Vadim Rapp
asked on
Does 600 Watt PSU always draw 600 Watt, or only as needed?
If I have, say, 600 Watt power supply, but for the computer only 200 Watt is enough, will the power supply draw from the outlet 600 Watt anyways, or it will draw according to its output, i.e. real consumption of the computer components? Also, are all PSU's equal in this?
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Wattage is a unit of power.. Just like horse power..
The rating you see is the max available from the power supply.
Just like the horse power -rating- for an engine.
An engine doesn't run at 100% capacity all the time. (It may never.)
It will provide the needed power and no more.
The same goes for your power supply.
It will only use what is needed to run the system.
It will only 'pull' from it's AC source (the wall plug) what is needed to run the system.
.
The rating you see is the max available from the power supply.
Just like the horse power -rating- for an engine.
An engine doesn't run at 100% capacity all the time. (It may never.)
It will provide the needed power and no more.
The same goes for your power supply.
It will only use what is needed to run the system.
It will only 'pull' from it's AC source (the wall plug) what is needed to run the system.
.
I can't locate the specs, but like a DC-to-AC converter, they can provide max power only so long... they are designed to provide constant power at an "up-to" point which is usually 10% either side of 50% of the total capacity.
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ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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ASKER
Thanks all for thorough answers!
As Leew noted, however, the best way to know just what you're using is to measure it. This is a very handy little gadget (I have several): http://www.ambientweather.com/tdp4400.html