Summarize power supply types( Comptia Objective 3.7)

Question 1

How can you identify a motherboards power supply connector?

Answer 1

• Should have 24 pins or 20+4 pins as per the ATX spec

Question 2

How can you identify a CPU’s power connector?

Answer 2

• Should have either 4 pin or 8 pins( 2 x 4 pin block latest standard)

Question 3

What is the purpose of “dual-rail” PSUs?

Answer 3

• To seperate and limit the current through each wire to avoid overheating.

Question 4

How many pins does a SATA connector have? and what voltage does it use?

Answer 4

• SATA uses a 15 pin connector and uses 3.3/5/ and 12 volts typically used for Hard and optical drives.

Question 5

How many pins does a Molex connector have? and what voltages does it use?

Answer 5

• Uses 4-pin connector and uses 5v( red), 12v( yellow), two ground wires. Typically used for Case fans, IDE hard drives, and optical drives.

Question 6

How many pins does a PCIe connector have? and what voltages does it use?

Answer 6

• Has either a 6-pin(ATX12V version 2.1) or a 8-pin connector( ATX12V version 2.2 and higher) and uses 12V. Typically used for PCI Express video cards.