There are three type
of SMPS called at, atx, and btx
AT SMPS
Advanced Technology SMPS has a 12-pin
power connector they were used in Pentium-I, Pentium-II, and Pentium III CPUs.
ATX SMPS
Advanced Technology eXtended has a
20-pin power connector called ATX power connector. They were used in
Pentium-III, Pentium IV and AMD CPUs.
BTX SMPS
Balanced Technology eXtended SMPS have a
24-pin power connector and 15-pin SATA power connector and is used in Dual
core, Core2Duo, Quad Core, i3, i5, i7 and the latest AMD CPUs.
There are three type
of Gaming SMPS called Non Modular, Semi Modular, and Full Modular.
Non Modular SMPS
The SMPS come with all possible cables attached to it
This has the advantage of ensuring you're not going to need a cable. The downside is that it's VERY messy
for cable-management. Trying to find a place for all the excess cables can
be a nightmare. Bad cable-management can mean the difference between
good or bad airflow and consequently the operating temperature of your
system.
Semi Modular SMPS
Only the essential cables come
pre-attached. Usually this means, 24Pin ATX, a single PCIe, 8Pin CPU, and maybe
one or two peripheral power cables (SATA/Molex). There's less clutter and it
is definitely much better than non-modular and
a cheaper solution than going full modular.
Full Modular SMPS
Comes with no cables pre-attached. You only attach the
ones you need.
It is more expensive, but also gives you more
options, allowing you to only install the cables you need and keep airflow and
cable management to a maximum. All newer generation HALE SMPS are fully
modular.
