question about power supplies

sybaris

sybaris

sybaris

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Are ratings on the power supply a maximum wattage that can be drawn?

If I put an 1KW PSU in, instead of a 850W, at idle, would the wattage used be roughly the same (I know there is a slight difference).

If so why then doesn't everyone put in big PSUs?
 
PSU will only pull whats needed, all things being equal then you should pull the same regardless of which sized psu used.

Also cost comes into play and larger wattage psu are bigger and most user's dont need a high wattage psu. With majority of systems only pulling around 350w ~ max including high end systems, only when running multiple gpu's higher wattage is needed. In saying that Ocuk did a deal where 2 x 280's where bundles with a Superflower 650w psu.
 
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sybaris said:
So if I have a single 280 and a load of SSDs and hard drives, it would be a waste to go over 850w?
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Depends on how much money you can save by going for lower watt PSU...but a good 850W PSU would keep you option open for adding another 280 to crossfire in the future, provided it is something you would consider and that you motherboard ane case can handle it.
 
Depends on how much extra power it will consume. Dont want to give those greedy electrical cartels any more than I have to ;).
 
sybaris said:
So if I have a single 280 and a load of SSDs and hard drives, it would be a waste to go over 850w?
Click to expand...

Yes :)

My older system which had 2 mechanical drives, SSD, custom water, i7 2700k overclocked and a Gigabyte WF 670 GTX pulled 330w from the mains at full load.
 
Its surprising how little some systems pull these days, when I had my i7 920 system and a 480 GTX I managed to get 630w.

A lot of people do over estimate how much power they think there system needs :D
 
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