| nordlead said: this is one of the dumber theories in the PC building world (right up there with needing 20 case fans to cool a rig). Power supplies should be at 80% load during max load for maximum efficiency. I got conned into a 600W supply once with one of my PCs which typically only draws like 120W idling because I didn't understand power supplies at the time. I should have had a ~350-400W supply. So, if you have a PC that truly draws 400W under full load, then yea you need a 500W supply, else you are just losing efficiency especially when it's just idling. If you upgrade often, then just make the PSU part of your upgrade plan and sell the old one as they really don't drop in price (unlike other hardware components) |
But, but the PC has to have an internatl temperature fewer than 5 degrees above ambiant under load!
Btw, shouldn't a 80+ PSU have sustained efficiency throughout the wattage range? Thats what the certification is about.
Tease.
