Many users, in pursuit of high performance of a personal computer, forget about the main element of the system unit, which is responsible for high-quality and timely provision of power to all components inside the case. We are talking about a power supply that buyers do not pay attention to at all. But in vain! After all, all elements in a computer have certain power requirements, failure to comply with which will lead to component failure.
From this article, the reader will learn how to choose a power supply for a computer, and at the same time get acquainted with products from well-known brands that are recognized by all test laboratories in the world. Advice for ordinary users and beginners, provided by experts in the field of IT technologies, will help all potential customers make their choice in the store.
Definition of need
Before starting to search for a decent power supply, all users need to decide on the power supply. That is, first the buyer must select the elements of the system unit (motherboard, processor, video card, memory, hard drives and other controllers). Each system component in its specification has power requirements (voltage and current, in rare cases - power consumption). Naturally, the buyer will have to find these parameters, add them up and save the result, which will be useful in the future.
It doesn’t matter what actions are carried out by the user: replacing the computer’s power supply or purchasing an element with a new PC - calculations must be carried out in any case. Some elements, such as the processor and video card, have two power requirements: active voltage and peak load. You need to focus your calculations on the maximum parameter.
Finger to the sky
There is a strong opinion that for a resource-intensive system you need to choose the most powerful power supply that is on the storefront. This decision has logic, but it does not fit in with rationality and saving money, because the higher the power of the device, the more expensive it is. You can buy a price that exceeds the cost of all elements of the system (30,000 rubles and more), but such a solution will be very expensive for the consumer in the future.
For some reason, many users forget about the monthly payment, which is necessary for the operation of a personal computer. Naturally, the more powerful the power supply, the more electricity it consumes. Thrifty buyers cannot do without calculations.
Standards and power losses
The bigger, the better
Many experts, in their advice on how to choose a power supply for a computer, recommend that all beginners pay attention to the number of connectors and cables - the more there are in the device, the more efficient and reliable the power supply system. There is logic in this, because manufacturing plants carry out testing before releasing products to the market. If the power of the unit is low, then there is no point in providing it with a large number of cables, because they will still be unused.
True, recently many careless manufacturers have resorted to a trick and provided the buyer with a large wire clamp in a low-quality device. Here you need to focus on other indicators of battery efficiency (weight, wall thickness, cooling system, presence of buttons, quality of connectors). By the way, before connecting the power supply to the computer, it is recommended to visually inspect all the contacts coming from the head unit and make sure that they do not intersect anywhere (we are talking about cheap representatives of the market).
Top seller
Seasonic, a company specializing in the production of batteries, is known throughout the world. This is one of the few brands on the market that sells its own products under its logo. For comparison: the well-known manufacturer of computer components - the company Corsair - does not have its own factories for the production of power supplies and purchases finished products from Seasonic, equipping them with its own logos. Therefore, before choosing a power supply for a computer, the user will have to become more familiar with the brands.
Seasonic, Chieftec, Thermaltake and Zalman have their own factories for the production of batteries. Products under the well-known FSP brand are assembled from spare parts produced at the Fractal Design plant (by the way, they have also recently appeared on the market).
Who to give preference to?
Gold-plated computer power supply connectors are good, but is there any point in overpaying for such functionality, since it is known for certain from the laws of physics that current is better transmitted between homogeneous metals? But it is Thermaltake that offers users such a solution. As for the rest of the products of the famous American brand, they are impeccable. There is not a single serious negative response from users about this manufacturer in the media.
The trusted products on the shelf include the brands Corsair, Aercool, FSP, Zalman, Seasonic, Be quiet, Chieftec (Gold series) and Fractal Design. By the way, in test laboratories, professionals and enthusiasts check the power and overclock the system with the power supplies listed above.
Finally
As practice shows, choosing a decent power supply for a personal computer is not easy. The fact is that many manufacturers use all sorts of tricks to attract buyers: they reduce the cost of production, decorate the device to the detriment of efficiency, and present a description that does not correspond to reality. There are many mechanisms of deception, it is impossible to list them all. Therefore, before choosing a power supply for a computer, the user must study the market, familiarize himself with all the characteristics of the device and be sure to find positive reviews about the product from real owners.
When assembling a system unit, it is important to pay attention not only to the main components, such as the “mother”, CPU and RAM, but also to the power supply. Find out what role this element plays and how to choose it correctly in the article.
Why do you need to calculate the power of a PC power supply?
This is the source of nutrition for all the filling. It determines how stable the entire system will work. It also affects safety: many models are equipped with protection against short circuits and voltage surges.
In the characteristics of the components you can find how much energy they consume, and sometimes the recommended minimum power value. If you ignore them, then the components will at least refuse to work, or even worse: they may burn out themselves and grab their “neighbors.”
That is why it is necessary to calculate the power of the power supply so that it can provide energy to all other parts of the PC.
Online power supply power calculator
The tool makes it possible to easily determine the necessary power supply parameters for a specific computer. It will be useful for both beginners and advanced users.
The calculator is available online, so it is not tied to: if the PC is not working, all calculations can be done from a smartphone or tablet. In addition, there is no need to pay for use.
Important: Regardless of the data provided, it is advisable to add about 30% to the result. Then, when upgrading, you won’t have to change the power supply. In addition, it happens that the manufacturer indicates the peak power rating, and not the nominal one.
How to use online calculators
It's not difficult: you just need to enter the required values in the fields provided - everything is calculated automatically. Below are four precision instruments.
MSI Power Supply Power Calculator
A convenient option for calculating the power supply of components. The interface here is simple, everything is intuitive.
How to use
When you open the page for the first time, you can see that the recommended minimum is written on the right - 0 W. It will change when the user completes the remaining sections:
- CPU. You need to indicate the manufacturer, select the model, generation and series.
- Video cards. Here we need to follow a similar scheme. But you will need to add the number of discrete adapters.
- Additional PCI and PCI-e cards. These sections indicate the type of expansion cards, for example, x8 or x16. The user needs to note the number of boards in the system, if any.
- Drives: hard drives, optical drives. The user needs to indicate their number or leave the value zero if he will not install any component.
- External devices. You need to register the number of devices connected via USB.
- Memory. It should be noted the type of modules used, for example, DDR4, and the number of RAM modules.
- Other. Here you need to specify how many fans are installed, whether there are slots for memory cards.
Cooler Master power supply calculator
Another convenient tool for calculating the optimal power supply indicator for a specific assembly. The calculator supports 2 modes:
1.Standard- a simplified and quick way to calculate the minimum required for stable operation of a PC system, indicating all the components of the assembly by analogy with the example above.
2.Advanced- for advanced computer users with advanced capabilities. Suitable for those who plan to increase system performance by overclocking components. This takes into account the TDP of the processor, including the load on it in overclocking. This option allows you to take into account the connected one.
Power supply calculator on Outervision.com
The Power Calculator is an improved version of the previous online tool.
Here you can also find the basic mode, where you need to enter basic data about the components, and then it’s a matter of technology. You can use the expert version of the tool. It has an impressive arsenal of fine adjustments and a wide range of components that may be of interest to overclockers.
It is possible to familiarize yourself with ready-made solutions in the “Pre-configured PC Builds” section, which is divided into categories:
gaming,
- working with photos and videos,
- streaming,
- for home and office,
- workstations.
Power supply calculator from Enermax
This tool has many sections to fill out, which allows you to take into account almost any assembly nuances and make the most accurate calculations of battery power.
In addition to the manufacturer and model of the main computer components, when selecting the optimal power supply, the following are taken into account:
- PC operating time, which is set by the user;
- diameter of each installed fan
- drive type;
- model of mouse and keyboard connected via USB.
Other system parameters are also taken into account, including the purpose and form factor of the motherboard.
One of the main advantages is the constantly updated base of fillings. These are not only key elements such as the CPU, motherboard and GPU, but also case coolers.
Choose the right power supply for your PC
Now everything is clear with power supply calculations, but this is not the only criterion.
Main parameters:
Form factor. Selected based on case size: ATX, mini ATX, etc.
Connection type. Power supplies are divided into classic (with non-removable wires) and modular, where unnecessary cables can be disconnected. There are also options where the main wires, such as power, are not removed, and some can be removed.
Connectors. Motherboards can be connected with both 24-pin and 20-pin cables (server and earlier models), and the CPU power connector can have 4 or 8 pins. There are more universal power supplies with “20+4” connectors for the board and “4+4” connectors for the CPU. It is worth making sure that there are wires for additional power: some GPUs require it.
A well-assembled computer is very good, and a correctly selected power supply for it is doubly great! How to correctly calculate the power of a computer power supply– a whole science, but I’ll tell you simple and at the same time very effective power calculation method. Go!
Instead of a preface
Calculating power is important, since a weak power supply will not “pull” your hardware, and an overly powerful unit is a waste of money. Of course, we are not interested in this, and we will look for the most optimal option. Now to the essence of the matter.
PSU power calculation
Ideally, the power of the power supply is selected based on the maximum power consumption of the entire computer hardware at peak load. Why is that? Yes, it’s very simple - so that at the most crucial and intense moment of playing solitaire, the computer does not turn off due to lack of energy
It is no longer fashionable to manually calculate the power that your computer consumes in maximum load mode, so it will be much easier and more correct to use an online power supply calculator. I use this one and I really like it:
Don't be afraid of the English language, in fact everything is very simple there
Here is an example of how I calculated the power of the power supply for my computer (picture clickable):
1.Motherboard
In chapter Motherboard select the type of computer motherboard. For a regular PC we set Desktop, for the server, respectively – Server. There is also an item Mini-ITX for boards of the corresponding form factor.
2. CPU
Processor specifications section. First you specify the manufacturer, then the processor socket, and then the processor itself.
To the left of the processor name, the number 1 is the number physical processors on the board, not cores, be careful! In most cases, a computer has one physical processor.
Please note that CPUSpeed And CPU Vcore are set automatically, in accordance with the standard values of frequencies and core voltage. You can change them if necessary (this is useful for overlockers).
3. CPU Utilization
This indicates how much load will be placed on the processor. The default value is 90% TDP (recommended)– you can leave it as is, or you can set it to 100%.
4.Memory
This is the section for RAM. Indicate the number of planks and their type with size. On the right you can check the box FBDIMMs. It must be installed if you have RAM type F ully B buffered (fully buffered).
5. Video Cards – Set 1 and Video Cards – Set 2
These sections indicate video cards. Video Cards – Set 2 is needed if you suddenly have video cards from AMD and NVidia on your computer at the same time. Here, as with the processor, first select the manufacturer, then the name of the video card, and indicate the quantity.
If there are several video cards and they work in SLI or Crossfire mode, then check the box on the right (SLI/CF).
Similarly, as in the section with processors, CoreClock And MemoryClock are set to the factory values for this video card. If you changed them on your video card, then here you can indicate your frequency values.
6.Storage
Everything is simple here - you indicate how many and which ones hard drives installed on the system.
7. Optical Drives
This indicates how many and what floppy drives you have it installed.
8.PCI Express Cards
In this section we set how many and what additional expansion cards are installed in the PCI-Express slots. You can specify sound cards, TV tuners, and various additional controllers.
9. PCI Cards
Similar to the previous point, only here devices in PCI slots are indicated.
10. Bitcoin Mining Modules
Section for specifying modules for bitcoin mining. For those who know, comments are unnecessary, and for those who don’t know, don’t bother and just read on
11.Other Devices
Here you can indicate what other gadgets you have on your computer. This includes devices such as fan control panels, temperature sensors, card readers, and more.
12. Keyboard/Mouse
Keyboard/mouse section. Three options to choose from - nothing, a regular device or a gaming device. Under gaming keyboards/mice mean keyboards/mice with backlight.
13.Fans
Here we set how many fans and what size are installed in the case.
14. Liquid Cooling Kit
Water cooling systems are indicated here, as well as their number.
15. Computer Utilization
Here is the mode of computer use, or more precisely, the approximate operating time of the computer per day. The default is 8 hours, you can leave it like that.
The final
After you have specified all the contents of your computer, click the button Calculate. After this you will get two results − LoadWattage And RecommendedPSUWattage. The first is the actual power consumption of the computer, and the second is the recommended minimum power of the power supply.
It is worth remembering that the power supply is always taken with a power reserve of 5 - 25%. Firstly, no one guarantees that in six months or a year you will not want to upgrade your computer, and secondly, remember about the gradual wear and tear of the power supply.
And that’s all for me. Ask questions in the comments if something is unclear or you just need help, and don’t forget to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.
The vast majority of modern users who build their own computers pay attention exclusively to the processor, video card and motherboard. Only after this a little love and warmth goes to the RAM, the case, the cooling system, but the power supply is usually bought as change. Of course, I’m not saying that everyone does exactly this, but in most compilations from YouTube, articles from the Internet or advice from close friends, this is exactly the chain that sounds.
Why is the power supply the last thing people look at? It's simple - it does not affect the performance of the computer. Gamers absolutely always strive to get more FPS in their favorite games, investing their entire budget in three main components, and buying the rest with the remaining money. Designers and video workers invest resources in RAM and a processor with a large number of cores. Nobody is interested in the power supply, it just “starts the computer”.
However, it is the “engine” of your PC. If you choose the wrong power, then most of the money invested in the purchase will either be idle, or you will buy a 500 W unit, and then install a more powerful video card and there will not be enough power. Unstable operation of the system, crashes, overheating of components, and blue screens of death occur. Today we will learn to avoid all this. And, let me tell you right away, we will be talking specifically about the power of the power supply. Not about which brand is cooler, not about lighting, coloring, design, not about cooling, there will be no debate about “modular system or not.” We talk about power and the steps you need to take to purchase the perfect one.
Power from characteristics vs real power
It is worth immediately understanding that the Watts indicated in the characteristics always differ from real indicators. Absolutely always. The only question is how much. For example, if it is written on the power supply, then this does not at all guarantee real 500 W of output power. This is just a rounded value imposed by marketers. The same thing with other powers - 700 W, 1300 W. These are all beautiful numbers that attract attention.Usually, on more or less decent blocks the efficiency factor is written. Mid-level models and above will have an 80 Plus certificate (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum). This means that the efficiency of this model is above 80%. The higher the certificate level, the higher the efficiency percentage. For example, a model with Bronze will have 82-85% efficiency of the declared figure, and a version with Gold will have 90% efficiency. Below I have given a plate showing the percentage of efficiency under different load levels. For those models that cannot boast of a certificate, the efficiency is usually 75% or lower.
So it turns out that you buy a 600 W power supply without a certificate, but you get 450 W of real power. It is worth considering this point when buying a computer “engine”, because very often they do not pay attention to this detail and are surprised when the PC constantly turns off under load. Today, most power supplies are certified 80 Plus Bronze; such models can be considered a reasonable minimum. Units without a certificate remain dark horses - who knows how much real power there will be.
Golden Rule
The next thing you need to know is the load level of your power supply. Often, due to budget problems, gamers take the power of the hardware for themselves. We assembled a system for 430 W of power consumption and took a 550 W model with a “bronze” certificate. The system element works, allows you to start the computer and play games, but is constantly working at the limit of its capabilities. Naturally, due to the maximum load, all elements of the power supply overheat, the fan runs at maximum speeds and makes wild noise, and the internal components wear out much faster.
To prevent your “engine” from dying out in a year and a half, you need to follow one rule - take the rated power one and a half (or even twice) times more than what the system requires. For example, you calculated (later I will tell you exactly how to do this) that your system needs 350 W of power. Multiply by two, we get 700 W - this is the model we are looking for. Even if you take away the 20% efficiency that is lost, your system will load the power supply by 50-60% in high load mode. This allows the block filling to wear out longer, not overheat, the fan will not spin like mad, and there will be much less noise. Using this rule, you will spend a little more money, but the system will last three to five years instead of a year.
Counting Watts
Now that we have studied the theory and learned the necessary rules, let's calculate the required power for your computer. If you assembled a PC in an online store and the purchase is hanging in the cart, or you have written down the components on a piece of paper, we will use the processor/video card frequencies from the specifications. For those who have already assembled the system, you only need to replace the battery, you can use real frequencies.- Calculator Cooler Master
- MSI Calculator
- Calculator be quiet!
The first service will be a calculator from. There are a lot of switches, a lot of additional checkboxes and parameters. For an experienced user, they even allow you to select the frequency of the processor and video card, if you already know these parameters or can guess them.
Enter the data, click on the “Calculate” button at the bottom right and two numbers will appear in the same place. First, the power consumption of this system (Load Wattage) is written in black font, which is what we need. You don't have to watch the second one. For example, my system has a power consumption of 327 watts.
Based on these calculations, the MSI calculator in my case forgot to add something. Let's take the average power consumption as 328 W.
Putting knowledge into practice
So, our system consumes 328 W. Multiply by one and a half (remember the golden rule!) and we get 492 watts. But we remember that power supplies do not deliver 100% power, but only 80%, in the case of Bronze. This means that with simple mathematical calculations, we get the required power “on paper” of 615 W. This figure can be rounded to 600 W and take any model from bronze and above, you can take it with a slightly larger margin - 650 or 700 W so that our “engine” is loaded by 50-60%.All you have to do is calculate the power consumption of your PC and do the same mathematical calculations. The remaining parameters - cable modularity, lighting, brand, noise level, smartphone applications and so on - are chosen separately, depending on your budget and desires.
When you assemble your computer, this has its significant advantages, since all the components in a personal computer (PC) play their role with the system unit - processor and RAM for speed of operations, video card for displaying the graphic part, motherboard for connecting everything this together. That is why it is important to select components not only by how they will satisfy your needs, but also by how they will interact with each other.
In particular, there are errors when the motherboard does not “accept” the processor or there is no space in the case to install a video card.
But even if you seem to have selected 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 about this and will be able to advise and select the right one.
Or you can go and buy a power supply with a power of 600-1000 Watts and not think about it at all because... Either way, this is enough. Yes, you can do this and overpay for the extra 600 Watts because... in fact, 400 W 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 don’t 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. It should be taken into account 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 specifications 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 a game, etc.).
For example, the power consumption of components looks something like this:
And some more nuances in the form of ports, floppy drives, various peripheral devices, etc. As you can see, it will not be possible to calculate computer power for everyone. These are purely individual characteristics.
This is a very good option for you. Now there are many specialized sites and programs for calculating power on a computer. The topic is always quite relevant.
There is only a small problem that not all databases on the sites and in the program are up to date, but I will give you links to those that are really suitable for modern components.
A great calculator that requires minimal knowledge of English.
There are two types of calculator - Basic and Expert. From the name you can guess what each one is needed for. Using the second one, you can also specify how many hours the power supply will work, models for bitcoins, coolers (fans), processor speed and frequency, keyboard/mouse, etc. In general, take everything into account in more detail (for those in the know).
Select the main components (Motherboard, CPU, Memory, Video Cards, Storage and Optical Drives) and press the CALCULATE button (or RESET to reset) to then see how much power supply is needed for the computer.
One of the features of this service is that it is possible to select the minimum number of components.
One of the disadvantages (or advantages, depending on who you choose) is the display of advertising for a product from one well-known foreign site. And when calculating, they will show the recommended power supply, which is also available on another site.
This site, on the one hand, makes it possible to choose from the offered products and buy a power supply immediately, and on the other hand, he will earn money from this. Whether to follow such links or not is up to you.
A more advanced version of the previous service. The principle is similar, but additional functions have appeared: selecting a language (though there is no Russian), manually specifying the processor speed and its power, connecting a Blue-Ray drive, TV tuner, sound card, USB connectors (2.0 and 3.0), coolers (fans) ) indicating their number and size, mice, keyboards and similar little things. It is even possible to specify how long the computer is turned on.
In general, this is a good modern service calculator for calculating the power of a computer power supply.
A site from the famous company MSI, which is famous for its gaming products.
There is a Russian language and quite modern characteristics for components. In principle, everything is easy and clear.
Program KSA Power Supply Calculator WorkStation -
As an alternative to online calculators on the Internet for calculating computer power.
Portable (does not require installation), small size (177 kb), supports Russian language (developer Kaurkin S.A.) and all operating systems (Windows Xp, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10 (x86,x64)), yes and besides, the database is fresh and up-to-date.
In general, a miracle program for calculating the power of a power supply in a PC.
I don’t think it’s necessary to describe how and what to press, because... The interface is very simple and intuitive. I will only note that the program can also calculate the power for an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), which is just as important for a computer
Just in case, I’m attaching it to the topic (version 1.2.4.0 dated June 24, 2015), because I don’t want such a program to remain inaccessible
I think this will be enough for you to easily find out which power supply is suitable.
I would like to emphasize the fact that you need to calculate the computer's power supply in such a way that there is a reserve for the future. As is the case with subsequent system updates, so will various surges in the load of the components themselves. It is better to take it with a reserve of 5-20 percent of power. For example, if a minimum of 500 W suits you, then take at least 550 or 600 W.
