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Do you think efficiency is important for a power supply?


Tt Andy

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EVGA Supernova 1300.  JohnnyGURU tested it and his tests state the thing could just about pass for Platinum.  Just about the only part in my  PC that isn't Tt (the one I wanted from you guys hasn't been released yet, I think you're still tweaking it). Your PSU is your heart, so your efficiency is VERY important.  PSU's are one of those things that you get what you pay for, never skimp out on a PSU, I learned the hard way, had one with coil whine, and eventually fried my old PC.

McBludgin - 80 Plus (trademarked 80 PLUS) is a voluntary certification program intended to promote efficient energy use in computer power supply units (PSUs). Launched in 2004 by Ecos Consulting, it certifies products that have more than 80% energy efficiency at 20%, 50% and 100% of rated load, and a power factor of 0.9 or greater at 100% load. That is, such PSUs will waste 20% or less electric energy as heat at the specified load levels, thus reducing electricity use and bills compared to less efficient PSUs.  (From Wikipedia)

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Not really, if you have a PC that is pulling, say 300 watts at full load, your platinum 600w PSU will pull say 320 watts from your wall, where at your bronze 750w will most likely pull 360, doesn't really matter what your max wattage is when it comes to pulling what it needs in terms of power.  Plus, the extra wattage the bronze is pulling equals extra heat being generated in your PC, heat that is being generated by waste and can be avoided.

There is also a quality difference, the bronze will most likely cost less, but at what expense? Cheaper capacitors, lower life expectancy, modular cabling, warranty, etc.  You also have to think how good the ripple suppression  is, voltage regulation, and heat generation.

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PSU is very important, but efficiency is not the only fact, I have seen PSUs with an 80 PLUS rating but have horrible wattage control, so while the 80 PLUS efficiency is definitely something to get, it is not the only thing to consider. 

With that being said I currently own 3x PSUs :

Thermaltake DPS G 650W - 80 PLUS Gold
Corsair AX 760 - 80 PLUs Platinum
SuperFlower 450W - 80 PLUs Gold

The other thing is people also need to be better informed about the wattage their system uses, a lot of people go way overkill when it comes to PSU. My 450W can run an overclocked 4770K on a Z97 board with a GTX 770 alongside it and while it is pushing it to its very boundaries, I have ran it as such for weeks straight with no worries! 

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