If you’re new to the world of PC building, you should have some idea that a PC needs its own power supply to run properly, but you might not know that there is a huge variety of different power supplies available on the market today. These power supplies differ not only in power delivered but the efficiency they deliver this power at – this means that different combinations of these factors will complement different uses and needs, but it can be difficult to know what the right option is for you. To make it simpler, in this article, we take a look at the different kinds of power supplies available to consumers.

The entry level power supplies

Although some of these power supplies provide lower overall power, it’s a good idea to remember that the best 500w PSUs on the market today will often last a whole lot longer than the worst 1000w PSUs – numbers in the world of power supplies don’t mean everything. When you’re considering a power supply, they are also rated in terms of efficiencies, which can range from white to platinum, with platinum obviously being a much more efficient power supply. Efficiency in this case refers to how much power the supply draws from the power point to provide its rated energy, and there are certain builds that benefit from greater efficiency more than others. If you needed to replace a power supply in a laptop produced by one of the big names, such as Asus or Dell, something like an 80+ White 400 watt would be more than enough. This will be a cheap power supply due to the specs, so it’s important to also remember that it won’t have all of the features of the more expensive models. Plus, more expensive power supplies also offer much longer warranties than their cheaper cousins, which again reflects the quality of he build.

More power for bigger rigs

If you’re intending to build a computer for grunty gaming or as a workstation, it’s a good idea to not even consider white power supplies, as you’re going to want a lot more efficiency to power your rig. Although it’s obviously more expensive to get a bronze, silver or gold power supply, you should keep in mind that efficient power supplies will save you money in the long run due to them using less power. The little bit extra you spend is also means you get a much longer warranty, so if things go belly up for your power supply in a few years, you can save a little bit of cash then as well! These power supplies are also needed to drive high-end graphics cards – although some might be tempted to get a 700 watt unit – or even bigger – there isn’t really a need to do so if you just have the one graphics card and an otherwise normal setup. For this setup, a 500 or 600 watt power supply should be more than enough (just remember to not cheap out too much when selecting it).

Still confused about getting a power supply?

Although all of the different price brackets can make buying a power supply confusing, to make it even easier, consider getting a supply from one of the big brands – big warranties and higher quality computer components go a long way, so keeping an eye out for reputable names can make your decision a bit easier.