{"id":37172,"date":"2011-11-01T12:01:58","date_gmt":"2011-11-01T10:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=37172"},"modified":"2011-11-01T12:07:02","modified_gmt":"2011-11-01T10:07:02","slug":"future-proof-your-psu-upgrade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/gaming\/37172-future-proof-your-psu-upgrade.html","title":{"rendered":"Future-proof your PSU upgrade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Power supplies are important components in all desktop PC systems, especially in gaming systems. Gamers with high-powered CPUs and Graphics cards (complimented by an assortment of hard drives, case fans and neon lights) will have slightly different needs compared to the general PC user.<\/p>\n

Gamers also want power supplies to be \u2018future-proof\u2019 – ensuring that come upgrade time you don\u2019t run into any headaches regarding power output or compatibility.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, let us consider a few important power supply features to keep in mind while shopping for a new PSU:<\/p>\n

Power requirements <\/strong><\/p>\n

What are the power requirements for your system?<\/p>\n

Without going into too much detail – it’s advisable to get a power supply strong enough to comfortably power your system. Obviously.<\/p>\n

But on the flipside – unless you\u2019re a power-user who needs a 1kw+ power supply, don\u2019t waste money on one in order to future-proof your system.<\/p>\n

Mid-range graphics cards and CPUs often stay within a certain power envelope; meaning that, even though you upgrade to a more powerful, faster graphics card or CPU, the power requirements of the actual components remain similar.<\/p>\n

\"Antec<\/a>

Antec HCP 1200 PSU<\/p><\/div>\n

12v rails <\/strong><\/p>\n

The most important aspect of a power supply, right after the total power it is able to supply, is a strong 12v rail system.<\/p>\n

The 12v power rails in a PSU supply come with an amp rating – graphics cards, in particular, need a high amp rating on the 12v rails to ensure stable consistent power.<\/p>\n

Most low-end power supplies have either one or two low-amp 12v rails – which usually aren\u2019t able to provide enough power and current to the graphics cards.<\/p>\n

Higher-end models make use of multiple high-amp 12v rails that ensure power delivery is within the limits of the PSU.<\/p>\n

Note that this is a basic explanation of 12v rails. A future article detailing single vs. multiple 12v rails and what a rail actually is will discuss this topic in detail.<\/p>\n

Cable length <\/strong><\/p>\n

Another important feature on power supplies is the length of the cables connecting the PSU to your components.<\/p>\n

With modern gaming cases getting bigger and featuring elaborate cable management systems, some PSU cables are no longer long enough to reach all of the components.<\/p>\n

As high powered as a PSU may be, it\u2019s useless if it can\u2019t connect to your system correctly.<\/p>\n

\"Modular<\/a>

Modular PSU cables<\/p><\/div>\n

Modular cable system<\/strong><\/p>\n

While not essential, a modular cable system makes life quite a bit easier when installing a new unit.<\/p>\n

Having the ability to make use of only the cables you need in a system is great for those who want a neat-looking setup – as well as those who are limited in terms of space and aren\u2019t able to cram the spare cabling into the system.<\/p>\n

This being said, there are a few good deals on non-modular power supplies, and users on a budget can forego this.<\/p>\n

Modular cabling is more of a convenience than a necessity.<\/p>\n

\"Modular<\/a>

Modular PSU<\/p><\/div>\n

Buying the right power supply for your system is important.<\/p>\n

While they often cost a significant amount initially, if you get a PSU that can last three or four years without hassle, the component will pay for itself come time for the next upgrade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Avoid future headaches come upgrade time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":37180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,15],"tags":[6238,35,6240],"class_list":["post-37172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming","category-hardware","tag-antec-hcp-1200-psu","tag-headline","tag-modular-psu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37172"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37296,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37172\/revisions\/37296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}