the Physical Computer
a Training Module of the
Assistive Technology Division

Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services

 

Power Supply


A modern ATX power supply unit (or PSU) is the component that supplies power to a computer. Most personal computers can be plugged into standard electrical outlets. The power supply then pulls the required amount of electricity and converts the 110 v AC current to DC current (. It also regulates the voltage to eliminate spikes and surges common in most electrical systems. Not all power supplies, however, do an adequate voltage-regulation job, so a computer is always susceptible to large voltage fluctuations.
Power supplies are rated in terms of the number of watts they generate. The more powerful the computer, the more watts it can provide to components.
Internally, the power supply has three main types of DC power outputs: the ATX power supply provides power to the motherboard, the 4 pin molex connectors provide power to optical drives and hard drives, and the smaller floppy
The ATX power connection to motherboard
The 4 pin Molex connectors that provide power to fans, optical drives and hard drives, etc.
The 4 pin mini-connector power connection to a floppy disk drive.

 

 

 

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