 volts - run motors in disk drives and fans. The main specification of a power supply is in watts. A watt is the product of the voltage in volts and the current in amperes or amps. Switcher Technology 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.

In this photo you can see three small transformers (yellow) in the center. To the left are two cylindrical capacitors. The large finned pieces of aluminum are heat sinks. The left heat sink has transistors attached to it. These are the transistors in charge of doing the switching -- they provide high-frequency power to the transformers. Attached to the right heat sink are diodes that rectify AC signals and turn them into DC signals.

A switcher power supply draws only the power it needs from the AC line. The typical voltages and current provided by a power supply are shown on the label on a power supply.

Switcher technology Switcher technology is also used to make AC from DC, as found in many of the automobile power inverters used to run AC appliances in an automobile and in uninterruptible power supplies. Switcher technology in automotive power inverters changes the direct current from the auto battery into alternating current. The transformer uses alternating current to make the transformer in the inverter step the voltage up to that of household appliances (120 VAC). Power Supply Standardization There have been at least six different standard power supplies for personal computers. Recently, the industry has settled on using ATX-based power supplies. ATX is an industry specification that means the power supply has the physical characteristics to fit a standard ATX case and the electrical characteristics to work with an ATX motherboard. ATX Style The ATX specification, now in version 2.03, defines a new motherboard shape from its predecessors, as well as a new case and power supply form factor.

fan to be mounted along the inner side of the supply, where it could draw air in from the rear of the chassis and blow it inside across the motherboard. This kind of airflow runs in the opposite direction as most standard supplies, which exhaust air out the back of the supply through a hole in the case where the fan protrudes. The idea was that the reverse-flow design could cool the system more efficiently with only a single fan, eliminating the need for a fan (active) heatsink on the CPU. Another benefit of the reverse-flow cooling is that the system would run cleaner, freer from dust and dirt. The case would be pressurized, so air would be continuously forced out of the cracks in the casethe opposite of what happens with a negative pressure design. For this reason, the reverseflow cooling design is often referred to as a positive-pressure-ventilation design. As CPUs evolved to generate more and more heat, the cooling capability of the system became more critical and the positive-pressure design was simply not up to the task. Therefore, subsequent versions of the ATX specification were rewritten to allow both positive- and negative-pressure designs, but they emphasized the standard negative-pressure system with an exhaust fan on the power supply and an additional high-quality cooling fan blowing cool air right on the CPU as the best solution. Because a standard negative-pressure system offers the greatest cooling capacity for a given fan's airspeed and flow, virtually all the newer ATX-style power supplies use a negative-pressure design, in which air flows out the back of the power supply.

Standardized smps PC power-supply cables use standardized, keyed connectors that make it difficult to connect the wrong ones. Also, fan manufacturers often use the same connectors as the power cables for disk drives, allowing a fan to easily obtain the 12 volts it needs. Power Supply Wattage A 400-watt switching power supply will not necessarily use more power than a 250-watt supply. A larger supply may be needed if you use every available slot on the motherboard or every available drive bay in the personal computer case. It is not a good idea to have a 250-watt supply if you have 250 watts total in devices, since the supply should not be loaded to 100 percent of its capacity. Some power consumption values (in watts)

Power Supply Problems The PC power supply is probably the most failure-prone item in a personal computer. It heats and cools each time it is used and receives the first in-rush of AC current when the PC is switched on. Power Supply Improvements Recent motherboard and chipset improvements permit the user to monitor the revolutions per minute (RPM) of the power supply fan via BIOS and a Windows application supplied by the motherboard manufacturer. New designs offer fan control so that the fan only runs the speed needed, depending on cooling needs. Processors also require a wide variety of voltages (as low as 1.3V or less) that are supplied by a sophisticated voltage regulator module (VRM) that is either built in or plugged in to the motherboard as well. Motherboard Power Connectors Every PC power supply has special connectors that attach to the motherboard, giving power to the system processor, memory, and all slotted add-on boards (ISA, PCI, and AGP). Attaching these connectors improperly can have a devastating effect on your PC, including burning up both your power supply and motherboard. The industry-standard ATX power supplytomotherboard main connector is the Molex Mini-Fit, Jr. connector number 39-29-9202 (or equivalent), which is more commonly known as the 20-pin ATXstyle connector

ATX auxiliary power connector To allow for additional power from the supply to the motherboard, Intel modified the ATX specification to add a second auxiliary power connector for high power draw ATX motherboards and 250-watt or higher rated supplies.

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Constant voltage switching power supply Constant voltage means that the power supply puts out the same voltage to the computer's internal components, no matter what the voltage of AC current running it or the capacity (wattage) of the power supply. Constant Voltage Transformer (CVT) Constant voltage transformer (CVT) is an equipment that has been in use since long time to protect sensitive computing and electronic devices from surges, sags and brownouts in the mains supply. CVT is also suitable for protecting sensitive loads against direct lightning strikes on power lines. It is also known as ferroresonant transformer. Working Principle Constant voltage transformer utilizes an effect known as ferro-resonance, which is the periodic interchange of energy between a capacitor and an inductor. Saturation is the normal mode of operation of CVT. There happens a core saturation, which automatically adjusts the value of inductance. This is turn maintains an oscillation frequency equal to that of the mains supply. CVT is self protecting to the supply and the load connected to it. Uses & Applications Constant voltage transformer has many common uses & applications in various fields. Some of its common application includes: Protecting sensitive loads from direct lighting strikes on power lines. Riding out momentary breaks in the mains. Computing equipments Automobile industry Communication systems Computers Uninterruptible power supplies