What is the difference between cheap/good psu?

[rimmi2002]

I have read on a few forums that quality power supplies like Antec can end up saving you more in the long run because the save upto $10-15/year off the electricity bill. What are people looking at when they are making these remarks?

If this is true what spec on the power supply do I compare to see which psu ends up saving me more in the long run? What would be a good number for this spec? Also what are the important specs to look at before buying a power supply. Thanks.

 

[mpilchfamily]

They are talking about the efficiency of the unit. As you know a PSU takes the AC power from the wall and converts it to DC current that your PC can use. Power is lost during this conversion in the form of heat. Lets say you have a 300W PSU. Now lets say you have it under a 100% load. So your system is pulling a full 300W from the unit. If that unit is 80% efficient then it is pulling 375W from the wall. So there is 25W being lost in the conversion process. If the PSU is about 88% efficient then you are pulling about 340W from the wall. So over time a more efficient PSU will save you money on the power bill.

But thats only part of the equation for making a quality PSU. You need to make sure the PSU is able to supply enough power to run your system. If the PSU doesn't offer enough amperage on the +12v rails(s) to support your system then you will run into all sorts of stability issues with the system and possibly damage parts.

Check out this guide. It will be able to exsplain things a bit better.
http://www.xcpus.com/forums/ca...ide-psu-101-102-a.html

There is allot to consider when choosing a PSU. its no longer about finding the cheapest high wattage unit.

 

[MarcVenice]

It's about efficiency. How much energy that gets pulled from the wall actually ends up as used energy by your PC, compared to how much energy that gets pulled from the wall actually gets turned into HEAT. I'm not sure if the story is true, but some PSU's are only 70% efficient, others are 80+ % efficient. AND, good qaulity PSU's have better components, making them last longer, and they will be more stable, giving less chance of damaging your PC. That's oversimplified though, for more info look here for example: http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3264 and here http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3265