technology
PSU
A power supply delivers the necessary current to devices operated on the European 230V domestic network (or 110V in the USA and Japan). The power supply works here as a voltage convertor, converting the 230V alternating current into specific direct currents.
PFC (Active)
Active PFC stands for active Power Factor Correction. This is a filter to minimise disruptive harmonics. The highest possible value for an active PFC is 1.
PF (PowerFactor)
PF stands for Power Factor and in electronics refers to the ratio between real performance and apparent power. The power factor can be no more than 1. The closer to 1 the PF comes, the better that loss is avoided during transmission.
Quad-Rail
A quad rail is a 12V power supply split between four subrails. During the splitting of the individual voltage rails, the voltage remains at 12V, although the current is divided between the four subrails.
Rifle Bearing
Rifle bearing refers to a specific gliding bearing technology. Oil is circulated within a closed rifle bearing through the turning of the axis. Small paddles on the axis push the oil out of the bearing from the one side. It flows outward into striations around the bearing face and is fed back into the bearing. The oil circulation provides especially effective cooling for the bearing and increases its service life.
SLI
Scan Line Interleave - SLI for short – describes the function that allows several graphics cards to operate within one computer. The 3dfx company first deployed SLI in 1996 to increase the performance of its Voodoo graphics cards. Today the term SLI is always used in relation to graphics card maker NVIDIA. SLI divides the graphics performance between two graphics cards running in one computer. This permits improved graphics performance.
Single Rail (operation)
Most power supplies separate the 12V current into several rails. Single rail refers to an operational approach that uses one undivided 12V rail. This has the benefit that more power is available at once through a rail. The disadvantage is the potential for collapsing voltages under high loads.
S-ATA
S-ATA is an extra plug connection for a computer. The S-ATA plug is primarily used for drives and has almost completely replaced the 4-pin Molex plug. Unlike the 4-pin Molex plug, the S-ATA plug has 15 pins and can deliver three different power supply voltages. It is also flatter than a Molex plug.
SCP
SCP stands for "Short Circuit Protection" and represents an important protective function for power supplies. If a fault leads to a short circuit in the computer, the SCP function switches off the power supply to prevent additional defects to the hardware.
SFX
SFX stands for "Small Form Factor" and is a type of form factor. SFX power supplies have a different casing form and are significantly smaller than normal ATX power supplies. This requires smaller fans as well. The underlying technology is no different from that of ATX network components. They are primarily used in small casings, such as for multimedia computers.