Power supply (PSU)
Also: power supply unit
The box that turns wall power into power for the computer. It must be big enough for the graphics card.
The fuller definition
The power supply converts wall power into the voltages the computer's parts use. It must provide at least the system power the graphics card maker specifies.
- Wall
AC power
- PSU
Converts and limits
- Parts
Card, CPU, board
A simplified relationship, not a screenshot or a complete design.
A concrete example
NVIDIA lists 1,000 W required system power for the RTX 5090.
The distinction that matters
An undersized supply often works at idle and fails under a long model run.
Related terms
12V-2x6 power connector
The 16-pin plug that powers modern high-end graphics cards. Push it all the way in.
Hardware & hostingGPU — Graphics processing unit
The chip that handles graphics, and also the maths AI needs. It is what makes AI fast.
Hardware & hostingMotherboard
The main board every other part plugs into. It decides which processor, memory, and cards you can use.
Where it is taught
Understand the hardware a local model needsSource and further reading
Hugging Face · Model inference and quantizationThe definition and example are written for this library. The link gives background, official documentation or legal authority as labelled. Legal scope depends on the jurisdiction and current text; product features depend on release and settings.