Will a higher wattage PSU take more power while idle?

[Pentacore]

I'm not a fan of turning off my PCs and prefer to leave them on 24/7. I had a gaming rig I wasn't using and sold the videocard that required a big PSU. The PSU is a Corsair 850w. The PC is just used now for basic browsing, etc so the PSU is way overkill. Maybe a dumb question, but will this PC suck more electricity because of the 850w PSU vs say a 300w one in it? I'd like to leave it on constantly but don't want to mash on my electric bill, if it would even make a difference I'm really not sure.

Thanks!

 

[Stefan Payne]

Yes, due to the worse efficience at under 20% Load.

 

[pcgeek11]

No. Just because it is capabile of 850 watts doesn't mean the system use more wattage at idle than what is demanded by the system.

The efficiency of the PSU is another matter and will depend on the quality of the PSU.

Set your computer to sleep when you are not using it.

 

[HOOfan 1]

I'm not a fan of turning off my PCs and prefer to leave them on 24/7. I had a gaming rig I wasn't using and sold the videocard that required a big PSU. The PSU is a Corsair 850w. The PC is just used now for basic browsing, etc so the PSU is way overkill. Maybe a dumb question, but will this PC suck more electricity because of the 850w PSU vs say a 300w one in it? I'd like to leave it on constantly but don't want to mash on my electric bill, if it would even make a difference I'm really not sure.

Thanks!

That isn't really a yes or no question...It depends on the PSU. It is fully possible that at 850W PSU can be more efficient than a 300W PSU at idle, it just varies from PSU to PSU. The really efficient PSUs are usually higher powered, because that is where the manufacturers are making their sales, so that is where they are putting all of their R&D efforts.

 

[Stefan Payne]

It is fully possible that at 850W PSU can be more efficient than a 300W PSU at idle, it just varies from PSU to PSU.

Not really, if you'll take a look at this German blog entry, click on the 'Zeigen' button under 'Die Ergebnisse' and be surprised!

A 625W Enermax Modu is worse than an old EG365...

 

[Henry Chinaski]

A PSU provides whatever the system load is. Your 850W PSU will still only provide xxxW if that is what the system demands from it.
The efficiency of a PSU shows how much from the power being pulled from the power grid is being effectively converted into DC to be able to be used by the computer components. A higher efficiency brings two main advantages: a lower electricity bill and less heat being produced (so the PSU will run quieter). Take in mind that efficiency is higher when the PSU is operating at 220 V and when is delivering around 50% (35-65%) of its maximum capacity.
Your Corsair 850W PSU is a high quality PSU which has a high efficiency.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

The Seasonic X 650 gold will run at 88.8% efficiency around 70w as shown on page 2 of this review. From there, it stays ~ 90% efficient till 588w.

I love mine!