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A 400 watt power supply doesn't consume 400 watts by just being powered on. It just means it can deliver 400 watts of power if necessary, sometimes briefly, som
by daneel_w 4y ago
A 400 watt power supply doesn't consume 400 watts by just being powered on. It just means it can deliver 400 watts of power if necessary, sometimes briefly, sometimes continuously.
- dredmorbius 4y agoMuch the same as a 400 horsepower automobile isn't generating that output all the time, but can reach a peak output of that amount. In the case of power supplies, both total capacity and durability are indicated by the power rating. I don't know what current thinking is, but recall when overspeccing the power supply was often recommended for reliability and cooling considerations.
- daneel_w 4y agoI remember the old recommendation from the early 2000s, but I'm not sure if it's still "a thing". Switched-mode power supplies reach closer to their nominal efficiency rating the more current you pull through them. I have an anecdote: many years ago when Bitcoin/altcoin mining on GPUs was still feasible I ran a rig with a 335 watt TDP graphics card, and the whole setup measured 360-something watts at the wall outlet. It ran 24/7 for months on a 400 watt PSU, without problems.