Just recently I was looking at system units in online stores. After weighing all the pros and cons, I came to the conclusion that it is better to buy components separately and have the freedom to assemble the system unit on your own and at the same time save a fairly decent amount of money. I haven’t fully decided on the components yet, but I have already selected a certain set of components and I needed to calculate the power of the power supply for the computer. Knowing the power consumption parameters of all components, you can approximately calculate the power of the power supply on paper.

What parameters do you need to know in order to calculate the power of the power supply for the system unit? First, you need to know the power consumption of the processor and video card, physical memory size, type and frequency. Secondly, the number, volume and type of storage (hard drive or SSD), as well as the presence and type of drives. In addition, it is important to know the class of the motherboard and its power consumption, as well as the type of cooling system. I listed all the components for the example offhand. After all, the computer configuration may use different internal components, expansion cards (for example, a TV tuner or sound card), and then their presence will need to be taken into account when calculating power consumption.

Calculating the exact consumption of a system unit is not a problem for a specialist, but sometimes it is not easy for a beginning geek. Therefore, in calculations you should always take what is called a reserve. Suddenly you decide to install a second video card, if of course the motherboard allows it.

If you buy a power supply that is not powerful enough or make a mistake in the calculations, then due to a lack of power supply to all computer components, it will turn off when the system is fully loaded. You will have to return it or keep it. If you are still on your way to becoming a specialist, I recommend using a specialized power supply power calculator for calculations.

Energy consumption calculator for calculating the power of a power supply.

It doesn't matter what you decide to build, upgrade or overclock. A well-balanced home HTPC media server or a modern and powerful gaming computer, or maybe you decide to replace the video card and add a second hard drive. In any case, I recommend that you use an online calculator to calculate the power of the power supply.

Looking ahead, I want to say that with prolonged loads (24/7) of the computer, the power of the power supply begins to fall within a year. This occurs due to the loss of capacitance of the capacitors and subsequently the power supply weakens. Therefore, be sure to consider how many hours a day the computer will work. Fortunately, this calculator has such a parameter on the “Expert” tab, and on the “Basic” tab a standard keyboard, mouse and 8 hours of machine use per day are already included in the calculations.

Motherboard - Motherboard. Several types are available. Desktop is a desktop computer form factor.
CPU - Processor. Here you need to choose one of two well-known brands: AMD or Intel.
Socket - Nest. A slot on the motherboard for the processor. Multiple selection is activated after determining the processor manufacturer.
CPU count applies only if the system has more than 1 physical CPU — Number of physical processors. This setting should only be changed if you plan (and have the ability) to use more than one processor on the system.
CPU Utilization. How effectively the cooling system removes heat.
Memory - Memory. Here select the type and number of memory modules you need. On the Expert tab there is an FB DIMMs option. This is a standard for improving the reliability, speed, and density of the memory subsystem.
Video Cards - Video card. You need to select the desired type from the drop-down list. The SLI / CF option must be activated if you plan to use multiple video cards
Storage - Storage. For example, I chose the first hard drive with a SATA interface and a spindle speed of 10,000 RPM, and the second SSD.
Optical Drives - Optical drive. I've been using it quite rarely lately, but I chose it in the calculator as an example.

After you click on the “Calculate” button, the calculation of the minimum and recommended power of the power supply will be performed. Here you will also receive offers from Amazon, which you can use or use as a guide to purchase the model you need from another store. It should be said that in the “Expert” mode you can also include expansion cards (TV tuner, sound card, controllers, etc.), Bitcoin modules, coolers, etc. into the calculation.

I recommend paying attention to power supplies that say 80PLUS Gold, 80PLUS Platinum or 80 PLUS Titanium. This is a certification and classification of power supply efficiency levels according to the 80 PLUS standard. I would appreciate any additions. Bye!

Power supply power- this characteristic is individual for each PC. The power supply is one of the most important elements of a computer. It supplies power to every element of the computer and the stability of all processes depends on it. This is the reason why it is very important to choose the right power supply for your computer.

This is the first thing you need to do in the process of buying/assembling a new power supply. To calculate the power of a computer's power supply, you need to add up the amount of energy consumed by each element of the computer. Naturally, this task is too difficult for the average user, especially taking into account the fact that some computer components simply do not indicate the power or the values are obviously overestimated. Therefore, there are special calculators for calculating the power of the power supply, which, using standard parameters, calculate the required power of the power supply.

After you have received the required power supply power, you need to add “spare watts” to this figure - approximately 10-25% of the total power. This is done to ensure that the power supply does not work to the limit of its capabilities at maximum power. If this is not done, it can cause a number of problems: freezing, self-rebooting, clicking of the hard drive head, and also shutting down the computer.

Options for correct calculating the power of the power supply:

Processor model and its thermal package (power consumption).
Video card model and its thermal package (power consumption).
Number, type and frequency of RAM.
Quantity, type (SATA, IDE) spindle operating speeds - Hard drives.
SSD drives from quantity.
Coolers, their size, quantity, type (with backlight / without backlight).
Processor coolers, their size, quantity, type (with backlight / without backlight).
Motherboard, what class it belongs to (simple, medium, high-end).
Also, it is necessary to take into account the number of expansion cards that are installed in the computer (sound cards, TV tuners, etc.).
Are you planning to overclock your video card, processor, or RAM?
DVD-RW drive, their number and type.

What power is the power supply?

What power is the power supply?- this concept will make it possible to choose the right components and characteristics. The first thing you need to know is how much power you need. The power of the power supply directly depends on the components installed on the PC.

And this is a very simple question, since manufacturers usually indicate the power in large font on the sticker. Power supply wattage is a measure of how much power the power supply can transfer to other components.

As we said above, you can find out it using online calculators for calculating the power of the power supply and add 10-25% of “spare power” to it. But in reality, everything is a little more complicated, since the power supply produces different voltages: 12V, 5V, -12V, 3.3V, i.e., each of the voltage lines receives only its required power. But there is 1 transformer installed in the power supply itself, which generates all these voltages for transmission to the computer components. Naturally, there are power supplies with 2 transformers, but they are mainly used for servers. Therefore, it is acceptable that in conventional PCs the power of each voltage line can change - increase if the load on the other lines is weak or decrease if other lines are overloaded. And on the power supplies they write exactly the maximum power for each of the lines, and if you add them up, the resulting power will be higher than the power of the power supply.

It turns out that the manufacturer deliberately increases the rated power of the power supply, which it cannot provide. And all power-hungry computer components (video card and processor) receive power directly from +12 V, so it is very important to pay attention to the current values indicated for it. If the power supply is made of high quality, then this data will be indicated on the side sticker in the form of a table or list.

PC power supply power.

PC power supply power- this information is necessary since the power supply is the most important component of the computer. It powers all other components and the correct operation of the entire computer directly depends on it.

Again, we repeat, you don’t need to take a power supply that will only have enough power. It must be taken into account that the actual power of the power supply may be less than that declared by the manufacturer. It is also important to understand that configurations may change over time. This is done to ensure that the power supply does not work to the limit of its capabilities at maximum power. If this is not done, it can cause a number of problems: freezing, self-rebooting, clicking of the hard drive head, and also shutting down the computer.

You will be able to choose the right power supply for your computer after you read this issue and learn how to calculate the power of the computer power supply.

Converting alternating voltage coming from the network into direct voltage, powering the computer components and ensuring that they maintain power at the required level - these are the tasks of the power supply.

When assembling a computer and updating its components, you should carefully look at the power supply that will serve the video card, processor, motherboard and other elements.

To determine the power supply that is needed for a specific computer build, you need to use data on the energy consumption of each individual component of the system.

The service can calculate the required power of the computer power supply using simplified or expert settings. The advanced option allows you to set the parameters of components and select the operating mode of the future computer. Unfortunately, the site is entirely in English, and not everyone will find it convenient to use.

2. MSI POWER SUPPLY CALCULATOR

The well-known company MSI, which produces gaming components for computers, has on its website. The good thing about it is that when you select each system component, you can see how much the required power supply power changes.

The complete localization of the calculator can also be considered a clear advantage. However, when using the service from MSI, you should remember that you will have to buy a power supply with a power of 50-100 watts higher than what it recommends, since this service does not take into account the consumption of the keyboard, mouse and some other additional accessories when calculating the consumption.

Well, that's all for today! Please write in the comments, did you manage to calculate the power of the power supply for your computer? And what difficulties did you encounter in doing so? Well, you can save a lot and choose the power supply you need

And also if you liked this issue, support it with a thumbs up and don’t forget SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL and notifications by clicking on the bell next to the subscribe button!

80 years have passed since then and I still ask myself the same question ( approx. - What is electricity?), but is unable to answer it. © Nikola Tesla

Power supply calculators

If you came here only to calculate the power for your power supply, then

The importance of the power supply

Traditionally, little attention has been paid to power supplies, and their selection is very often made on a residual basis when compared with other PC components. At the same time, not only the uninterrupted operation of the computer for several years depends on the quality and reliability of this unit, but also such an important indicator as the amount of electricity consumed, and, accordingly, electricity bills. In this material we will try to answer why expensive power supplies are so good and what are the benefits of using them.

Component quality

The quality of the installed electronic components has a significant impact on the final price. An example here would be the electrolytic capacitors used. The power supply is a component that heats up significantly during operation, especially if the PC has a ventilation circuit that creates a vacuum inside the case, in which part of the hot air moves through the power supply. The most common and inexpensive aluminum electrolytes have a maximum permissible temperature of 85 °C, but even slightly lower heating significantly reduces their time between failures. In reliable power supplies, conscientious manufacturers use more resistant types of capacitors, but the price of the product is higher. The manufacturer’s choice in favor of specialized diode assemblies or discrete elements has a corresponding impact on the final cost. In the first case, the bridge rectifier is guaranteed identical performance characteristics of both arms and the highest possible symmetry, and in the second, higher production profitability.

Circuit solutions

Modern power supplies can have several independent lines in the +5 and +12 V circuits. The ideal, albeit expensive, circuit solution here is separate rectifiers (especially synchronous ones), and individual output filters are acceptable. In budget models, there are often the most primitive options for obtaining “parallel” lines, implemented by simply connecting wires to a common contact. The obvious disadvantage of this simplification is the inability to effectively stabilize the output voltage and the mutual influence of consumers. Cheap power supplies may not have input EMI filters or are equipped with simplified single-circuit solutions. In other words - they are likely to create problems for other electrical appliances during their operation.
While budget power supplies usually provide two types of protection: against short-term overvoltage in the external network and short circuit inside the unit, high-quality devices support a more advanced security package. The best samples are equipped with an intelligent circuit based on a special chip and are able to promptly respond to excessive current consumption, overheating and low voltage. In addition, inexpensive units do not have protection that prevents them from being turned on without a normal load, while expensive solutions are not afraid of this operating mode.

Consequences of choice

Spontaneous rebooting of the computer can be caused not only by unstable operation of the motherboard, memory problems or software reasons. Any power supply monitors the output voltage level across all circuits and generates a control signal that allows the PC to turn on. The latter is a logical unit, which is supplied to the input of the corresponding key element of the motherboard, which is responsible for issuing the general reset command. The absence or short-term disappearance of the Power_OK signal automatically causes a system reboot, and the reason may be either voltages exceeding acceptable limits or incorrect operation of the control unit itself. For low-quality power supplies, the opposite manifestations are also possible, for example, a low response speed of this protection, not tracking all circuits, or sending a signal until the levels are completely stabilized (insufficient delay).
Another characteristic feature of budget power supplies is the use of the minimum permissible values of electrolytic capacitors installed in the output filters. Their capacity directly determines the shutdown time, during which the power supply is able to maintain the required voltage levels, allowing the computer to urgently complete critical operations. In the event of a short-term loss of mains power, it is even possible to continue operating the PC without rebooting. Simply put, some high-quality PSU models have a “built-in uninterruptible power supply.”

A well-assembled computer is very good, and a correctly selected power supply for it is doubly great! How to correctly calculate the power of a computer power supply– a whole science, but I’ll tell you simple and at the same time very effective power calculation method. Go!

Instead of a preface

Calculating power is important, since a weak power supply will not “pull” your hardware, and an overly powerful unit is a waste of money. Of course, we are not interested in this, and we will look for the most optimal option. Now to the essence of the matter.

PSU power calculation

Ideally, the power of the power supply is selected based on the maximum power consumption of the entire computer hardware at peak load. Why is that? Yes, it’s very simple - so that at the most crucial and intense moment of playing solitaire, the computer does not turn off due to lack of energy

It is no longer fashionable to manually calculate the power that your computer consumes in maximum load mode, so it will be much easier and more correct to use an online power supply calculator. I use this one and I really like it:

Don't be afraid of the English language, in fact everything is very simple there

Here is an example of how I calculated the power of the power supply for my computer (picture clickable):

1.Motherboard

In chapter Motherboard select the type of computer motherboard. For a regular PC we set Desktop, for the server, respectively – Server. There is also an item Mini-ITX for boards of the corresponding form factor.

2. CPU

Processor specifications section. First you specify the manufacturer, then the processor socket, and then the processor itself.

To the left of the processor name, the number 1 is the number physical processors on the board, not cores, be careful! In most cases, a computer has one physical processor.

Please note that CPUSpeed And CPU Vcore are set automatically, in accordance with the standard values of frequencies and core voltage. You can change them if necessary (this is useful for overlockers).

3. CPU Utilization

This indicates how much load will be placed on the processor. The default value is 90% TDP (recommended)– you can leave it as is, or you can set it to 100%.

4.Memory

This is the section for RAM. Indicate the number of planks and their type with size. On the right you can check the box FBDIMMs. It must be installed if you have RAM type F ully B buffered (fully buffered).

5. Video Cards – Set 1 and Video Cards – Set 2

These sections indicate video cards. Video Cards – Set 2 is needed if you suddenly have video cards from AMD and NVidia on your computer at the same time. Here, as with the processor, first select the manufacturer, then the name of the video card, and indicate the quantity.

If there are several video cards and they work in SLI or Crossfire mode, then check the box on the right (SLI/CF).

Similarly, as in the section with processors, CoreClock And MemoryClock are set to the factory values for this video card. If you changed them on your video card, then here you can indicate your frequency values.

6.Storage

Everything is simple here - you indicate how many and which ones hard drives installed on the system.

7. Optical Drives

This indicates how many and what floppy drives you have it installed.

8. PCI Express Cards

In this section we set how many and what additional expansion cards are installed in the PCI-Express slots. You can specify sound cards, TV tuners, and various additional controllers.

9.PCI Cards

Similar to the previous point, only here devices in PCI slots are indicated.

10. Bitcoin Mining Modules

Section for specifying modules for bitcoin mining. For those who know, comments are unnecessary, and for those who don’t know, don’t bother and just read on

11.Other Devices

Here you can indicate what other gadgets you have on your computer. This includes devices such as fan control panels, temperature sensors, card readers, and more.

12. Keyboard/Mouse

Keyboard/mouse section. Three options to choose from - nothing, a regular device or a gaming device. Under gaming keyboards/mice mean keyboards/mice with backlight.

13.Fans

Here we set how many fans and what size are installed in the case.

14. Liquid Cooling Kit

Water cooling systems are indicated here, as well as their number.

15. Computer Utilization

Here is the mode of computer use, or more precisely, the approximate operating time of the computer per day. The default is 8 hours, you can leave it like that.

The final

After you have specified all the contents of your computer, click the button Calculate. After this you will get two results − LoadWattage And RecommendedPSUWattage. The first is the actual power consumption of the computer, and the second is the recommended minimum power of the power supply.

It is worth remembering that the power supply is always taken with a power reserve of 5 - 25%. Firstly, no one guarantees that in six months or a year you will not want to upgrade your computer, and secondly, remember about the gradual wear and tear of the power supply.

And that’s all for me. Ask questions in the comments if something is unclear or you just need help, and don’t forget to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.