Re:Teardown of a PC Power Supply
by R0b0t1 on Sunday May 23, 2021 @06:09PM
(#27259089)
You are right, power supply improvements are asymptotic. It's not just about total efficiency, but also about how the heat is generated and where you can put it. A lot of the newer developments don't do a lot for total efficiency but produce smaller supplies by more efficiency managing heating.
That said, most supplies for sale are based on old, fossilized designs created ~10 years ago, hovering at around 80%. If you spend more you can get the gold, titanium, etc. But then, even those tend to be below the maximum you can get, which is closer to 98% if you have information about your load. You can also design the system to have better efficiency at various loads. Typically half, but could be worth tracking newer CPU/mobo/GPU developments.
That said, most supplies for sale are based on old, fossilized designs created ~10 years ago, hovering at around 80%. If you spend more you can get the gold, titanium, etc. But then, even those tend to be below the maximum you can get, which is closer to 98% if you have information about your load. You can also design the system to have better efficiency at various loads. Typically half, but could be worth tracking newer CPU/mobo/GPU developments.