If a PSU says that its wattage is 500W, does it mean that it will consome the whole 500W even if the total consumption of your computer is just 350W?
Or the 500W means that the maximum output is 500W?
2007-12-16 20:26:59 · 4 answers · asked by TheProgrammer 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
It will only deliver what the PC demands, usually 100W or less at idle and 150 to 350W at full load. Current 500W power supply mostly have its wattage on the +12V rail. Processor, graphics card, fans and drive motors all draw from +12V rail. The rest of the devices and circuitry draw from +5V and +3.3V rails.
2007-12-16 21:29:40 · answer #1 · answered by Karz 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Getting a 700W power supply is perfectly safe. 700W refers to the maximum power that the PSU can supply to all the devices in your PC, but it will only supply what is actually needed by your PC hardware. A 700W PSU will not necessarily draw 700W if your PC only requires 250W. Af far as being suitable, if your PC is fairly new (i.e. <5 years) then the new PSU will almost certainly fit as it will come with all the main power connectors. There are usually a few connections to be made when wiring a PSU, one or two to the the motherboard, one each to every hard disk, floppy drive, or CD/DVD ROM and sometimes one or two to the graphics card. Also with more modern PCs it is often to see additional cooling fans attached to the power supply as well. The only real change to PSU connections over the past few years is with the motherboard connectors, where there was a change to a 24-pin connection instead of a 20-pin connection, but many new PSUs will have the capability to connect to both types. Check your current motherboard to see what you have (it is the big plastic connector) and make sure the new PSU has a compatable connector; generally only the very cheap ones do not have both. I recommend you take a look at the first website I list with this answer as it is an excellent source of information that will allow you to size your PSU accurately, potentially saving you money as the larger power supplies are more expensive. Also stop by at the XBitLabs site, where you will find many others like me who can help with technical issues like this.
2016-05-24 07:47:34 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends upon your usage of a PC, and yes the maximum is 500W, and it will consume upon the requirement of the user.
2007-12-16 20:36:59 · answer #3 · answered by Afzal K 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
max output is 500watts
2007-12-16 20:37:11 · answer #4 · answered by Abit1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋