3 ms·

All of this can be done client side though. A PSU delivers current until it can't, and doesn't deliver current when there isn't a load. Ohms law, I=V/R It's a

All of this can be done client side though. A PSU delivers current until it can't, and doesn't deliver current when there isn't a load. Ohms law, I=V/R It's a naturally self balancing system. Additionally, computer power supplies aren't made to be "reliable". In fact, they are made much like hard drives; so cost effective that it makes more sense to achieve reliability with quantity and redundancy rather than quality. That's why servers have multiple PSUs in parallel. So you don't have to rely on them.

eternityforest 5y ago
Home computers don't have redundant supplies. Or at least, not commonly. Digital communication is cheap and probably more appropriate for consumer use cases than redundancy. Especially since you should be able to get temperature and input power ratings. Computers are not subject to ohm's law, they are not resistive loads, and thankfully power supplies are not just voltage sources. What actually happens is that when something tries to draw more power than the supply, it limits power by reducing voltage or just shutting off, or it breaks if you somehow found a craptastic supply with no protection. Randomly shutting off is not ideal, and a brownout could be even worse. instead, the supply could actively tell the computer things like "Don't try to run full GPU power, I only have 300 watts to give" or "The switching reg chip is at 70C, throttle to avoid a sudden shutdown". Maybe the supply could even count 60Hz cycles to keep the host clock synced in the absence of NTP(At least as long as the grid stays accurate). And the user could be aware of all this. Power supplies are a common failure mode and really everything, even usb phone chargers, could probably benefit. No reason to still make so many dumb devices when costs are so low.

3 ms·

All of this can be done client side though. A PSU delivers current until it can't, and doesn't deliver current when there isn't a load. Ohms law, I=V/R It's a

by zelon88 5y ago

eternityforest 5y ago
Home computers don't have redundant supplies. Or at least, not commonly. Digital communication is cheap and probably more appropriate for consumer use cases than redundancy. Especially since you should be able to get temperature and input power ratings. Computers are not subject to ohm's law, they are not resistive loads, and thankfully power supplies are not just voltage sources. What actually happens is that when something tries to draw more power than the supply, it limits power by reducing voltage or just shutting off, or it breaks if you somehow found a craptastic supply with no protection. Randomly shutting off is not ideal, and a brownout could be even worse. instead, the supply could actively tell the computer things like "Don't try to run full GPU power, I only have 300 watts to give" or "The switching reg chip is at 70C, throttle to avoid a sudden shutdown". Maybe the supply could even count 60Hz cycles to keep the host clock synced in the absence of NTP(At least as long as the grid stays accurate). And the user could be aware of all this. Power supplies are a common failure mode and really everything, even usb phone chargers, could probably benefit. No reason to still make so many dumb devices when costs are so low.