Power supply question . . .

[dgsg]

Thinking about getting a new higher end PC and notice that they have power supplies in the 650-750 watt range. Are power supplies like a light bulb and use that much power whenever the system is on, or just if you have enough additional components that need the power?

 

[moosey]

they only use what you need

 

[Operandi]

Unless you are building a high-end SLi/Crossfire machine a 350-500 watt PSU is all you will ever need for the foreseeable future.

Before you go out and buy something do yourself a favor and read this.

 

[catalysts17az]

Operandi nice post. You can not go wrong with these brands OCZ (i have two of them 700 & 600, wanted too make sure i had enough power for the future) Antec, and PC power & Cooling. I have owned PSU form Antec, OCZ and thermaltake. So far so good with all of them. But i highly recommend the OCZ models and the 600 watter in particular. there are other PSU but i have no personal experience with any other PSU. And yes i have high end parts and it all starts with the motherboard (mother knows best).

 

[Jiggz]

Bragging rights aside, you probably won't even need all that power. There is a post recently asking if a 550W PSU will be enough for her quadcore system. And the unanimous answer was "Yes". That is a quadcore system and yet a PSU rated at less than 600W will suffice. Does a higher rated PSU uses more power, yes but only a little more compare to lesser rated PSU. Of course, this is only a result of higher excitation in the transformer or voltage divider circuit. And yes, the PSU only provides power to what was demanded by the load.