greater watts = better powersupply?

Question

is it true that it is always better to buy a powersupply that has a higher watts as possible? so if i have the money, i should get a 600watt rather than a 400 watt?

Answer 1

Short answer: no.

Obviously, you need a power supply that can provide enough power, but given these constraints, having more than you need isn't going to do you any good. The quality of the power supply is more important than the wattage. Some cheap power supplies can have a high wattage but can be unreliable. A bad power supply can possibly damage or destroy components of the computer, although usually a bad power supply will just fail and cause your computer to not work.

Few people would need a 600-watt power supply. I have a fairly powerful computer that runs on a 200 watt power supply, but it has components that I selected for an unusually low power draw. Most computers need somewhere between a 300 and 400 watt power supply--but it depends on the processor type as well as other components. Some video cards can draw a lot of power; so can some hard drives.

In general, a high power draw from a component is a sign that you're using something that is being pushed to the limits of its capacity. Tried and true, stable technologies often draw less power.

If you are building your own computer you should do considerable research. It is fairly tricky to know exactly what to buy, and you might want to ask someone who has already done it before.

Cooling is also an issue--computers that draw more power generate more heat, and require better cooling systems. This is something to consider when upgrading a computer, or when building one from scratch. My computer with the low power usage draws so little power that the fan shuts off most of the time, which makes it pleasantly quiet.

I've included some links if you want to read more about this. I hope this helps.

Answer 2

I see some got close to the answer, but not quite. It is true you only need to get a little more than what you need. Typical desktop system with a good video card would need around 400-450 watts, using SLI then 600-700 watts. But there is an extra factor missed by all.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompare.asp?Category=32&N=2010320058+1131414176&Submit=ENE&Nty=1&SubCategory=58&CompareItemList=N82E16817104954%2CN82E16817151023%2CN82E16817182019
As in the above link, The Efficiency can be just as important, along with that the power supply can support. The more efficient the power supply is, the less heat and the less electricity it uses/waste. Articles like this one can help you understand better about power supplies:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/02/07/5_power_supplies_get_the_full_juice_treatment/

Answer 3

Power output has nothing to do with power quality. You can have a 600-watt supply that emits noisy, unstable power and actually causes your computer to crash. The only advantage of higher wattage is that it lets you plug more devices into your computer. Also, a larger supply is going to consume more electricity and emit more heat, so it will cost you more, your computer will run hotter (though admittedly just a little bit hotter, probably not noticeably so) and likely be noisier since you'll probably need a bigger and/or faster faster fan to draw more air to cool it. All in all, the best supply to get is one just big enough to run what you expect to have, plus a little more for expansion (most hard drives will run 20-30 watts, for example). Much more than that and all you're doing is giving your electric company free money.

Answer 4

Yes its true! Never know when you are gonna add on components and every thing you add will require an increase in wattage!
TOM K and RALPH! You need to take a basic electronics course! You could have a 10000watt power supply and if the system only draws 300 watts that is all it will draw! A power supply is rated to be able to produce so many watts before it breaks down! That doesnt mean its going to!
IanP also makes a good point!
You no you idiots who give the thumbs down to answers you know nothin about need to stick with fixin sandwiches! If there is one thing I DO know its power supplies! I bit my teeth on them 30 plus years ago, have built and repaired many, spent 4 years at Devry in electronics and will bet money that I have forgotten more than you will ever know!
THE WATTAGE RATING OF A POWER SUPPLY SIMPLY TELLS YOU WHAT ITS MAXIMUM WATTAGE IS BEFORE POSSIBLE BREAKDOWN! IF YOU HAVE A 600 WATT POWER SUPPLY AND YOUR PC ONLY DRAWS 300 WATTS, THAT IS ALL YOUR POWER SUPPLY PUTS OUT!

Answer 5

hell no a cheap quality psu is not usefull even if it is a higher wattage . it really depends what sort of computer this is. is this a games system with multiple hard drives/graphics cards if so the you want quality look for hiper , enermax ,fsp , ocz , tagan with wattage as high as you can aford as this will help system stability when ur giving it hight amounts of load.if your system is a regular computer tbh most psu's will work but realise a cheap psu will be unstable if you run it near its limits.most cheap 400w psu's would melt if you try and draw more than 350 w .if your in the uk the magazine custompc (www.custompc.co.uk) has a much more in depth artical on the subject in there march issue. the site www.tomshardware.com may also help

Answer 6

There are two potential advantages to over-sizing a power supply...

Firstly, you won't have to worry about power capacity if you add lots of hardware upgrades in the future.

Secondly, a supply which is only required to provide, say, 50% of its designed output, will run cooler and probably last longer than one which is "only just" up to the job.

Answer 7

Only if you need the power.

You *could* buy a P/S that supplies 1000 watts now, but it'll cost you.

Answer 8

Depend's how long the computer will be running. I have a 500watt supply, and my computer runes 24/7. Remember, the higher the watts, the higher the price for electricity will be.

Answer 9

What video card/mobo/cpu/ram you running? Anything pretty modern will want over 400 easy. Get the 600 if in doubt. Email me your stats and I can definitely tell you.

Answer 10

u should look at the manufactuer + the Wattage, also u need to decide what kind of machine u are running, like i run dual sli vid cards so i need a beefy pow supply if u r running basic system a cheapy will do