How many watts should i have

Most power supplies can operate at peak power for only brief periods. Ideally your unit will delivers plenty of power to your components and offers some extra headroom in case you want to attach additional components later.

Most power supplies hit their peak efficiency levels with loads in the range of 40 to 80 percent. In a high-end system loaded with components that may peak collectively at watts, a watt PSU would work well. Many modern gaming systems with a 6 or 8-core CPU and a midrange to high-end graphics card should get by with a W to W power supply, with W being a long-time sweet spot for gamers. More powerful hardware requires higher wattages, especially if you plan on overclocking.

On the subject of wattage, one common power supply myth holds that higher-wattage power supplies necessarily consume more power. A power supply with an efficiency rating of 80 percent provides 80 percent of its rated wattage as power to your system, while losing the other 20 percent as heat. Power supplies in the higher certification tiers tend to command very high prices, however. Average users with average needs should probably stick to the simple 80 Plus or the 80 Plus Bronze level unless they find a particularly juicy deal on a Silver or Gold PSU.

In a single-rail design, all of the power from the supply will be available to any component connected to the unit, regardless of the connector or cable used. The processor needs between 80 and watts of power. Purchasing a power supply that provides exactly or close to the power you need today is probably not enough. You should purchase a power supply that provides more power than you need in case you decide to expand the computer.

For example, if you decide to upgrade your video card and the card requires additional power, you don't want to have to replace the PSU in addition to the graphics card because you didn't plan for expansion. The actual amount of power that you use will vary based on how you use the computer. Processors and video cards don't always operate at their maximum capacity, and the amount of power they draw will vary based on their utilization. Not necessarily.

A gaming PC should have between and watts, but it will still depend on how you will use your gaming PC. The exact amount of Wattage a person needs for a gaming PC will depend on a variety of factors, including:.

Even considering all those various factors, most people are fine with between and Watt power supply units. Some can do just fine, dropping down to watts, and others need to go a bit higher to between and Watts, but it seems as though and watts is the sweet spot for most hardcore gamers. I have written another article going into this topic more in-depth if you would like to read more over here. They need the right tool for the job, and that tool is a home energy monitor.

Some of them hook directly to the breakers in the fuse box and monitor power consumption that way. Others hook into outlets. The energy monitor keeps track of how many watts of electricity that particular device is using. It can measure power, voltage, and amperage consumption accurately, with only a 0. These Kill-A-Watt monitors also give users the ability to control their electricity consumption. People can do everything they need to do on the monitors themselves.

Did the cooling fan overheat and fry the system? Is something wrong with one of the connector cables? Is the PC simply not getting enough power to turn it on? What power supply do I need? To answer this question, OuterVision PSU Calculator analyzes dozens of power supplies per each certification category, compares their efficiency, unit price, computer power consumption, overall PC energy cost, and payback period. Based on these analysis, we provide recommendation to our users with the best bang for the buck power supply per each certification category.

The user has an option to compare the recommended power supplies, adjust electricity cost to see PC's overall energy cost per year, and select the right power supply that fits their budget.