How to choose A Power Supply Unit?

A Brief Guide

The Power Supply is an integral part of a PC system yet it is often overlooked when people are building their PC. The Power Supply is the life support for your PC system; if your Power Supply dies, your entire system will cease to work.  

Along with the Casing, the Power Supply is often the most overlooked hardware of a computer. There is one maxim when it comes to buying a Power Supply:

 Go for a reliable manufacturer!

You can save money by buying less RAM, a smaller Hard Disk, a less fanciful Casing, a lower-end CPU etc and upgrade in future, but an inferior Power Supply can result in frequent system crashes and can even short circuit some or all of your components.  

GooGoo Explains

The weight of PSUs varies largely even among those of the same wattage. The heavier the Power Supply relative to its wattage, the better it is. Based on this, some good quality 250 W Power Supplies can be better than some poor quality 300W Power Supplies. Therefore, remember to take the weight/ wattage ratio into consideration when shopping for a Power Supply and do not just search blindly for a high wattage one. The price of a Power Supply will usually be proportional to its weight… says a lot doesn’t it?

While it is oversimplifying to state that the weight of a Power Supply reflects its reliability, it is nonetheless foolish not to take note of the correlation. This is the simplest and easiest way for an average PC user to compare the quality among Power Supplies.

Picking a Power Supply Unit 

There are some important points to consider when choosing a PSU.

Wattage

You have to make sure that your PSU can supply your PC with enough power, including any upgrades you might want to perform in future. It is better to err on the side of caution if you can’t be sure. A PSU that is larger than necessary will step down to your power requirements but a power supply that is too small to meet the requirements of your PC will often result in your system rebooting for no apparent reason.
Note: Changing the Power Supply of a system involves rewiring your whole system! 
You can access the following excellent website ( http://journeysystems.com/power_supply_calculator.php ) and utilize its ‘Power Supply Calculator’ to calculate the power your system needs.

Warranty

We recommend any computer builder to go for a PSU from a respectable maker. Reputable manufacturers of PSUs usually provide a decent warranty to go with their products.

Efficiency

This is a difficult one to check. But bear in mind that some Power Supplies are very inefficient. These Power Supplies convert a lot of energy into heat and end up raising the temperature of your room. Again, the best way to avoid purchasing an inefficient Power Supply is to make sure you purchase from a reputable brand.

GooGoo Recommends

Unless they really know what they are doing, we normally advise buyers not to go for Power Supplies that come bundled-in with a Casing. Such Power Supplies are usually of a low quality and may cause permanent damage to your hardware.

Many computer companies provide inferior Power Supplies to cut cost and increase profit margins so be sure to ask about the PSU when you are considering the purchase of a pre-configured computer. Asking about the brand and wattage is a good place to start.  

Do not take risks where the electrical supply of your computer is concerned!

Also, try to buy a PSU with a 120mm bottom-facing fan rather than one with an 80mm rear fan. This ensures you’ll have a more efficient and quieter cooling system for your PSU.

There are plenty of decent brands of PSU available in most retailers. The following are some excellent brands that have consistently delivered top quality performance over the years.

PC Power & Cooling provides arguably the best Power Supplies; with the lowest failure rate backed by the industry’s strongest warranty program, they set an unbeatable standard when it comes to PSUs.

Seasonic is another Power Supply manufacturer that we strongly recommend. It is great value for money, with extremely high quality and an extremely low failure rate.
 
Antec – This is a good quality brand but beware of their low end series. NeoPower, Phantom, and Neo HE are all decent series but you’ll do well to steer clear of the SmartPower series.

 

The above guide is provided as a free service to our customers and visitors. All information is written as objectively and accurately as possible. GooGoo Custom Computers are not responsible for any undesirable computer assembly outcomes resulted from reading our hardware guide.