Power Supply Reference: Consumption, Savings, And More

[palladin9479]

Why would and SSD fail from sleep, it is no worse then turning off the computer.

Hibernate will push more write cycles, but general sleep does not(it just uses ram).

SSD's are not HDD's, stop treating them like they are.

A SSD has a small CPU onboard along with firmware that resembles a miniature OS. They have spare DDR RAM to use as a buffer and as scratch memory for that mini OS.

Depending on the model, they will interpret the sleep command as a shut down command and power off. Unfortunately bringing them back from power off there is a chance of a BSOD happening.

I'm using a SAMSUNG 830 256GB, one of the highest rated SSD's for safety and stability. The SAMSUNG instructions specifically state to disable HDD powerdown to prevent data loss and that the drive doesn't need it. It even has a wizard application that will go through and change your power settings to prevent it from trying to shut down the SSD.

 

[medbor]

thank you palladin!

 

[Guest]

Low end estimates provided in the table are WAY off. Taking all of the minimum #s and skiping the descrete graphics produces a power use of 120w. Yet in the real world the HTPC community builds systems with peak utilization well under 70w with 1080p playback in the 25-40w range.

 

[medbor]

motherboards does not minimally consume 50W that more likely peak consumption

 

[palladin9479]

motherboards does not minimally consume 50W that more likely peak consumption

Take this from someone who made this mistake, ALWAYS budget for peek on all components. Otherwise you'll get random BSOD's and shutdowns. Eventually you'll start to stress your PSU and it'll start providing less power then designed which only make the problem worse.

 

[nukemaster]

SSD's are not HDD's, stop treating them like they are.

A SSD has a small CPU onboard along with firmware that resembles a miniature OS. They have spare DDR RAM to use as a buffer and as scratch memory for that mini OS.

Depending on the model, they will interpret the sleep command as a shut down command and power off. Unfortunately bringing them back from power off there is a chance of a BSOD happening.

I'm using a SAMSUNG 830 256GB, one of the highest rated SSD's for safety and stability. The SAMSUNG instructions specifically state to disable HDD powerdown to prevent data loss and that the drive doesn't need it. It even has a wizard application that will go through and change your power settings to prevent it from trying to shut down the SSD.

Thank you, I just assumed it would just power down(something I will keep an eye one for sure). I have a cheap Kingston SSD and I put the system to sleep every night. I do not have idle power down on.

 

[Tavo_Nova]

i really like these kinds of article they really feed knowledge to my brain XO

 

[junzi]

[citation][nom]chaz_music[/nom]There is no mention of oversizing your PSU also. Many HTPC and SOHO/home server needs are on 24/7 so power usage and efficiency are paramount to the cost of use / ownership. If you install an oversized PSU, you are taking a efficiency hit (for most brands) that increases your energy usage. The 80 Plus standards do not test below 20% load, so the efficiency of most PSU designs drop off quickly below 20% load. I have seen several that are below 50% with 10% loading. A good analogy on oversizing that I have used before is thinking about car engines. You cannot get a V8 car engine to run as efficiently as a 4 cylinder due to the physics (more friction/mass, etc.). That same effect occurs in a PSU. Larger magnetics, power devices, and other overhead lowers the efficiency at low power. proper sizing can save a good bit of money. Just don't get it too small, especially thinking about system start up (HDD spin up, fans, CPU local PSUs ramping up, etc.).[/citation]

jonnyGURU has throttled many PSUs from 10-100% range with little loss in efficiency at low loads when compared to full load peformance. Are jonny's tests flawed? Can you please guide us to reviews that showed a 50% drop in efficiency in the low end? Thank you.

 

[darkpain]

Very good article!!!Good job guys!!
i never found similar article with so many details!!!
I knew the most of them but i didnt know that placing wrong the CMOS battery can do such a thing!!!
Thank you for the usefull info!

 

[manwell999]

"be sure you get the polarity correct; otherwise, you will damage the RTC/NVRAM (CMOS) chip"

Can't they put a diode on the MB to safeguard this? Some of those cheap coin batteries are notorious for reversing polarity by themselves.

 

[nukemaster]

The diode drops the voltage(but I doubt they NEED 3 volts to keep it going). I have NEVER seen a battery reverse it self.

That said, almost all electronics seem to say damage will happen if you reverse polarity the battery yet most of it does nothing but not run.

I do not even think a 2032 batter can be reversed in most boards with exception to the ones that have the battery sideways(many small boards.)