3 ms·
In one sense this feels like pushing the efficiency problem under the rug. There's a requirement for power supplies to meet a certain efficiency standard, and g
by russdill 7y ago
In one sense this feels like pushing the efficiency problem under the rug. There's a requirement for power supplies to meet a certain efficiency standard, and generating 3.3v and 5v rails are pushing that number down. Solution? Move that task to the motherboard where they won't count against the power supply efficiency requirement.
Of course, from a purely engineering perspective, it really does make sense and it's overdue.
- simias 7y agoThe motherboard "knows more" than the PSU though, it should be able to better deal with these idle power situations by shutting down things that aren't used anymore and powering them back up when needed. An external PSU would have tighter constraints regarding power availability and wouldn't be able to optimize the power profile quite as aggressively since they don't really know exactly what they're driving.
- russdill 7y agoMany DC-DC supplies have auto-standby/idle modes that take care of this problem in an automatic way.
- Faaak 7y agoExactly. I'm pretty sure that once the DC-DC converters are mainly placed in the motherboard, they won't be audited for efficiency anymore and global efficiency will plummet. A shame
- undersuit 7y agoDecreasing efficiency of the motherboard would mean it needs more power, meaning they would require larger power supplies in addition to being a new specification.
- detaro 7y agoDecreasing efficiency of their platform is also not really something Intel has an interest in, since it makes them look bad.
- dusted 7y agoThis is an interesting thought and a different perspective on the situation. I was thinking something of that kind, that, instead of being able to rely on very high quality components and very high expertise for power supply design being centralized in the PSU, everyone else (motherboard / graphics card / harddrive ) manufactures must now become able to design, and willing to implement, high-efficiency, high-quality power-regulation circuitry in their own products. This also affects the price of those components, while it probably does not make the PSU i get to buy in a webshop any cheaper. From an engineering viewpoint, it probably does make sense, especially for the lower voltages, as less copper may be required.