Ok, I guess even further nausiating details are needed here...
While you THINK it runs on 12 volts or whatever, electronics will run on a range of voltage values as log as it adds up to enough watts, which is the final value of power. The power supply, if it is unable to deliver the power at 12 volts lets say for a 12 volt application, it will try its best to ramp up the amperage to compensate. Problem is the wiring and whatnot was desinged to have the voltage at 12 volts and the extra heat generated by delivering it at a lower voltage and higher amperage reduces the lifespan of components. So, the dodohead looks at the voltages his PC is running on and sees something like 10.5 volts where 12 volts should be and thinks something like...
People like that LuckyDude character are full of rubbish, my computer works fine".
The problem with my response to that is I can't tell you if it will run an hour, a day, or a week, month, year or decade before the lack of voltage catches up with you and causes a problem. In fact, I can't even say that you will ever have a problem. So what's a girl to do with logic like that?
Well, I'll tell you, the Electrical Engineers have told me and testing by myself of power supplies as they age has born it out that power supplies degrade not just by ambient temperatures fed to the unit, but by how fast the dust bunnies clog up the unit and how often they get cleared out if ever. How fast is this happening to your power supply? If I knew the answer to that question, I'd be so smart as to be hired 24/7 at high dollar rates and wouldn't have the time to post here. Not only does the rate at which the power supply's performance degrade by environmental factors, it degrades by the amount of load you put on it. If it is running at 60% of its capacity for continuous power vs. 85% of its capacity for delivering continuous power, it will probably degrade slower than it would if used at a higher demand rate.
The problem here I fear is NOT a failure to communicate, but a failure to want to grasp the idea that something as mundain as a power supply can have such a profound affect on everything else. How anyone could think that is beyond me. After all, everything runs on it, so why wouldn't it be affected by it?
This even gets into overclocking issues as well. Take the same PC and put a barely enough power supply in it and get your best clocking speeds and timings on RAM. Then put in a power supply twice the size for overkill. One that is actually, not just rated at being twice the size and like elfin magic, you get a slightly better score. Is it an impressive difference? Sometimes, but not usually. So, what's the great advantage you get for paying $120.00 U.S. instead of $80.00 or less U.S. currency?
Peace of mind! A friend of mine was doing an rMA on his video card and the first thing they asked him was what power supply he had. He told them he had a 520 watt OCZ (and other brands produce good ones as well) and that ended that part of the rMA equation right there! Aslo, so many people assign a part failure to the board that was at least in part, contributed to by lack of proper power. They go on about fans on their video card failing in 6 months and RAM getting flaky in 3. Will you have no problems if you buy a nice, stout power supply? You wish! However, we have enough to deal with without having that thought nagging in the back of your pea sized brain...
I wonder if this power supply is good enough?
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