How to Calculate Power Supply Needed for New PC
The most important of all of the components of a modern PC is the power supply. Weaker variations of other components may result in slower performance or more limited capabilities. A power supply that is too weak, on the other hand, will render your new PC inoperable. A simple power usage calculator determines how much power you need based on the most power-hungry components: your processor, motherboard, video card, system memory, optical drive and hard drive.
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Instructions
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Direct your internet browser to Newegg.com's Power Supply Calculator at http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html
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Select your processor from the drop-down menu under the "CPU" heading.
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Select what type of motherboard your PC will use. Most users will use a regular desktop motherboard. High-end motherboards are most often found on gaming PCs or PCs used for graphics-intensive tasks like video editing.
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Select your video card from the drop-down menu under the "VGA Card" heading. Notice that there is an option for an integrated video card, common on lower budget systems. You may also select the number of video cards you have, though most users will only use one.
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Select the amount and type of system memory your new PC will have under the "Memory" heading. Note that you are selecting capacity of each stick of memory and the number of sticks, rather than the total memory. So, if you have 4gb of DDR3 memory on two 2gb sticks, you will select 2gb DDR3 x 2.
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Select your optical drive, if any, under the "ODD" heading. You may also select the number of drives you will use.
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Select your hard drive speed from the drop-down menu under the "HDD" heading. Select the number of hard drives you will be using.
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Press the "Calculate" button to see how much power these components will require. Generally, you will want to get a power supply that is 100 to 150 watts greater than the number provided. This will provide power for the less power-hungry components, like USB ports and fans, and will allow a little room for upgrading in the future.
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Tips & Warnings
Buying a larger power supply than needed is a good idea if you plan on upgrading many of your PC's components down the road.
References
- Photo Credit power supply image by robert mobley from Fotolia.com
