Many times we have defined the power supply as the heart of the PC, since the power supply of the other components depends on it and without it, nothing works. This component is, internally, one of the most complex that the PC has, and also its technical characteristics are always full of abbreviations that not many people know what they really mean, so in this article we are going to shed a little light on the subject. and we are going to tell you what each of the abbreviations that you will find in your power supply means .
Formerly the structure of a PC power supply was quite basic and simple, and it consisted of a few compact transformers and little else. Today they are much more complex, and this greater complexity implies a greater number of cryptic abbreviations that briefly explain their operation … to those who know them.
Power supply abbreviations
When you study the topology of a power supply, you will come across various abbreviations that define the way in which the energy within the supply works and is managed before it is delivered to the PC components. Let’s start by looking at the definitions of “Half-bridge” and “Full Bridge” taking this scheme as an example.
Full Bridge means that four MOSFETs are used in the voltage transformation stage, unlike Half Bridge which uses only two. For its part, MOSFET is short for “Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor”, and its main task is to generate a high frequency alternating voltage. The maximum number of MOSFETs that we can find in a power supply is precisely four, and as you will suppose, a Full Bridge source has better efficiency than a Half Bridge.
On the other hand, we will also find the abbreviations AC / DC (yes, just like the Rock group) and DC / DC . These refer to transformers, since in English AC is alternating current and DC is direct current; Therefore, an AC / DC transformer is responsible for transforming the alternating current that comes from the wall socket to the direct current used by the PC components, while a DC / DC transformer also transforms direct current into current continuous but of different voltages, since the normal thing is that the AC / DC transforms the current to 12V and then the DC / DC removes the 12, 5 and 3.3 volt rails from it.
In electronics the letter L represents a coil, while the letter C represents a capacitor. Therefore, another of the abbreviations that we usually see in a power supply is LLC and it literally means two coils and a capacitor. The function of this circuit is to harmonize the alternating current by transforming square patterns (common in circuits with capacitors) into sine waves, notably increasing efficiency.
On the other hand, we can find the abbreviation “SR” which means Synchronous Rectifier or synchronous rectifier. Normally, rectifier circuits have the problem that their diode-based architecture suffers from high energy loss. With a synchronous rectifier and the use of several MOSFETs controlled by an IC, this loss can be avoided, which implies that sources with SR have a better efficiency than those without.
For its part, the abbreviation IC for driver IC means precisely integrated circuit. The circuits that function as a controller or charge regulator can consist of several electrical components, or they can be encapsulated in a single chip which is the most common. This integrated circuit is generally called a driver IC or charge controller.
Abbreviations in protection systems
Through the power supply passes all the electricity that is then supplied to the rest of the components of the PC, and for this reason it is very important that it incorporates protection circuits to safeguard the integrity of all our hardware in the event that the power supply breaks. interrupt, that comes with noise or that there is some kind of problem.
For this reason, in the power supply it is also very common for us to see a whole list of abbreviations to define the protections that it incorporates, so we are going to summarize them all one by one so that you know what they are for and what each of them means.
- OCP : stands for over current protection, and as its name suggests it is a protection against sudden surges in current intensity. It is the most important protection of all, because although most electronic circuits are capable of withstanding some variation in voltage (voltage), they hardly bear variations in amperage (intensity).
- OVP : means over voltage protection, and in this case it is a protection system similar to the previous one but that verifies the voltage (voltage) to avoid sudden surges. It is also an important protection system because it is the one that comes into play when, for example, there is an electrical storm or lightning strikes nearby and there is a power surge in your home’s power line.
- UVP : means under voltage protection, and as its name indicates, it is a protection against drops in current voltage, frequently produced by variations in the load of the electrical station assigned to your home. When there is high demand for electricity in the substation in your area, it is not able to provide enough voltage and sometimes there are dips.
- SCP : from the English short circuit protection, it is literally a protection against short circuits. The moment there is a short circuit before or after the source, this system will shut down everything to avoid breakdowns. It is very important to have this protection because, in particular, motherboards can get burned due to short circuits.
- OTP : means over temperature protection, and as its name suggests it is a protection against high temperatures; If the system detects that the operating temperature of the source is above the values set by the manufacturer, it will automatically shut down to preserve its integrity.
- OPP / OLP : this protection system can be called OPP for over power protection or OLP for over load protection, but in any case it is a protection against overload. This feature will shut down the power supply when more power is demanded than it is capable of delivering.
Now you know all the abbreviations that you can see in the technical information of your power supply, as well as the common abbreviations in protection systems. The latter is especially important, since if when you go to buy a power supply you see that it lacks any of them, you will know what to expect.