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Computer
Power Supply






Power Supply Information


The computer power supply as it's name implies, it's the one responsible for giving your components power and giving them life, without this piece of hardware your computer won't even be able to power up

Almost all computer power supplies have three voltage rails (3.3V rail, the 5V rail, and the 12V rail).

The wires on your power supply means:

  • ORANGE +3.3 V
  • YELLOW +12 V
  • BLUE -12 V
  • RED +5 V
  • WHITE -5 V
    • (this is sometimes not available on some power supplies)
  • BLACK GND
  • GREEN POWER-ON
  • GRAY POWER-OK
  • PURPLE +5 V STANDBY
  • BROWN +3.3 V REMOTE SENSING

Power Supply cables and connectors


There are different types of cables you need to connect in order to install a power supply to your computer.

Your power supply should have at least these connectors:

  • 4 pin power cable
  • 4 pin Floppy drive power cable
  • SATA power cable(New power supplies)
  • 20 pin ATX main power cable, 24 pin ATX main power cable or 20+4 pin ATX main power cable
  • 6 pin PCI Express power cable
  • 8 pin PCI Express power cable
  • 8 pin EPS +12 volt power cable
  • 4 pin ATX +12 volt power cable

You can have more connectors, these are just the usually found cables in a power supply


Choosing a Power Supply

To choose a power supply is a rather easy task, all you need to know is:

  • How much watts do you need
  • Is it compatible with your motherboard

Watts Needed

For a desktop computer (normal, everyday use like browsing) a 300-400 watts power supply will be enough.

For a gaming computer you will need more than that, but at the end, it all depends on your computer components (especially your video card), you need to look at the minimum power requirements for your video card. I recommend a 600+ watts for a gaming computer who uses a single video card.

I know that sometimes it's hard to count all of the watts needed in your computer so here's a computer power supply calculator I use to count all of these watts to make sure I'm making the right choice.


Is it compatible ?

Now, you need to look at your motherboard to see if your power supply is compatible, you need to look for the 20 pin or 24 pin in your motherboard.

If you are still not sure what kind of pins your motherboard uses, you can always buy the 20+4 pin power supply, it's basically the same 20 pin power supply but with an extra 4 pin cable in case your motherboard is a 24 pin main power conenctor

Power Supply Troubleshooting

First we need to check if the computer turns on, check if the fans of your power supply turn on (or creates air).

Second, If the power doesn't come on, check the source (outlets or power jack) to see if it does have electricity, this may seem like dumb, but we sometimes forget it.

Third, check to make sure the correct voltage (110V/ 220V) is selected on the power supply.

Fourth, check that the 20 or 24 pin main ATX power connector and any additional motherboard power connections, such as the 4 pin ATX 12V supply (8 pin on some systems), are connected

You should be able to get your power supply running, if not you may have a faulty device, you can always check the 5V cable with a voltage meter, it should give you close to 5V if not, replace power supply





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