{"id":158755,"date":"2021-01-20T09:40:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T06:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-important-is-the-power-supply-psu-when-building-a-pc\/"},"modified":"2021-01-20T09:40:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-20T06:40:00","slug":"how-important-is-the-power-supply-psu-when-building-a-pc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-important-is-the-power-supply-psu-when-building-a-pc\/","title":{"rendered":"#How Important Is the Power Supply (PSU) When Building a PC?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a30a6b82e18b\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a30a6b82e18b\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-important-is-the-power-supply-psu-when-building-a-pc\/#A_PSU_Is_a_Critical_Piece_of_PC_Infrastructure\" >A PSU Is a Critical Piece of PC Infrastructure<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-important-is-the-power-supply-psu-when-building-a-pc\/#Watts\" >Watts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-important-is-the-power-supply-psu-when-building-a-pc\/#Ratings\" >Ratings<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-important-is-the-power-supply-psu-when-building-a-pc\/#Other_Important_Features_in_a_PSU\" >Other Important Features in a PSU<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#How Important Is the Power Supply (PSU) When Building a PC?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_706804\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-706804 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/psu-and-cables.jpg\" alt=\"A power supply unit and its cables for a desktop PC.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/600w-power-supply-cables-unit-full-530741536\" data-credittext=\"md-pictures\/Shutterstock.com\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/600w-power-supply-cables-unit-full-530741536\">md-pictures\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The power supply (PSU) is a critical part of any PC. It powers all the components in your PC, and a bad or faulty one can bring everything down. Here\u2019s what to look for in a power supply while putting together a PC.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_PSU_Is_a_Critical_Piece_of_PC_Infrastructure\"><\/span>A PSU Is a Critical Piece of PC Infrastructure<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When we turn on a light, open a faucet, or walk down a nicely paved street, we don\u2019t often think about the wondrous infrastructure making all that possible. But if somebody hadn\u2019t taken the time to think about it, things wouldn\u2019t be so wondrous.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the same when building a PC. We get obsessed with how many cores a CPU has or the number of compute units in a GPU. But rarely do we think twice about the power supply unit (PSU,) which provides power to everything else in your PC.<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t need to think about your power supply too much, of course. But, if you don\u2019t consider the PSU at all, there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019ll be thinking about it a lot once it starts causing problems.<\/p>\n<p>If your computer doesn\u2019t get enough power or the PSU malfunctions, there are a number of issues that could <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ear. Your system may not boot,\u00a0 the entire system might become unstable\u2014or it might simply shut down when the demand for energy exceeds capacity. There\u2019s also a chance that more expensive components may get damaged from the instability.<\/p>\n<p>The good <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> is you don\u2019t have to get too far into the details to pick a good power supply. There are many tools online that will help you figure out the right kind of power supply for your build.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Watts\"><\/span>Watts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_706662\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-706662 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1000WPSU.png\" alt=\"A black box with 1000W written in gold lettering.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-credittext=\"Rosewill\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.rosewill.com\/\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rosewill.com\/\">Rosewill<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As cores are to a CPU, so wattage is to a PSU. It\u2019s the major feature people look at as it tells you how much power a PSU can push out.\u00a0 A good rule of thumb is to shoot for about 25% or more of headroom from what the expected output for your PC is. So if your maximum expected output is 400 watts, then a 500W or 550W PSU would run it easily and provide some future-proofing should you ever upgrade your PC with a component requiring more power.<\/p>\n<p>So, how do you figure out your expected output? You can use a site like <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pcpartpicker.com\/\">PC Part Picker<\/a>, which will show you expected watt requirements based on your components. There are also many power supply calculators online, such as those from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newegg.com\/tools\/power-supply-calculator\/\">Newegg<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/outervision.com\/power-supply-calculator\">Extreme Outer Vision<\/a>, with the latter being a popular choice. Don\u2019t be surprised if each calculator comes up with a different recommendation as these are just estimates. Newegg\u2019s tends to be a little on the high end, for example.<\/p>\n<p>One last thing before we leave this topic is that you may come across people talking about the importance of rails in a PSU; however, this is not as important as it once was. If you want a quick breakdown on the subject, check out <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rC-ImSeYn2A\">this Techquickie video<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ratings\"><\/span>Ratings<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_706663\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-706663\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/80Plus.png\" alt=\"The number 80 above the world Plus enclosed in a rectangle with rounded edges.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The 80 Plus logo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When you look at PSUs you\u2019ll see that they have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clearesult.com\/80plus\/\">80 Plus ratings<\/a> named after different metals including Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Titanium. There\u2019s also a plain 80 Plus rating with no metal name attached to it.<\/p>\n<p>These are efficiency and reliability ratings. 80 Plus means the power supply is 80% efficient or higher at loads (the power demands on the PSU) of 20%, 50%, and 100% at 115 volts and 230 volts. The efficiency requirements change, depending on the capacity and voltage, and the more valuable the metal name in the rating the more efficient the PSU has to be.<\/p>\n<p>For example, at 50% load and 115V an 80 Plus Bronze PSU is supposed to hit at least 85% efficiency, while a Titanium PSU at that load and voltage should be 94% efficient.<\/p>\n<p>Part of the reason these efficiency ratings were developed is that, as with most things electric, PSUs are not 100% efficient. In fact, they lose some energy in the form of heat. That doesn\u2019t mean, however, that a 400W PSU can\u2019t supply that much power because the wattage on the box tells you a PSU\u2019s maximum throughput.<\/p>\n<p>You can find a list of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clearesult.com\/80plus\/\">80 Plus certifications online<\/a>, but the important thing to note is that the higher up the \u201cvalue\u201d ladder you go for each metal, the more efficient the PSU is supposed to be.<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>, you want a power supply that\u2019s as efficient as you can reasonably afford at the wattage you need.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_Important_Features_in_a_PSU\"><\/span>Other Important Features in a PSU<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_706666\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-706666 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/EvgaSemiModular.png\" alt=\"The various plug options on a semi-modular power supply.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-credittext=\"EVGA\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.evga.com\/\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A semi-modular power supply from EVGA. <span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.evga.com\/\">EVGA<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re building your own PC or just replacing the PSU on an old machine, there are a few more important considerations. First is the issue of a modular, semi-modular, or non-modular PSU.<\/p>\n<p>A modular PSU comes with no cords attached to it at all and is usually referred to as \u201cfully modular\u201d at online stores. With a fully modular PSU, it\u2019s up to the PC builder to connect the cords they need. A semi-modular supply, on the other hand, has a number of cables that are non-detachable. These are usually the essentials, such as the 24-pin power cable, the power connector for the CPU, and others. Anything else you need can be added just like with a modular supply. When you\u2019re shopping around, semi-modular PSUs can be called \u201cmodular\u201d or just \u201csemi-modular.\u201d Finally, there are also non-modular supplies with all cables permanently attached to the power supply.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest advantage of a fully modular PSU is that you control how many cables are lurking in the back of your PC. Even with a semi-modular unit, you can end up with excess cables that aren\u2019t connected to anything and take up space in the back of the case.<\/p>\n<p>Non-modular PSUs tend to be a little bit cheaper than the other two, but you\u2019ll have to deal with stashing a ton of cables in the back of your case, which can be a real pain. If you can spend the extra money, it\u2019s well worth it to go for at least a semi-modular PSU for a cleaner build.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019d also suggest sticking to a PSU from a well-known company. There are tons of power supplies out there from numerous companies most of which you\u2019ve never heard of. That could set you up for a blown PSU sooner than you anticipated not to mention potential damage to other parts of your system.<\/p>\n<p>Stick with companies like <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.corsair.com\/us\/en\/\">Corsair<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.evga.com\/\">EVGA<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.coolermaster.com\/\">Cooler Master<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thermaltakeusa.com\/\">Thermaltake<\/a>, and other well-known ones to be reasonably certain you\u2019re getting a good quality PSU. That\u2019s by no means a guarantee, but it\u2019s a safer bet than a random PSU from an unknown company.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, we\u2019d suggest paying close attention to the warranty. While we often don\u2019t think about warranties for other items, it\u2019s a crucial part of a PSU. There are many PSUs out there that come with 5- or 10-year warranties meaning you can be more certain these units will last for multiple PC builds. And if they don\u2019t, you can always file a warranty claim.<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t need to get obsessed with a PC\u2019s power supply, but take a few important issues into consideration and you can rest easy with a solid choice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/706624\/how-important-is-the-power-supply-psu-when-building-a-pc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#How Important Is the Power Supply (PSU) When Building a PC?&#8221; md-pictures\/Shutterstock.com The power supply (PSU) is a critical part of any PC. It powers all the components in your PC, and a bad or faulty one can bring everything down. Here\u2019s what to look for in a power supply while putting together a PC&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":158756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/psu-and-cables.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-158755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}