- Considering the Importance of the Power Supply
- Primary Function and Operation
- Power Supply Form Factors
- Motherboard Power Connectors
- Peripheral Power Connectors
- Power Supply Loading
- Power Supply Ratings
- Power Supply Specifications
- Overloading the Power Supply
- Power Off When Not in Use
- Power Management
- Power Supply Troubleshooting
- Repairing the Power Supply
- Using Power-Protection Systems
- RTC/NVRAM Batteries (CMOS Chips)
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Power Management
As the standard PC configuration has grown to include capabilities formerly considered options, the power requirements of the system have increased steadily. Larger displays, CD-ROM drives, and audio adapters all need more power to run, and the cost of operating a PC rises steadily. To address these concerns, several programs and standards are now being developed that are intended to reduce the power needed to run a PC as much as possible.
For standard desktop systems, power management is a matter of economy and convenience. By turning off specific components of the PC when they are not in use, you can reduce the electric bill and avoid having to power the computer up and down manually.
For portable systems, power management is far more important. Adding CD-ROMs, speakers, and other components to a laptop or notebook computer reduces even further what is in many cases a short battery life. By adding new power management technology, a portable system can supply power only to the components it actually needs to run, thus extending the life of the battery charge.
Energy Star Systems
The EPA has started a certification program for energy-efficient PCs and peripherals. To be a member of this program, the PC or display must drop to a power draw at the outlet of 30 watts or less during periods of inactivity. Systems that conform to this specification get to wear the Energy Star logo. This is a voluntary program; however, many PC manufacturers are finding that it helps them sell their systems if they can advertise these systems as energy efficient.
One problem with this type of system is that the motherboard and disk drives can go to sleep, which means they can enter a standby mode in which they draw very little power. This wreaks havoc with some of the older power supplies because the low power draw does not provide enough of a load for them to function properly. Most of the newer supplies on the market, which are designed to work with these systems, have a very low minimum-load specification. I suggest you ensure that the minimum load will be provided by the equipment in your system if you buy a power supply upgrade. Otherwise, when the PC goes to sleep, it might take a power switch cycle to wake it up again. This problem would be most noticeable if you invested in a very high-output supply and used it in a system that draws very little power to begin with.
Advanced Power Management
Advanced Power Management (APM) is a specification jointly developed by Intel and Microsoft that defines a series of interfaces between power management–capable hardware and a computer's operating system. When it is fully activated, APM can automatically switch a computer between five states, depending on the system's current activity. Each state represents a further reduction in power use, accomplished by placing unused components into a low-power mode.
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) is a newer power management and system configuration standard supported by newer system BIOS software running Windows 98 and later operating systems. If your BIOS and operating system support ACPI, full power management control is now done by the operating system, rather than by the BIOS. ACPI is intended to offer a single place for power management and system configuration control; in the past, with APM you would often be able to make power management settings in the BIOS setup as well as the operating system that often overlapped or could have conflicting settings. ACPI is supported in newer systems in lieu of APM.
TIP
If, for any reason, you find that power management activities cause problems on your system, such as operating system freeze-ups or hardware malfunctions, the easiest way to disable APM is through the system BIOS. Most BIOSes that support APM include an option to disable it. This breaks the chain of communication between the operating system and the hardware, causing all power management activities to cease. Although you also can achieve the same end by removing the APM driver from the operating system, Windows 9x's Plug and Play (PnP) feature detects the system's APM capabilities whenever you restart the computer and attempts to reinstall the APM driver.
If you have a newer system with ACPI, you can disable the power management settings via the Power Management icon in the Windows control panel.