600W power supply can't take RTX3060? In addition to power you should know these

One day, a fan consulted in the background. After upgrading his graphics card to Panradium RTX3060, the computer often restarts when playing games, and the power supply is 600 watts. In theory, there should be no shortage of power. Is it the power supply? Or are other accessories broken? In fact, it is not, it is very likely that the 12V power supply of the power supply is insufficient. So why can't a 600-watt power supply still bring a 170-watt graphics card?

▲Peladn RTX3060 Mo Ye, a power supply of more than 550 watts is recommended

The power supply, also known as the power converter, is a very important component in the computer. Unlike the CPU and the graphics card, it does not require a very professional chip to manufacture. The domestic manufacturers are also mixed, and there are many options. Most players' perception of it is power. In fact, merchants rarely give you a detailed explanation of this product-because it is one of the important profit sources for installers. So how should the power supply be selected? Is it really just about the power? Then your computer may have the failure of the previous fan.

First of all, just pick up a power supply, or the introduction website on the e-commerce, and its power will definitely be marked. Power is divided into rated power and maximum power. What does this mean? The rated power represents the normal output power it can support, and the maximum power can only last for a few minutes or ten minutes. Of course, it is not excluded. Some particularly good power supplies have enough redundancy to support higher power operation for a long time. However, the power supplies that are marked separately in this way are relatively low-end products, and the big names with real full power simply disdain to mark a "maximum power". What's more, many manufacturers will mark the maximum power as the model, such as "GP600", "full-mode 850", etc. The actual rated power of these power supplies is not the number on the model. When purchasing a power supply , the first pit must avoid this.

▲Looks like the same small iron box, but the interior is completely different

The power is clear, and many people also know the relationship between power and the computer, but if you match it with a relatively high-end graphics card, there is a second pit to pay attention to, that is the 12V output current.

On the nameplate of the power supply, in addition to the power, there are output current values ​​of +3V, +5V and +12V. Among them, the output of 12V is the most important. The most important power consumers in the computer are CPU and graphics cards. 12V is used for output, and the other +3.3 and +5 are generally used for memory or other peripheral interfaces. Generally, a few tens of watts is enough, and 12V has to be connected to the motherboard, hard disk, etc. Therefore, the +12V output power of most power supplies will account for 80% of the total power, and some may even reach 90%. The importance is self-evident.

▲A hot-selling 500W power supply, pay attention to the +12V current

At this time, the problem comes. For a high-power power supply of more than 500 watts, it is not easy to concentrate the output of more than 400 watts, which means that in terms of capacitors, circuit design, heat dissipation design and other aspects It is necessary to increase the cost. At this time, some shrinking products will divide the 12V into two channels. For example, a 500-watt hot-selling product in the above picture is an example. Although the total output of 12V can reach 420 watts, its current per channel is only 18A. In fact, each channel is about 200 watts, which means that neither the CPU nor the graphics card can exceed 200 watts. At this time, if you have a few more hard drives, the 500-watt power supply may be a bit tight. For a single card with a power of more than 150 watts For example, the RTX3060 Moxie of Panradium can reach about 170 watts, so when we recommend the power supply, we often need to recommend higher redundancy, so even if you choose a dual-channel 12V, It can guarantee that all the way 12V is enough.

▲It is also another model of 500 watts, pay attention to the +12V current

If you choose another hot-selling product, its nominal rated power is also only 500 watts, but its 12V has only 1 channel, and the current reaches 40A, and the maximum power of 12V alone can reach 480 watts, which is far more than The one above. And the advantage of single-channel 12V is that all major power users in the computer that need 12V can use it together, so even i5+RTX3080 can be tried. Of course, we do not recommend that you use a 500-watt power supply to drive an RTX3080. To be on the safe side, you still need more than 600 watts—in case the 600 watts you choose is a cheap dual-channel 12V solution, it may not be as good as a single-channel 500 watts and has passed the 80plus gold certification.

▲If you don’t know what brand to buy, just look for 80plus

This brings up the last recommended question. Is there a more convenient and quick way to screen a good power supply? Yes, it is to buy an 80plus certified power supply directly. As the recognized excellent product standard in the power supply industry, even if it is an 80plus bronze medal, it is generally very There will rarely be a dual-channel 12V solution, which can achieve this certification, and a certain screening can be made in terms of materials and conversion efficiency. The above-mentioned "maximum power" and "dual-channel 12V" solutions usually do not appear. .