What To Consider When Choosing A Power Supply?

If you’re a competitive PC gamer or someone who build a lot of custom PC’s, then you’ve probably already purchased a handful of power supplies (PSU for short). A power supply, as the name implies, powers the entire computer and it’s essential that you choose one that can provide the correct amount of energy you need.

If you’re building a custom gaming PC, then this article is perfect for you. Custom PC’s have much higher demand for power than regular PC’s that are predominantly used for work. And that’s largely because gaming PC’s have parts that require tremendous amount of energy, such as the graphics card. Most higher end graphics card even requires you to plug it directly to the power supply to work properly.

Choosing the correct power supply from the beginning is an important decision you need to make. You need to be able to choose one that’s high quality (so it doesn’t break or fry all your internal parts), has the correct wattage your rig needs, and is efficient so you’re not bleeding on the electric bill each month. With that, you’ll need to understand what to look for when choosing a power supply for your gaming rig.

The Size

First thing you’ll want to consider is how big of a power supply do you need? This will largely depend on your build, your existing case, and where you want to put it in relation to the other components in your case. In most cases, there’s a dedicated place for your power supply. However custom/boutique cases often don’t, and if it’s a very tight build, then you’ll need a small/compact one that can fit into a tight corner.

When choosing the size of the power supply, you need to keep in mind what the form factors are.

ATX: Stands for Advanced Technology Extended, is probably one of the most common form factors you’ll find.

Micro-ATX: As the name implies, these are small. And they’re mostly used for small cases. If you’re using a micro-ATX power supply, chances are this PC is mostly for work or multi-media use and not for hard core gaming. Cases this size aren’t usually good for gaming as there are overheat issues, in addition to the lack of power from typically a much smaller power supply.

Do You Need Modular?

You can opt for a power supply that’s modular or one that has fixed orientations. As you’d expect, modular means you can plug and play with only cables that are actually needed. You won’t have unused cables dangling and wasting space. It’s nice benefit to have and can often result in a cleaner more compact custom build. Great for cable management.

The downside to modular PSU is that they tend to cost more. So if you’re on a budget, consider going with a PSU with fixed cables. But if you need the flexibility and cable management advantage, go with a modular one.

Power Supply Efficiency – Demystified

You’ve probably seen the different levels such as Bronze 83% and Platinum 92% and wonder what in the world these means. Today we’re going to demystify all of the jargon for you so you can better decide which power efficiency is for you. In a nutshell, the efficiency of the chosen PSU correlates to how much energy it’s drawing from the wall, and how effective it is at converting that raw energy into DC (direct current) for your rig to use.

Efficiency formula = DC Power / AC Power

What does the number mean?

You’ll often see 80+ or 80 PLUS. This is the level of efficiency of DC / AC. In the vast majority of cases, it must exceed 80% efficiency. You’ll rarely see anything below that. And that’s where the certification comes from. 80 PLUS means this is over 80% efficient at converting DC/AC.

What does Bronze, Silver, Gold, etc. mean?

In short, the more expensive the metal is, the more efficient (and also expensive) the PSU will also be. Each level of metal also indicates it’s efficiency level. There are six levels total.

1. Base level: No metal attached. This will indicate a PSU between 80% – 82%.
2. Bronze: The cheapest metal on the list. PSU labeled Bronze indicates efficiency between 83% – 85%
3. Silver: Efficiency between 85% – 92%
4. Gold: Efficiency level between 88% – 92%
5. Platinum: Efficiency level between 92% – 94%
6. Titanium: Ironically not the most expensive but “toughest” metal. It’s rated to be above 95% efficiency. Also most expensive.

How Much Power Is Actually Enough?

It might be tempting to just shell out the cash for a Titanium 95% right off the bat just because it’s the biggest and baddest PSU on the planet. And since your rig already cost you quite a bit, what’s a few more hundred for a beast power supply? But before you do that, calculate how much energy your rig actually use. There’s plenty of online calculators that can help you with that. And if you’re building your computer using PCPartPicker, then it’ll automatically tell you if your PSU is sufficient to run everything.

Which high-end power supply we recommend?

If money is NOT a concern, we recommend the Seasonic Prime Ultra 1000 Titanium SSR-1000TR (PSU on the cover image). It’s practically one of the best PSU we’ve ever tested and runs silently.

BUY IT HERE

The higher tiered power supply are absolutely worth it if you have a machine that can make them break a sweat or utilize their capabilities. You really need to have the need in order to justify the investment. It’s like hiring Usain Bolt to teach track at your local high-school. We’re sure he’ll be great. But is he really necessary? So for those who are conscious about their budget, we recommend buying what you really need. But make sure you over budget the power consumption in case you upgrade your PC.

On the flip side, if you absolutely must have the best and want to future-proof your build, getting the best of the best is the way to go. Your machine will run quiet, as the more expensive PSU hardly make any noises. And you’ll never have to worry about replacing the PSU when upgrading parts. Ultimately the decision rest in your hands.