Is an Overkill Power Supply bad? :: Hardware and Operating Systems

All Discussions > Steam Forums > Hardware and Operating Systems > Topic Details

mova Jan 10, 2016 @ 8:09pm

Is an Overkill Power Supply bad?

Ok so I can get a 750W power supply or a 1000W power supply for the same price but are there any drawbacks of having a bigger power supply even though I dont need it right now? It would be nice to get the 1000W power supply for future upgrading.

Last edited by mova; Jan 10, 2016 @ 8:16pm

< >

Showing 1-7 of 7 comments

CursedPanther Jan 10, 2016 @ 8:16pm

None, other than the higher price tag you have to pay for up front.

Your PC will always draw the amount of power whatever and whenever it requires.

Bad 💀 Motha Jan 10, 2016 @ 8:17pm

Biggest draw back is up-front cost -and- overall power efficiency; as with most PSUs, you usually have to maintain a load a majority of the time approx within a margin of 50 - 80 % load on the PSU to get the overall rated efficiency %; but again that % worth of load depends on the brand+model; as that will always vary from model to model. Each Brand should have a Spec Sheet for any given Model of PSU; within it should outline things like "% of load range required to meet % of power efficiency rating"... etc.

So for example if you buy a 1000W PSU and only draw around 300-330 watts on high loads, that is roughly 30-33% load and might not be high enough of a lower in order to get a decent power efficiency (depending on PSU model) of around 88-92%

Last edited by Bad 💀 Motha; Jan 10, 2016 @ 8:19pm

_I_ Jan 10, 2016 @ 8:19pm

quality of the psu, a poor quality psu can kill an entires sytem
mobo, cpu, drives, gpu, or anything plugged into it

if the psu has a 110/220v switch, its an extremely old design (10+ years)
thats passive pfc, newer desigens are active pfc for 90-240v

and look for 80plus logo, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, not 85+ thats fake

if in doubt look at the brands here
https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/3cxvcl/pcmr_psu_ranking_and_tiers_2015/

Bad 💀 Motha Jan 10, 2016 @ 8:22pm

Yes go by the Brand/Models Tier Ranking List
Try to stick to ones that are "Gold Certified" and "Modular" if you can.
Does not have to be fully-modular; but semi-modular are what most would prefer as a minimum; especially when in the need for above 600-watts PSU models or so, as those will tend to have more cables to support more components and/or multi-GPUs; and without it being modular, will result in a ton of extra cables you need to tuck away. With modular you just connect with you need at the time, then you can store the extra cables away in safe place until needed.

mova Jan 10, 2016 @ 8:39pm

Originally posted by CursedPanther:
None, other than the higher price tag you have to pay for up front.

Your PC will always draw the amount of power whatever and whenever it requires.

Originally posted by Bad-Motha:
Biggest draw back is up-front cost -and- overall power efficiency; as with most PSUs, you usually have to maintain a load a majority of the time approx within a margin of 50 - 80 % load on the PSU to get the overall rated efficiency %; but again that % worth of load depends on the brand+model; as that will always vary from model to model. Each Brand should have a Spec Sheet for any given Model of PSU; within it should outline things like "% of load range required to meet % of power efficiency rating"... etc.

So for example if you buy a 1000W PSU and only draw around 300-330 watts on high loads, that is roughly 30-33% load and might not be high enough of a lower in order to get a decent power efficiency (depending on PSU model) of around 88-92%

Originally posted by _I_:
quality of the psu, a poor quality psu can kill an entires sytem
mobo, cpu, drives, gpu, or anything plugged into it

if the psu has a 110/220v switch, its an extremely old design (10+ years)
thats passive pfc, newer desigens are active pfc for 90-240v

and look for 80plus logo, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, not 85+ thats fake

if in doubt look at the brands here
https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/3cxvcl/pcmr_psu_ranking_and_tiers_2015/

Thanks for the responses guys. I was choosing between the EVGA SuperNOVA 750 and the Corsair RM1000. Looks like I'll be going for the Corsair.