Over the last few years, power supplies have always evolved towards the better, both in terms of efficiency and aesthetics and noise, and this has been thanks to the improvement of the internal components. Within this “aim for better” mentality, manufacturers are also starting to launch digital sources, but is a digital source better than an analog one ? In this article we are going to explain what their differences are and whether or not it is worth investing in it.
First of all you should be careful because, as happens many times, manufacturers take advantage of this term of “digital source” as a marketing strategy, and they sell you a source as digital when it really simply has a USB / Bluetooth interface to read the operating data , adjust the fan curve or configure your RGB lighting if you have it.
No, a digital power supply is one that has fully digital control of its PFC, LLC, SR / 12 V regulation and protection circuits, thus being able to offer much finer power regulation parameters and, therefore, better, resulting in much lower generated ripple noise, thus delivering cleaner and more stable power to the rest of the PC hardware components.
The importance of a good power supply
When you are selecting the components for your new PC, the power supply is often a component that is not given enough attention. However, the quality of this has very important consequences for the safety and noise of the entire system, and it is that as we say very often, the source is the heart of the PC, responsible for supplying power to each and every one of the other components.
The wall socket feeds the power supply with alternating current (AC) from 100 to 230V depending on the country, and this is converted into direct current (DC) with the AC / DC converter of the source to later supply the different voltage values required by the PC components ( 12V, 5V and 3.3V ).
Thus, this voltage is reduced and cleaned to be distributed to components such as the graphics card, motherboard, processor, storage media, fans, and lighting elements. High quality sources output the converted 3.3, 5 and 12V DC with low jitter and ripple. For the sake of safety, the 5 volt standby rails and the -12V rails should also be mentioned, but these generally do not have a high performance requirement, or are even separate from the main power transformation process .
Higher efficiency ensures more efficient operation with less waste heat. Good quality (and modern) power supplies also need to be able to quickly adjust to the extreme current spikes that are common in contemporary graphics cards, for example. In addition, proper cooling of the internal components ensures that they age more slowly and generate less background noise.
Why a digital power supply?
Traditionally, analog circuits monitor and regulate the functions of a PC power supply, but a digital control concept offers many useful advantages. The term “digital power supply” has been around for a while now, although with various meanings and interpretations as we mentioned at the beginning, which often leads to misunderstandings. One possible interpretation of this describes certain power supplies with features such as an LCD screen that shows the power consumed in real time, a USB interface to read electrical values, or manual adjustment of the fan curve. These functions are only possible thanks to a micro controller and that is why they are sold as digital but… in reality they are not.
The implementation of a digital interface for reading power values is also possible in analogue sources, but this does not allow to draw any conclusions about the quality of the actual operation of the devices. Analog regulation is performed at a lower level compared to digital regulation .
What we are going to explore in the following paragraphs is sometimes referred to as “digital power” or “intelligent digital power,” which describes power supplies with digital monitoring and control of their basic functions. This concept leads to a much more precise regulation of the source parameters, improving the quality and efficiency of the signal.
This distinction is very important, because the implementation of digitally regulated power supplies can cover different magnitudes. The so-called semi-digital sources only have a digitally controlled Power Factor Correction (PFC) filter, but only when the LCC circuit , synchronous rectifier (SR), voltage regulation and protection circuits are digitally controlled can we speak of a fully digital power supply.
Analog power supplies use an analog circuit to monitor and regulate the output voltages on the DC and PFC side. In a digital source, this work is carried out by one or more micro controllers, control elements that monitor the PFC, the fan controller, the regulation of the LLC-SR-12V circuits and the actuation points of the protection circuits, and they can flexibly adjust all these parameters according to current power requirements in real time.
A digital controller can react much faster than an analog one, and it also measures values more accurately, allowing for more stable voltage regulation with less ripple. The faster the MOSFETs of the LLC and SR circuits can be adjusted, the shorter the dead times will be, resulting in higher efficiency and thus facilitating the highest possible 80 Plus rated power supply concepts such as the 80 Plus Titanium. In addition, the micro controller enables optimal PFC behavior throughout the source’s load range, improving overall power factor and efficiency.
be quiet !, the best example of fully digital fonts
We recently showed you the analysis of the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 with 1200 watts of power, the latest iteration of this family of power supplies in which the manufacturer has decided to carry out an almost complete update, turning it into a fully digital source, and thanks to which it has obtained the qualification of 80 Plus Titanium efficiency, the highest possible.
The Dark Power Pro 12’s design also allows for the integration of an innovative, custom, stand-alone fan that draws air through a custom-shaped funnel for the fountain. This design went through more than ten revisions before the result was worthy of a power supply classified as Premium, and they have achieved that the fan does not generate neither turbulence nor noise , improving something that already bordered on perfection.
Thus, the Dark Power Pro 12 is the perfect example of a fully digital power supply, because in addition to being powerful, quiet and durable, it embodies everything that an enthusiastic user could hope for. So and answering the question of whether or not it is worth paying more for a digital font, the answer is that if you are looking for the best performance and the best quality, do not hesitate because this is your best option .