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How to choose a power supply: wattage, efficiency and the connectors that matter

The power supply (PSU) is the part people most often save on, and the one that can take other parts with it when it fails. A good one runs quietly for ten years and survives several upgrades. Choosing well comes down to the right wattage, a solid efficiency rating, the right connectors for your graphics card, and a maker that stands behind it.

1. How many watts?

Start from the graphics card: its maker gives a recommended PSU wattage (on our product pages when listed), and that figure already includes the rest of a typical PC. Then add some headroom.

Office PC or a PC without a graphics card: 450–550 W is plenty.
Mid-range gaming PC: 650–750 W.
High-end gaming PC: 850–1000 W.
Top-end graphics cards and heavy workstations: 1000 W and up.

A PSU is most efficient and quietest at roughly half to two-thirds load, and modern cards have short power spikes, so a little extra headroom is good. Much more than you need just costs money.

2. Efficiency: what the 80 Plus labels mean

The 80 Plus label tells you how much of the power drawn from the wall reaches your PC; the rest becomes heat.

80 Plus Bronze: fine for budget builds.
80 Plus Gold: the sweet spot for most PCs: efficient, cool and widely available at good prices.
80 Plus Platinum and Titanium: a little more efficient still, mainly worth it for PCs that run under heavy load for many hours a day.

Efficiency is not the same as quality: a label says nothing about protection circuits or the components inside. That's where the brand and the warranty come in.

3. ATX 3.x and the 12V-2x6 connector

Many current graphics cards, especially from NVIDIA, use a single 16-pin power connector called 12V-2x6 (the updated version of 12VHPWR). PSUs built to the ATX 3.0 or 3.1 standard have this cable natively and are designed for the short power spikes of modern cards. An older PSU works with the adapter in the graphics card box, but a native cable is tidier and avoids a bulky adapter.

Whatever you use: push the 16-pin plug in fully and avoid bending the cable sharply right at the connector.

4. Modular cables, size and noise

Fully modular PSUs let you connect only the cables you need: cleaner builds and better airflow.
ATX is the standard size. Small cases need SFX or SFX-L; check what your case supports.
Many quality PSUs have a fan that stops at low load, so the PC is silent while browsing.

5. Brand and warranty

A long warranty is the clearest signal of confidence: good PSUs come with 7 to 12 years. Stick to established makers and their current ranges; within one brand, quality varies between budget and premium series, so compare the series name, not just the logo.

6. What to spend

Under €100: solid 550–750 W Bronze and Gold units for budget and mid-range builds.
€100–180: quality 750–1000 W Gold units, often ATX 3.1 and fully modular.
€180 and up: 1000 W and more, Platinum and Titanium.

7. How to tell a real deal

Power supplies are a good part to buy on a discount, because a good model stays good for years. Check the price history on each product page: a real deal is low compared with the last weeks, not just compared with a list price. Compare the exact series and wattage: the same brand sells very different PSUs at similar names.