Hello gedyolf,
Great question!
The 'fp' in reference stands for 'flea power'. It is an alternative
wording in this instance, to describe the standby power. This
particular line you are asking about is the 5 volt positive supply for
the standby circuitry. When a computer goes into standby, it requires
much less power, and in most cases uses a different internal power
supply circuit sub-section.
Dell Support Technical Overview
http://support.ap.dell.com/docs/systems/dkub/techovu.htm
The schematics above may not be for the particular power supply system
you are questioning, but this is a standard industry related term, and
the theory is universal. You will note that the +5VFP supplies much
less current than the main +5VDC supply.
+5VFP : 1.2 Amps
+5VDC : 22 Amps
Here is another reference that gives a vague definition
"When driving an easy load... working in flea-power range (under 1 W
RMS)"
http://www.geocities.com/dmitrynizh/6p14p-set.htm
In layman terms, 'flea power' represents a very small amount of power
:-) When you switch the Dell (or which every computer you are using
this in) into standby, the power supply swithes over to the +5VFP
circuitry to conserve power consumption, and put inactive components
in a quiescent state. Even if the computer is off, but still plugged
in, this flea power is supplied to the CPU in most instances. You can
read more about this at the following link:
Tech Archives
"Otherwise, the PC utilizes "flea power," or about 2.3 watts, to
maintain..."
http://www.la-paralegals.org/tech_archives.htm
To assist with this answer I searched Google for:
vfp volts
://www.google.com/search?q=vfp+volts
Should you need any clarification, please ask before rating this
answer. I would love to help as much as possible.
Thanks for the question,
SgtCory |
