PC Power and Cooling (stylized as PC Power & Cooling), a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

of FirePower Technology, is an American manufacturer of computer power supplies based in

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a coastal city in the North County region of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is south of downtown Los Angeles and north of downtown San Diego. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 114,746. ...

. The company was established by Doug Dodson in 1985. In 2007, the company was acquired by

OCZ Technology OCZ was a brand of Toshiba that was used for some of its solid-state drives (SSDs) before they were rebranded with Toshiba. OCZ Storage Solutions was a manufacturer of SSDs based in San Jose, California, USA and was the new company formed after ...

. In 2014, FirePower Technology acquired OCZ Technology Group's power supply division, which included PC Power and Cooling. The company was involved in many technologies related to computer temperature management. It sells products to both consumer and enterprise channels. The company can customize power supplies for American

OEM An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

customers in their Carlsbad facility.

History

PC Power and Cooling, Inc., was founded by Doug Dodson in April 1985. An electronic hobbyist since childhood, Dodson worked in the business of futures as an adult in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1983, his workplace issued him a

IBM PC XT The IBM Personal Computer XT (model 5160, often shortened to PC/XT) is the second computer in the IBM Personal Computer line, released on March 8, 1983. Except for the addition of a built-in hard drive and extra expansion slots, it is very simila ...

—the power supply of which he deemed intolerably noisy due to its small cooling fan. He outfitted the power supply with a special large-diameter fan to quell the noise. This attracted the attention of his coworkers, who asked him to perform the same modification to their PCs. In 1985, Dodson set up shop in his garage to perform the modification to interested customers as a side business. Shortly into this venture, Dodson saw the need to reinvent the PC's power supply from scratch, as he deemed it "poorly designed by IBM in the early days. The fan would

cavitate Cavitation is a phenomenon in which the static pressure of a liquid reduces to below the liquid's vapour pressure, leading to the formation of small vapor-filled cavities in the liquid. When subjected to higher pressure, these cavities, cal ...

. There was no real airflow coming out, so you had a ton of noise and no cooling." Dodson then incorporated PC Power and Cooling in

Bonsall, California Bonsall is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 3,982 at the 2010 census, up from 3,401 at the 2000 census. The Bonsall area was heavily affected by the Lilac Fire in December 2017, which burned 4, ...

, within

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

, where hired a team of engineers to develop supplies running at a lower temperature than IBM's stock supply for the XT while generating less noise. In 1986, the company launched their Silencer line of power supplies, featuring a 120-mm-diameter fan. Shortly after, they developed the Turbo-Cool line of supplies, the first XT-compatible power supply with multiple fans. Between 1986 and 1987, the company sold 1,000 Silencers and 5,000 Turbo-Cools. The lowest-end entries in the line then were rated for between 150 and 200 watts. In September 2005, the company introduced the first PC power supply rated for 1000 watts. In around 1992, PC Power and Cooling relocated to

, occupying a 13,000-square-foot facility. By 2005, they employed 40 workers. In May 2007,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, announced their pending acquisition of PC Power and Cooling. The acquisition was completed by September 2007, with OCZ paying PC Power and Cooling an estimated $13 million for the deal. During their tenure under OCZ, PC Power and Cooling's branded products shifted more towards the enthusiast and businesses, while OCZ Technology branded power supplies cater more towards the gaming and entry level enthusiast segments. The company as a subsidiary of OCZ had a mutual relationship with OCZ's power supply group, with the latter developing PC Power's products in tandem with their own, while PC Power's engineers (including Dodson) worked as consultants and testers of OCZ's branded power supplies. In February 2014, FirePower Technology announced the acquisition of OCZ Technology Group's power supply division, which by then included PC Power and Cooling.

Models

The Silencer brand of power supply units is available in 1050-watt and 1200-watt varieties . Variants in

Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

's proprietary form factor of power supply units have also been offered. PC Power and Cooling also offers a maximum performance line of power supplies, the Turbo-Cool units, which is available in one version of 860 watts. PC Power and Cooling has several power supplies that are 80 Plus certified; the Silencer 910W achieved the Silver Certification at over 88 percent

efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/ 2007 mergers and acquisitions 2014 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1985 Companies based in Carlsbad, California Computer companies established in 1985 Computer companies of the United States Computer power supply unit manufacturers Electronics companies established in 1985 Manufacturing companies based in San Diego