What does a power supply do?

A power supply is an electrical device that supplies electric power to an electrical load. The main purpose of a power supply is to convert electric current from a source to the correct voltage, current, and frequency to power the load. As a result, power supplies are sometimes referred to as electric power converters.

What type of power supply does a computer use?

Modern personal computers universally use switched-mode power supplies. Some power supplies have a manual switch for selecting input voltage, while others automatically adapt to the main voltage. Most modern desktop personal computer power supplies conform to the ATX specification, which includes form factor and voltage tolerances.

What is an example of a power supply?

Some power supplies are separate standalone pieces of equipment, while others are built into the load appliances that they power. Examples of the latter include power supplies found in desktop computers and consumer electronics devices.

Can a PSU supply a standby voltage?

Some PSUs can also supply a standby voltage, so that most of the computer system can be powered off after preparing for hibernation or shutdown, and powered back on by an event. Standby power allows a computer to be started remotely via wake-on-LAN and Wake-on-ring or locally via Keyboard Power ON (KBPO) if the motherboard supports it.

Are power supplies wired or wired?

The input and output are usually hardwired circuit connections, though some power supplies employ wireless energy transfer to power their loads without wired connections. Some power supplies have other types of inputs and outputs as well, for functions such as external monitoring and control.

How efficient is a computer power supply?

A test in 2005 revealed computer power supplies are generally about 70–80% efficient. For a 75% efficient power supply to produce 75 W of DC output it would require 100 W of AC input and dissipate the remaining 25 W in heat.