A selection of power supply for PC. How to choose a power supply for a prefabricated computer and calculate its power. How to reduce computer power consumption

More recently, I was asking the price in online stores to system units. After weighing all the pros and cons, I came to the conclusion that it is better to buy components separately and freely assemble the system unit on your own and at the same time save a pretty decent amount of money. I have not yet fully decided on the components, but I have already picked up some set of components and I had to make a calculation of the power supply for the computer. Knowing the power consumption parameters of all components, you can approximately calculate the power of the PSU on paper.

What parameters do you need to know in order to calculate the power of the power supply for the system unit? First, you need to know the power consumption of the processor and video card, the physical amount of memory, type and frequency. Secondly, the number, volume and type of drive (hard drive or SSD), as well as the presence and type of drives. In addition, it is important to know the class of the motherboard and its power consumption, as well as the type of cooling system. I listed all the components for an example offhand. After all, different internal components, expansion cards (for example, a TV tuner or a sound card) can be used in a computer configuration, and then it will be necessary to take into account their presence when calculating power consumption.

It is not a problem for a specialist to accurately calculate the consumption of a system unit, but sometimes it is not easy for a novice geek. Therefore, in the calculations you should always take what is called with a margin. Suddenly decide to install a second video card, unless of course the motherboard allows.

If you buy a power supply with insufficient power or make a mistake in the calculations, then due to a lack of power supply to all computer components, it will turn off when the system is fully loaded. You will have to make a return or keep it for yourself. If you are still on your way to becoming a specialist, then I recommend using a specialized power supply power calculator for calculations.

Power consumption calculator to calculate the power of the PSU.

It doesn't matter what you decide to build, upgrade or overclock. A well-balanced home HTPC media server or a modern and powerful gaming computer, or maybe you decide to replace the video card and add a second hard drive. In any case, I recommend that you use an online calculator to calculate the power of the power supply.

Looking ahead, I want to say that with prolonged loads (24/7) of the computer, the power of the PSU begins to fall after a year. This is due to the loss of capacitance of the capacitors and subsequently the PSU weakens. Therefore, be sure to consider how many hours a day the computer will work. Fortunately, this calculator has such a parameter on the “Expert” tab, and on the “Basic” tab, the standard keyboard, mouse and 8 hours of machine use per day are already included in the calculations.

• Motherboard - Motherboard. Several types are available. Desktop is the desktop form factor.
• CPU - Processor. Here you need to choose one of two well-known brands AMD or Intel.
• socket A seat on the motherboard for the processor. Multiple selection is activated after determining the manufacturer of the processor.
• CPU count applies only if the system has more than 1 physical CPU - The number of physical processors. This setting should only be changed if you plan (and are able) to use more than one processor in the system.
• CPU Utilization. How efficiently the cooling system removes heat.
• Memory - Memory. Here, select the desired type and number of memory modules. On the Expert tab, there is an option for FB DIMMs. It is a standard for improving the reliability, speed, and density of the memory subsystem.
• Video Cards - Video card. Select the required type from the drop-down list. The SLI / CF option must be activated if you plan to use multiple video cards
• Storage - Storage. For example, I chose a 10,000 RPM SATA hard drive first, and an SSD second.
• Optical Drives - Optical drive. Recently, I use it quite rarely, but I chose it in the calculator for an example.

After you click on the "Calculate" button, the calculation of the minimum and recommended power of the power supply will be performed. Here you will also receive offers from Amazon, which you can use or use as a guide to buy the model you need in another store. It should be said that in the “Expert” mode, you can also add expansion cards (TV tuner, sound card, controllers, and so on), Bitcoin modules, coolers, and so on.

I recommend paying attention to the PSUs that say 80PLUS Gold, 80PLUS Platinum or 80 PLUS Titanium. This is the 80 PLUS certification and classification of power supply efficiency levels. I would appreciate additions. Bye!

2019-08-21T17:33:20+00:00

Hello! Please tell me which power supply to take if:

1. Processor i 7 8700
2. 32 GB G.Skill TRIDENT Z RGB RAM
3. Motherboard ASUS PRIME Z370-A II
4. Cooling system NZXT Kraken X62
5. Vidyaha RTX 2070
6. And in the case there are 4 coolers (on dropsy 2)

Tell me please.

2017-02-12T16:58:40+00:00

2017-02-12T16:57:27+00:00

Of course you don't have to worry =)

2017-02-10T17:46:08+00:00

Hello, I built a computer a year ago. Video card: Radeon r9 390x PSU: 700w RAM: 2 x 8 GB. Processor: I7 4790 The problem is the following, I just found out that I don’t have 750 PSU, but 700 ... What could be the consequences, because on the box of the video card it says that 750 is recommended. There is no disk drive in the case. Do not consume excess. Should I be worried or not?

2017-01-09T11:01:28+00:00

Hello! Please tell me what kind of PSU is needed for such a system: Proc. i5 6600 Video card MSI gaming X 1070 Mat. board ASUS H170 Pro gaming opera memory 2x8 Kingston Hyper FYRY 3 HDD + 1 SSD 4 cooling fans 140mm + 120mm for the processor It is desirable that there be a reserve for a future update (add turntables, put a reobas or connect a separate sound card) I would like to hear how many watts and which company to take a PSU, because there are a lot of them (corsair, cooler master, zalman, aerokull, etc.) volume of watts and served for a long time) Thanks in advance!

2017-01-01T19:21:46+00:00

I watched a video, it seems that capacitors are better in gold than in bronze. And it seems like if the PSU has an efficiency of 87%, then it cannot be gold. So most likely, the manufacturers are liars :) Happy New Year!

2016-12-27T21:39:02+00:00

As far as I know, Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum is a kind of certification, which is listed in ascending order. Let's say you bought an 850 watt power supply with a basic certification. That is, its efficiency is 85%. Next, we divide 850 by 100% and multiply by 85. It turns out that in fact the power of the purchased power supply will be 688.5 watts. These calculations essentially make it possible to choose the optimal PSU power for the system unit without overpayment. P.S. But based on what you say, it looks more like a marketing ploy.

To convert the alternating voltage coming from the network into a constant one, power the computer components and ensure that they maintain power at the required level - these are the tasks of the power supply. When assembling a computer and updating components in it, you should carefully look at the power supply that will serve the video card, processor, motherboard and other elements. You can choose the right power supply for your computer after you read the material in our article.

To determine the power supply that is needed for a particular computer assembly, you need to operate with data on the energy consumption of each individual component of the system. Of course, some users decide to buy a power supply with maximum power, and this is really an effective way not to make a mistake, but very costly. The price of a power supply unit of 800-1000 watts may differ from the model of 400-500 watts by 2-3 times, and sometimes it is quite enough for selected computer components.

Some buyers, when collecting computer components in a store, decide to ask a sales assistant for advice on choosing a power supply. This way to decide on a purchase is far from the best, given the not always sufficient qualifications of sellers.

The ideal option is to independently calculate the power of the power supply. This can be done using special sites and is quite simple, but this will be discussed below. For now, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with some general information about the power consumption of each component of the computer:

The main components of the computer are listed above, according to which the power of the power supply sufficient for a particular computer assembly is calculated. Please note that an additional 50-100 watts must be added to the figure obtained by such a calculation, which will be spent on the operation of coolers, keyboards, mice, various accessories and a “reserve” for the system to work properly under load.

Services for calculating the power supply of a computer

It is not always easy to find information on the required power for a particular computer component on the Internet. In this regard, the process of independently calculating the power of the power supply can take a lot of time. But there are special online services that allow you to calculate the power consumed by components and offer the best option for a power supply for a computer.

One of the best online calculators for calculating the power supply. Among its main advantages are a user-friendly interface and a huge base of components. In addition, this service allows you to calculate not only the “basic” power consumption of computer components, but also the increased power consumption, which is typical when “overclocking” a processor or video card.

The service can calculate the required power of the computer's power supply using simplified or expert settings. The advanced option allows you to set the parameters of components and select the mode of operation of the future computer. Unfortunately, the site is completely in English, and it will not be convenient for everyone to use it.

The well-known company MSI, which produces gaming components for computers, has a calculator on its website for calculating the power supply. It is good because when you select each component of the system, you can see how much the required power of the power supply changes. Also, a clear advantage can be considered the full localization of the calculator. However, when using the service from MSI, you should remember that you will have to buy a power supply with a power of 50-100 watts higher than he recommends, since this service does not take into account the consumption of the keyboard, mouse and some other additional accessories when calculating the consumption.

Power supply power- This characteristic is individual for each PC. The power supply is one of the most important elements of a computer. It supplies power to every element of the computer and it is on it that the stability of all processes depends. This is the reason why it is very important to choose the right power supply for your computer.

This is the first thing to do in the process of buying/assembling a new PSU. To calculate the power of a computer power supply, you need to add the amount of energy consumed by each element of the computer. Naturally, this task is too complicated for an ordinary user, especially considering that some computer components simply do not indicate the power or the values ​​are obviously overestimated. Therefore, there are special calculators for calculating the power of the power supply, which, using standard parameters, calculate the required power of the power supply.

After you have received the required power supply, you need to add "spare watts" to this figure - about 10-25% of the total power. This is done so that the power supply does not work at the limit of its capabilities at maximum power. If this is not done, it can cause a number of problems: freezing, independent reboots, hard drive head clicking, and shutting down the computer.

Options for correct power supply calculation:

1. Processor model and its thermal package (power consumption).
2. Video card model and its thermal package (power consumption).
3. Quantity, type and frequency of RAM.
4. Quantity, type (SATA, IDE) operating speed of the spindle -Hard drives.
5. SSD drives out of quantity.
6. Coolers, their size, quantity, type (with / without illumination).
7. CPU coolers, their size, quantity, type (with backlight / without backlight).
8. Motherboard, what class it belongs to (simple, medium, high-end).
9. Also, it is necessary to take into account the number of expansion cards that are installed in the computer (sound cards, TV tuners, etc.).
10. Do you plan to overclock the video card, processor, RAM.
11. DVD-RW drive, number and type.

What is the capacity of the power supply.

What power is the power supply- this concept will make it possible to choose the right components and characteristics. The first thing to know is how much power you need. The power of the power supply directly depends on the components installed on the PC.

Again, we repeat, you do not need to take a power supply that will have enough power back to back. Please note that the actual power of the power supply may be less than that declared by the manufacturer. It is also important to understand that configurations can change over time.

And this is a very simple question, since manufacturers usually indicate the power in large print on the sticker. Power supply wattage is a measure of how much power a power supply can deliver to other components.

As we said above, you can also find out with the help of online calculators for calculating the power of the power supply and add 10-25% of the “spare power” to it. But in reality, everything is a little more complicated, since the power supply produces different voltages of 12V, 5V, -12V, 3.3V, i.e., each of the voltage lines receives only its necessary power. But in the power supply itself, 1 transformer is installed, which generates all these voltages for transmission to computer components. There are, of course, power supplies with 2 transformers, but they are mainly used for servers. Therefore, it is acceptable that in conventional PCs, the power of each voltage line can change - increase if the load on the remaining lines is weak or decrease if other lines are overloaded. And on the power supplies they write exactly the maximum power for each of the lines, and if you add them up, then the received power will be higher than the power of the power supply.

It turns out that the manufacturer deliberately increases the rated power of the power supply, which he cannot provide. And all voracious computer components (video card and processor) are powered directly from +12 V, so it is very important to pay attention to the current values ​​indicated for it. If the power supply is made with high quality, then these data will be indicated on the side sticker in the form of a table or list.

The power of the PC power supply.

PC power supply power- This information is necessary because the power supply is an essential component of the computer. It feeds all other components and the correct operation of the entire computer directly depends on it.

Again, we repeat, you do not need to take a power supply that will have enough power back to back. Please note that the actual power of the power supply may be less than that declared by the manufacturer. It is also important to understand that configurations can change over time. This is done so that the power supply does not work at the limit of its capabilities at maximum power. If this is not done, it can cause a number of problems: freezing, independent reboots, hard drive head clicking, and shutting down the computer.

Building a computer yourself is a great way to save money on buying a ready-to-use desktop, but before you decide to take this step, you need to stock up on at least a shred of knowledge. It's only at first glance, everything is simple, but the computer is not a children's designer, in fact it is very important that all components are as compatible as possible with respect to each other, otherwise the normal operation of the computer is not guaranteed.

It is necessary to give importance to all parts of the assembly, even those that seem insignificant. After all, just what seems unimportant can have a significant impact on the operation of all subsystems. Get at least a power supply. Of all the components of a computer, this element is the most inconspicuous, but the stability of all components depends on its parameters.

If it is not powerful enough, under increased load, the computer may start to reboot, or it may turn out that it will not be able to boot at all.

Power supply power

It is not so difficult to choose the right power supply for the assembly computer if you follow simple rules. The most important rule sounds something like this: PSU power in watts per 10-20 percent must exceed the total amount of power consumed by all other components of the computer. You can calculate it manually, based on the parameters of the components, but it is still better to use special utilities for these purposes. At a minimum, you need to know the following details:

Model and power consumption of the processor and video card.
The type and number of hard drives, as well as the spindle speed.
Number of SSD drives (if any) .
motherboard class.
The number of RAM sticks, its type and frequency.
Coolers, including processor coolers.
Type and number of physical drives.
I/O ports.
Other accessories - card readers, TV tuners, sound cards, etc.

The range of power consumption of different components is quite narrow, which makes it possible to estimate the total power consumption by eye.

Depending on the class (simple, medium and high), the motherboard can consume 50 , 75 and 100 watts.
Hard drives HDD IDE with a turnover - 5400 and 7200 rpm require approximately 12-18 watts.
Disks are more demanding HDD SATA II and III, their power can reach 24 watts.
Least of all "eat" solid state drives - they need 2 watts to work.
RAM power consumption is calculated per bar for each 1 GB considering clock frequency. Memory up to 1600 MHz consumes approximately 1 watt, up to 2130 MHz - 2 watts, over 2400 MHz - 3-4 watts.
Case coolers from 80 before 120 mm demand from 1 before 5 watts, from 120 before 200 - from 5 before 10 watts, processors with similar dimensions - from 10 before 30 watts. If the cooler has a backlight, add to each 1 watt.
Depending on the type, actuators require 15 before 30 watts.
The most voracious are video cards - the most powerful of them pull 200 W.
Slightly less demanding processors, the power consumed by these devices is 60-120 watts.

With this basic information, you can calculate the total power of the PSU. If additional devices are used (audio cards, card readers, etc.) , for each we add one more 10 watts. Are you planning to overclock the processor or video card? Throwing more 100-150 watts, and above all add 50 watts for overall system stability .

If you want to get more accurate results, use online calculators extreme.outervision.com or coolermaster.outervision.com, or utilities or Power Watts PC. Using them is very simple, you just need to select the parameters of the components in the proposed list, and the calculators will do the rest.

The database of these tools is huge and this allows you to calculate the power of the PB for a computer of any configuration.

Efficiency

Power is by far the most important characteristic of a power supply. The most important, but not the only one. When purchasing a PSU, no less attention should be paid to efficiency. A high-efficiency power supply converts electricity from the network more efficiently and distributes it among components, heats up less, without wasting energy. Least efficiency should be 80 , and even better 85 percent.

Estimated efficiency the so-called medal system 80 Plus , 80 Plus Bronze , 80 Plus Silver and higher. For example, the standard 80 Plus provides efficiency 80% , Bronze- before 85% , a Platinum- before 95% . When choosing a power supply, you should also pay attention to the presence of an active module PFC , which allows you to correct the power factor and stabilize the operation of all devices.

There are other selection criteria BP, for example, maximum current on individual lines, wiring system, built-in overheat protection, but they are not as important as power and efficiency. But there is one more thing that should never be neglected and this is - manufacturer. You need to buy only models of well-known well-established brands that have proven themselves in the market, do not save on trifles, remembering that the miser always pays twice.

When you assemble your computer, this has its own significant advantages, since all components in a personal computer (PC) play their role with the system unit - a processor and RAM for quick operations, a video card for displaying the graphic part, a motherboard for connecting everything this together. That is why it is important to select components not only according to how they will meet your needs, but also because of how they will interact with each other.
In particular, there are errors when the motherboard does not "accept" the processor, or there is no place in the case to install a video card.
But even if you seem to have picked up all the components and they fit together, then when choosing a power supply unit (PSU), questions often arise. The most common is how much power is needed to make all components "feel" comfortable.

In order to calculate the power of the power supply, you can go in several ways. For example, you can ask the consultants in the store and hope that the store employee will be sufficiently knowledgeable in this and will be able to advise and select the right one.

Or you can take and buy a power supply with a capacity of 600-1000 watts and just don’t think about it. either way, that's enough. Yes, you can do this and overpay for the extra 600 watts. in fact, 400 watts for example could be enough for you. It seems to me that this is not a way out of the situation. If only for the lazy and who do not mind the money.

You can also look on the Internet how much power is needed for each of the components of the future system unit, and then calculate the required power. In this case, it should be borne in mind that the total power of all components must be less than the maximum output power of the power source. It is also worth knowing and remembering that the characteristics indicate the maximum power consumption of the components. during operation, energy is consumed unevenly by everyone (turning on, turning off, recording information, launching many programs, a complex episode in the game, etc.).

For example, the power consumption of components looks something like this: