Power Supply

[john coomey872]

PC specialist have a great system to let you know when you are ordering a power supply higher than you need, I think it calculates a 20% buffer for your needs. But can you benefit from a bigger buffer?

I vaguely remember coming across a source online saying that they like to have a power source much higher that is required because it has some performance or longlivity benefits. Unfortunately I can't find that video to check.
Are there benefits to going for a 1000watt power source over a 750 (if that is what is suggested is all you need) other than future proofing it for some power hungry upgrade?

 

[AgentCooper]

Any PSU will only draw what it needs so I can't see what difference it'd make, really.

What I would postulate is that the ones that cost more tend to be of a higher quality (RMx being better than TMx which in turn is better than CV and so on), and that's where you might get your longevity from. They're made from better quality components, they'll be semi/fully modular, the fan will only kick in when it's under load etc.

Other than that, as you stated, future proofing is the main benefit.

 

[john coomey872]

OK cool, Ill keep with PCSs recommendation then and just make sure it an RMx. Thanks @AgentCooper

 

[Scott]

I tend to always recommend over-shooting. At the moment the Nvidia lineup recommends up to 850w. I would have that as my minimum base now where the budget allows. That way should you want to add a higher end GPU down the line, you're covered.

I tend to consider a PSU as something that should last 10 years too. With that in mind, you want to try and consider the power requirements of the future.

Other than cost, there is no down side to over-speccing the power. The higher the wattage with the RMx, the more power you can use before the fans even kick in. I think they kick in after 33%, so with a 1000W PSU that would be 330w of silence.

 

[john coomey872]

That is very interesting to know about the fans. I didn't realise they were dependent on the power usage. It might be worth it for that alone. Thanks @Scott

 

[Gavras]

With power supplies there is an efficiency curve.

with any power supply you ideally want it sitting at half power / load majority of the time.

with certain points of a game, the PSU may then ramp up to say 90% load for a short period.

If you run any PSU at over 80% and definitely 90% you will shorten its life.

it should be the case that where possible you go for Gold as these have ‘better’ components, however for last 4-5 years the component market has been a nightmare and PSU’s (all types not just PC) have been hit hardest.

couple links here.

https://appuals.com/gold-vs-bronze-psu/

Anatomy of a Power Supply Unit (PSU)

Power supply units don't break headlines like the latest CPUs do, but they're awesome pieces of technology. Let's put on our gowns, masks, and gloves, and pull...

www.techspot.com

As soon as you start driving a PSU hard you start shortening it’s life.

Also over time a PSU will degrade, I tend to think of a car as analogy - buy it at 300bhp, in 10 years it’s at 270 -250bhp.

A good quality PSU should last the life of the PC.

for me Gold Modular ticks the most boxes.