Learn why an underpowered power supply is worse than an overpowered one and how it can damage your computer.
Episode #10-39 released on May 10, 2020
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There are many YouTubers out there doing benchmarks of computers with 1000+ watt power supplies. You definitely do not need, usually, a 1000-watt power supply, but to be fair, the alternative is far more insidious and dangerous to your computer.
A power supply that lacks sufficient power output will have a few issues that will affect only some users whilst some may never notice any problems whatsoever. It comes down to a simple fact of life, one user does not necessarily use computers in the same as another user would.
What happens if your power supply is incapable of providing sufficient power for your computer?
Simple, your computer becomes unstable. Unstable computers suffer from a whole host of issues like cooling problems, data corruption problems, and power issues. When you start having these issues the computer will feel slow to respond, have blue screens of death, crash applications, files will not save properly or be corrupted, but many people do suffer a computer restart where everything is simply lost. The reason the computer restarts instead of just shutting down is down to how the bios responds to a power outage, most computers are set to restart when power goes off. If the setting is set to stay off, it is likely that the computer merely shutdowns without a restart.
What happens if I buy an over-powered power supply?
Nothing bad. A power supply takes in AC power, converts it into DC power for devices that need 3.3, 5 and 12 volts. It only generates the power the computer needs. If the power supply is modern, it likely has an 80+ rating. The higher the power output possible, the more efficient the power supply. It is possible that you never need the amount of power available, that being said, because of efficiency, you may in turn use less power from the wall and the power supply might actually be cooler contributing less to the ambient internal temperature of the computer. Because the power supply can supply the power needed, your computer would remain stable and not suffer from data corruption, data loss, random shutdowns, or crashes.
Basically, you are better off spending a little more on a power supply than cheaping out. Having more room in wattage potential never hurt a computer, but not having enough can ruin your day, your build and lead to an awfully expensive paper weight.
Host : Steve Smith | Music : | Editor : Steve Smith | Producer : Zed Axis Dot Net