The Power

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the 4% difference between 50% and 100% load translates to a 67.3W difference in waste: we've doubled available power, but we're wasting about 2.5x as much. this isn't a huge amount relative to the input power, and a 90% efficiency at full load is nothing to sneeze at. you're not going to save much on your power bill through proper sizing, assuming power factors of at least 0.9 across the board. for purposes of heat, though, it's no good! a 94.4W waste is similar to an adult man's thermal output, and this is just from the PSU. another thing to be cogent of is that 80 PLUS tests are performed at room temperature. the inside of your machine, especially at full load, is very likely above that, and remember that higher temperatures in this regime mean less efficient electronics. unless the ambient temperatures are around 25℃, you can expect less efficiency than the results here. this is why cases in the last decade often attempt to keep the PSU fairly thermally isolated, and why it's critical to keep your PSU egress free of dust.

what is the goal of cooling? first and foremost, the active components must maintain temperatures within their operating ranges. electric devices have a threshold temperature and a maximum temperature. peak (advertised) performance is typical up to the threshold temperature. the device derates beyond that, and should not be operated above the maximum temperature. modern processors have thermal protection built in to keep temperatures from getting too high (my AMD 3970X oughtn't run over 95℃). older processors, especially AMD chips from the beginning of the century, would begin literally smoldering, reaching temperatures of hundreds of degrees, if run without cooling for even a few seconds. for processors, the resistance (and thus heat generation) is very dense; the first task of any cooling system is to remove heat from these units. modern processors typically advertise "boost" speeds; these speeds can only be reached below temperature thresholds. indeed, even the "base" clocks can only be reached with a decent cooling solution, lest the thermal protection lead to "throttling". remember that in the presence of overclocking, more heat and power are in play than at design clocks.

secondly, the temperature inside the machine must be kept below thresholds. higher case temperatures will degrade performance and reduce lifetimes for peripherals, and retard the ability of the cooling system to remove heat from the processors. finally, it is desirable to do this as efficiently as possible, since the cooling itself consumes power and generates noise. leaving aside immersion cooling, this means we need to get the hot air out of the system.

<b>FIXME FIXME FIXME 2022-03-23</b>

The Power: Difference between revisions

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 the 4% difference between 50% and 100% load translates to a 67.3W difference in waste: we've doubled available power, but we're wasting about 2.5x as much. this isn't a huge amount relative to the input power, and a 90% efficiency at full load is nothing to sneeze at. you're not going to save much on your power bill through proper sizing, assuming power factors of at least 0.9 across the board. for purposes of heat, though, it's no good! a 94.4W waste is similar to an adult man's thermal output, and this is just from the PSU. another thing to be cogent of is that 80&nbsp;PLUS tests are performed at room temperature. the inside of your machine, especially at full load, is very likely above that, and remember that higher temperatures in this regime mean less efficient electronics. unless the ambient temperatures are around 25℃, you can expect less efficiency than the results here. this is why cases in the last decade often attempt to keep the PSU fairly thermally isolated, and why it's critical to keep your PSU egress free of dust.
+what is the goal of cooling? first and foremost, the active components must maintain temperatures within their operating ranges. electric devices have a threshold temperature and a maximum temperature. peak (advertised) performance is typical up to the threshold temperature. the device derates beyond that, and should not be operated above the maximum temperature. modern processors have thermal protection built in to keep temperatures from getting too high (my AMD 3970X oughtn't run over 95℃). older processors, especially AMD chips from the beginning of the century, would begin literally smoldering, reaching temperatures of hundreds of degrees, if run without cooling for even a few seconds. for processors, the resistance (and thus heat generation) is very dense; the first task of any cooling system is to remove heat from these units. modern processors typically advertise "boost" speeds; these speeds can only be reached below temperature thresholds. indeed, even the "base" clocks can only be reached with a decent cooling solution, lest the thermal protection lead to "throttling". remember that in the presence of overclocking, more heat and power are in play than at design clocks.
+secondly, the temperature inside the machine must be kept below thresholds. higher case temperatures will degrade performance and reduce lifetimes for peripherals, and retard the ability of the cooling system to remove heat from the processors. finally, it is desirable to do this as efficiently as possible, since the cooling itself consumes power and generates noise. leaving aside immersion cooling, this means we need to get the hot air out of the system.
 <b>FIXME FIXME FIXME 2022-03-23</b>