What makes a digital source better than an analog one

First of all, you have to be careful because, as is often the case, manufacturers use the term “digital source” as a marketing strategy and sell you the source as digital when in reality it just has USB / Bluetooth interface to read performance data, adjust fan curve, or adjust RGB lighting if you have one.

No, a digital power supply is one in which fully digital control control and protection circuits PFC, LLC, SR / 12 V, which allows to offer much more accurate power control parameters and therefore better, resulting in much less generated ripple noise, thus providing cleaner and more stable power to the rest of the hardware components of the PC.

The Importance of a Good Power Source

When you are choosing components for your new PC, the power supply is often an overlooked component. However, the quality of this has very important implications for the safety and noise of the entire system, and it is that, as we very often say, the source is the heart of the PC, which is responsible for supplying power to each of the other components.

The wall socket supplies an alternating current (AC) power source of 100 to 230 V depending on the country, which is converted to direct current (DC) using AC / DC converter source for the subsequent supply of various voltage values ​​required for PC components ( 12V, 5V and 3.3V ).

Thus, this voltage is reduced and cleared for distribution to components such as video card, motherboard, processor, storage media, fans and lighting elements. The high quality power supplies provide converted 3.3, 5 and 12 VDC with low jitter and ripple. For safety reasons, 5V backup power rails and -12V rails should also be mentioned, but these generally do not have high performance requirements or are even separated from what is basic power transformation process …

Higher efficiency provides more efficient operation with less waste of heat. Good (and modern) power supplies also need to be able to quickly adapt to extreme current surges that are common with modern graphics cards, for example. In addition, proper cooling of internal components results in slower aging and less background noise.

Why a digital power supply?

Traditionally, analog circuits control and regulate the functions of a PC’s power supply, but the concept of digital control offers many useful advantages. The term “digital power supply” has been around for some time, although, as we mentioned at the beginning, it has different meanings and interpretations, which often leads to misunderstandings. One possible interpretation of this describes certain power supplies with functions such as an LCD screen that shows power consumption in real time, a USB interface for read electrical parameters, or manual setting of the fan curve. These functions are only possible thanks to the microcontroller, so they are marketed as digital, but … in fact they are not.

The implementation of a digital interface for reading power values ​​is also possible in analog sources, but this does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the quality of the real operation of the devices. Analog control 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 “smart digital power”, which describes power supplies with digital monitoring and control of their basic functions. This concept results in much more precise control of source parameters, improving signal quality and efficiency.

This distinction is very important because the implementation of digitally regulated power supplies can cover different quantities. The so-called semi-digital sources are digitally controlled only. Force factor Correction filter (PFC), but only when LCC circuit , synchronous rectifier (SR), voltage regulation and protection circuits are digitally controlled, we can talk about a fully digital power supply.

Analog power supplies use analog circuitry to control and regulate the output voltages on the DC and PFC side. In a digital source, this work is done by one or more microcontrollers, controls that control the PFC, a fan controller, LLC-SR-12V circuit regulation, and protection circuit breakers, and they can flexibly adjust all of these parameters to suit current power requirements in in real time.

A digital controller can respond much faster than an analog controller and can measure values ​​more accurately, providing more stable voltage regulation with less fluctuations. The faster the MOSFETs in LLC and SR circuits can be adjusted, the shorter the downtime will be, resulting in higher efficiency and thus the use of the highest 80 Plus rated power supply concepts such as the 80 Plus Titanium. In addition, the microcontroller ensures optimal PFC behavior over the entire load range of the source, improving overall power factor and efficiency.

be quiet !, the best example of fully digital fonts

We recently showed you an analysis of the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1200W, the latest version of this family of power supplies, in which the manufacturer decided to carry out an almost complete update, turning it into a fully digital source, and thanks to which it was qualified from 80 plus titanium the highest possible efficiency.

The Dark Power Pro 12 design also allows for the integration of an innovative, self-contained fan that draws air through an irregularly shaped fountain funnel. This design went through more than ten changes before the result was worthy of a Premium rated power supply and they ensured that the fan did not generate no turbulence, no noise improving what was already bordering on perfection.

The Dark Power Pro 12 is thus a great example of a fully digital power supply because, in addition to being powerful, quiet and reliable, it embodies everything an enthusiast could hope for. So, answering the question of whether it is worth paying more for a digital font, the answer is: if you are looking for the best performance and the best quality, do not hesitate because this is your best option …