Is More Power Supply Better For Gaming PC?

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The power supply is one of the least fascinating but most crucial PC components. As a result, you’ll want to devote as much thought and consideration to your power supply as you do to your CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage options. With that said, is choosing a more powerful power supply unit better for a gaming PC?

Every PC component generates heat, which tends to stifle peak performance. A more efficient power supply unit (PSU) will dissipate less heat, resulting in a quieter system, higher dependability, and a longer lifespan, owing to fans that don’t have to run as fast or as long. The bigger, the better.

The power supply powers your computer, and as a result, you may have an expensive video card, but if it doesn’t have the correct power supply unit (PSU), it’s just a paperweight with fans on it. With that said, let take a look at why getting a bigger PSU is the better choice.

Why Getting A Better PSU Is The Better Choice

The PSU is the lifeblood of your gaming PC, circulating electricity around your pricey processor, motherboard, and graphics card. When it comes to possible PC upgrades, the power supply might influence your goals; therefore, it’s always worth keeping an eye on the future when choosing your next power supply.

A decent power supply may last you numerous builds; therefore, it’s worthwhile to invest in one. So, if you have the financial means, you should invest in a high-quality power supply.

Don’t worry about going overboard, either—high-capacity PSUs used to be less efficient at lighter loads, but that is no longer the case. You won’t have low efficiency at light loads if you use a current Gold or higher efficiency PSU, regardless of capacity.

However, knowing how much you need is undoubtedly the most critical factor when choosing a PSU. With that said, how do you know how much you will need?

How Many Watts Do You Need?

While there are various significant elements to consider when purchasing a power supply, like with any other PC component, determining one of the most crucial ones is surprisingly easy. You don’t need to sift through benchmarks or evaluations to figure out how much power you require.

Instead, use OuterVision Power Supply Calculator. It is a perfect program to help figure out how much power your new setup needs to deliver. You must choose your components from the drop-down menus for each category to utilize the tool.

The above utility is up to date with the most recent CPU, motherboard, graphics processing units (GPU), random access memory (RAM), and other choices. While the tool doesn’t go into great detail about every component, it does so where it’s needed, removing the guesswork from determining how much power you’ll need.

For example, if you’re building (or buying) a PC with a Ryzen 9 Series CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 GPU, 16 gigabytes (GB) of RAM divided into two 8GB sticks, a 256GB SSD, and a 1TB 7200RPM hard disk drive (HDD), you’ll need 510 watts of electricity.

To be cautious, you may go for a 650-watt power supply, and purchasing one is as simple as clicking a button. Being cautious goes hand-in-hand with investing for future upgrades. So, why is considering the future important with your purchase?

Investing For Future Upgrades

Of course, you should run various scenarios to ensure that you can meet your long-term requirements. Upgrading to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, for example, raises the guideline to 637 watts, but doubling the RAM only raises it to 515 watts. If you want to perform both at some point, you’ll need at least 650 watts.

You see what I mean. Don’t only prepare to suit your immediate demands; instead, consider what modifications you might wish to make in the future.

If you’re buying a pre-built PC, be sure you know what power supply it uses so you can make sure it can take everything you want to put in it – or that it’s straightforward to change at some point. A word about power: continuous power and peak power are not the same things.

The “Maximum Power” value of a PSU generally refers to the constant (stable) power the PSU can give.
“Peak Power” figure refers to the heightened maximum (surge) power the PSU can deliver, although for a brief period (e.g., 15 seconds).

If you don’t check the continuous wattage of a power supply before you buy it, you’ll have troubles while your PC is under load. Finally, don’t worry about getting a higher-rated power supply implying that you’ll need more power.

Since a power supply only draws electricity needed by your PC’s components, buying a larger power supply than you require upfront may seem inefficient. Still, it will save you money in the long run.

Your PC’s Efficiency Matters With A PSU

Wattage is only one indicator of a power supply’s efficiency. Another factor to consider is its efficiency rating, which measures how much DC power it transmits to the PC vs. how much is wasted to heat. Efficiency is vital since it determines how much money you’ll pay to keep your computer running.

Consider a computer that requires 300 watts of electricity. Your PC will need roughly 353 watts of input electricity from your power provider if you utilize an 85 percent efficient power supply. A power supply that is just 70% efficient, on the other hand, will draw 428 watts from the power outlet.

Choosing a more energy-efficient power source will help you save money on your monthly electric bill. A power supply with a more excellent efficiency rating, on the other hand, will allow your PC to operate cooler.

As mentioned in the beginning, every PC component creates heat, which tends to stifle peak performance. A more efficient PSU will dissipate less heat, resulting in a quieter system, higher dependability, and a longer lifespan, owing to fans that don’t have to run as fast or as long.

What Is The 80 PLUS Certification Mean?

When looking for power supplies, you’ll see that many of them have the 80 PLUS certification logo. Manufacturers can use the 80 Plus certification scheme to reassure them that their power supply will fulfill specific efficiency standards.

Independent labs rate power supplies to offer the following efficiency levels for consumer 115-volt power systems: 80 PLUS has multiple levels ranging from basic certification to Titanium, and power supplies are rated to give the following efficiency levels for consumer 115-volt power systems:

Percentage Of Rated Load	10%	20%	50%	100%
80 PLUS	–	80%	80%	80%
80 PLUS Bronze	–	82%	85%	82%
80 PLUS Silver	–	85%	88%	85%
80 PLUS Gold	–	87%	90%	87%
80 PLUS Platinum	–	90%	92%	89%
80 PLUS Titanium	90%	92%	94%	90%

When browsing for a power supply on OuterVision, the 80 PLUS certification level is automatically set as the filter when many selected components demand a lot of power. It makes it much simpler to fine-tune the amount of efficiency you desire in your new computer.

Conclusion

Obviously, there’s much more to consider when choosing a power supply, and it’s a crucial option when building a new PC.

Investing a little effort upfront ensures that your power supply delivers your PC components with dependable, consistent, and safe power will save you a lot of time in the long run and will help your PC become a better and more efficient machine.