Beginners 101 – 5 Tips When Purchasing a Power Supply

You are almost ready to pull the trigger on that new gaming build that you have been saving up for. You have carefully picked the all of the components that are going to make up your dream build, that is all but one. The Power Supply. The questions start racing through your head, “what power supply do I need?”, “do I need a modular power supply like the AORUS P850W 80+ GOLD PSU?”. It can become a little daunting.

Today we are going to give you 5 tips that will help ensure that you get the best power supply, or PSU for short, for the job.

Determine how much power you need?

The first thing to figure out it how much power do you actually need from your power supply. All of the hardware that you have in your PC requires a certain amount of power to be delivered from the PSU in order for them to function. But how do you determine how much power you need?

Although it sounds like this would be a tricky thing to try and calculate, the good news is that you don’t have to be exact. As long as you get a power supply that delivers more power than you need as a minimum, you are good to go.

The best way to get an idea on how much power you review is to take a look at the specifications for the hardware that you want to run. If you look at the manufacturer product page, they will generally tell you how much power is required.

Another great option is to take a look at the one of the many online power supply calculators that are available on the internet. These calculators provide a very simple user interface where you select the hardware that you have and it will calculate the power that you will need.

Stick with reputable brands

The most important thing, especially from a safety perspective, is to ensure that you only purchase a power supply from a reputable brand. We cannot stress this enough.

So often, people find cheap PSUs online from random manufacturers and assume that all power supply units are the same. This is not the case. A lot of power supply units out there are incredibly cheap and are not built to regulation standards. There are many times where users have gone for the cheap option only to have a fire start in their computer case or for hardware to be burnt out.

Always stick with reputable brands because their power supply units are thoroughly tested and are built to strict standards and regulations. In addition, they come with warranties should you ever need it.

PSU efficiency ratings matter

Just as PSU wattage is important, so it the efficiency of the power supply. PSU efficiency is about tis ability to effectively deliver power to your components. 

Should you have a lower efficiency PSU you can find that power is not delivered optimally to your components which can lead to a number of issues. Common issues are wasted power which increases your running costs and increased heat which can cause problems with your hardware.

Thankfully PSU manufacturers provide clear efficiency ratings for their power supply products in the following format:

• 80 PLUS

• 80 PLUS Bronze

• 80 PLUS Silver

• 80 PLUS Gold

• 80 PLUS Platinum

• 80 PLUS Titanium

If budget allows try and aim to get a PSU that has a rating of 80 PLUS Gold or higher.

If you can, go modular

When it comes to a power supply, you have 2 options – modular and non-modular. 

Non-modular power supply units have all the cable connections permanently attached to the PSU. Non-modular PSUs are generally cheaper than module ones but the issue with this is that you often done make use of all of the cables. This can lead to a cable management nightmare and can cause issue with airflow.

A modular power supply like the AORUS P750W is the best option when it comes to picking a PSU. A modular PSU allows you to connect only the cables that you want to use to the unit. This makes cable management simple and more importantly, less cables means there is better airflow in your case.

Although a modular power supply is often a little bit more expensive, it is hands down the best option for you.

Double check what connectors you require

Finally, think about exactly what connections you need from your power supply. Not every power supply offers the same number of connectivity options and you don’t want to find yourself stuck with not enough.

Take a look at your hardware and determine exactly what connection options you require. One component that often catches people out is your GPU. Different GPUs have different power requirements so make sure that you have the write cables to connect to your GPU.

Also make sure that you have an ample amount of SATA power connectors, especially if you are running a few SSD drives.

Learn More：

－Beginners 101 – What is a Motherboard

－Beginners 101 – What is a Graphics Card

－Beginners 101 – What is RAM

－Beginners 101 – What is SSD and HDD Storage

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