How to Choose a Power Supply for Gaming PC

We are going to make this guide on how to choose a power supply directly and clearly. In this guide we are going to explain how to choose a power supply for gaming pc with real power, in order to avoid the great scam that exists with power supplies in USA.

There are few sources that give real power on the market. In this article we are going to explain what is currently happening in our country with power supplies and real power. We don’t want you to be deceived!

The power supply is completely essential in our PC. It is the engine that makes it work, since it is responsible for supplying the required power to the different components that make up the PC in a stable manner.

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For this there must be no voltage peaks, parasitic noise in the current and the voltages must be within parameters of 5% of the nominal value set by the ATX standard.

First of all, before continuing with the article, we must explain what energy efficiency is.

What is energy efficiency? The efficiency of a power supply is measured in terms of percentage (%). This tells us how much power that comes out of the wall outlet of our house is actually used by the system.

This level of efficiency varies depending on the different load levels that are requested from the source at a given moment. We are going to explain it in a simple way.

A source that has an energy efficiency of 80% is capable of transforming 80% of the energy consumed into real power, while the remaining percentage, the other 20%, is lost by dissipation in the form of heat.

This energy loss in the form of heat must then be properly cooled, so you are adding more consumption and more noise.

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The higher the efficiency of the source, the lower the energy consumption of our PC will be and of course, the lower the consumption, the lower the cost of electricity in the household bill.

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How to Choose a Power Supply?

It is surprising the number of brands that are selling fake fonts, with unreal powers. Moreover, most of the sources that are sold in USA, whether they are for integration or that come with a pre-assembled unit are of false power, unless of course they come with the indications that we are going to explain to you below.

We highlight two certifications to ensure that the power of our source is real. These certifications are not carried out by the manufacturer (font brand). They are carried out by an independent company that checks these fonts for you. These two certifications are:

We recommend not trusting the label of the source unless it is a brand of international prestige. It would be good to ask why a product is only sold in USA and not in Germany or Sweden, where the legislation is tougher for fraudsters.

European Regulation ErP2014? How does it affect Power Supplies?

This regulation determines that integrated power supplies must provide a minimum efficiency of 82% at a nominal power of 20% and 100%, as well as a minimum efficiency of 85% at a nominal power of 50%. Likewise, for the nominal power, a minimum power factor of 0.9 is required.

These data are very relevant and assure us of real power and stability in our PC. It is also a European regulation, so it affects us directly and has the voltage that occurs in our continent, unlike the 80 Plus certification, which is American.

Having this certificate is insurance and a value that we must take into account when purchasing a power supply. A prominent manufacturer using this certificate is Xilence.

The brand of German origin focuses on the quality of the product and on giving what it promises on the box. A 500W source will always be a 500W source.

80 Plus Energy Efficiency Certificate for a Power Supply

The 80 Plus certification was created to allow consumers to know what the most efficient power supplies are, or at least know the efficiency of a supply that has gone through this process.

In order to acquire this certificate, the energy efficiency of the power supply must be greater than 80%, otherwise it will not have passed said certification.

You have to be very careful because there are manufacturers who state that their sources have the 80 plus certificate and it is not real.

We can find out if our fountain has an energy certificate in a very simple way, first looking for the brand and then the model of our fountain in the following link.

Despite the fact that to obtain this certificate the efficiency of the source is subjected to very precise tests, the temperature at which the tests are carried out is around 23ºC ±5%, well below the temperature that a PC is actually subjected to.

The ideal would be to try it at about 40-45ºC. Even so, it is the certificate that is most fashionable to use by brands.

Manufacturers like BeQuiet, Corsair or High Power often use this certificate and are highly recommended.

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To sell a power supply in Europe it is not mandatory to pass the 80 plus certificate. However, they do have to have the Erp2014 certificate, in case that source is going to be mounted on a new computer.

Fake Power supply or Without these Certificates

Think that really all the components depend on the source, which as we said before, is the engine of our PC, and all the components: hard drive, graphics card, motherboard, and processor.

All of them are powered by the power supply. Therefore, if we put a false source that says that it gives 500W, it may actually be 300W at most.

We have a great lack of knowledge with the power that a PC really needs. It is best to give you an explanation by means of an example.

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A PC with its hard disk, its ram, its SSD and an I5 processor with GTX960, the energy consumption are about 250W more or less. So imagine if we go to the limit with a fake 500W source that is really giving us between 250W-300W at its best.

Are you really going to risk that your motherboard or your graphics card suffer a breakdown to save $20-$30? Be very careful with false sources, especially if we want to continue playing or simply continue to have a PC.

Zahid Khan Jadoon

Zahid Khan Jadoon is an Interior Decorator, Designer and a specialized Chef and loves to write about home appliances and food. Right now he is running his interior designing business along with a managing a restaurant. Also in his spare time he loves to write about home and kitchen appliances.