Does it hurt to use a power supply unit with higher wattage than the motherboard and graphics card require?
Power Supply Units - simple question
If you have a stronger power supply than your video card (or any other device) requires, you certainly can use it 
I'll try to explain, correct me if I'm wrong:
Wattage equals voltage multiplied by current. On the rail which is connected to the device, you have a fixed voltage (+12V in this case). Wattage will be determined by the amount of current used by the device. In your case, the amount of current will be inside the safe zone (because your PSU is stronger - can provide more current if needed), thus no damage will be done. Not only that, but your device will work better than it would've worked with a weak PSU.
What can hurt though (or just don't work), is a PSU which provides the minimum (or lower) required by the device.
I'll try to explain, correct me if I'm wrong:
Wattage equals voltage multiplied by current. On the rail which is connected to the device, you have a fixed voltage (+12V in this case). Wattage will be determined by the amount of current used by the device. In your case, the amount of current will be inside the safe zone (because your PSU is stronger - can provide more current if needed), thus no damage will be done. Not only that, but your device will work better than it would've worked with a weak PSU.
What can hurt though (or just don't work), is a PSU which provides the minimum (or lower) required by the device.
ah; sounds great. now i just wonder how much wattage I need...
I will be building a system soon with...
this mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128034
and this GPU (only 1; not using SLI): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130085
does anyone know what the minimum wattage would be for this combo? i dont see information on it in the specs...
I will be building a system soon with...
this mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128034
and this GPU (only 1; not using SLI): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130085
does anyone know what the minimum wattage would be for this combo? i dont see information on it in the specs...
More is better in my book. I use a 650Watt even though my system is a single gpu. I'm even thinking that I should get a more powerful PSU. For most systems 500Watt is just fine. If you are going for powerful gaming system I would get a 750Watt. Having a PSU problem is a real pain and sometimes hard to track down.
Hey, wattage isn't everything! What about efficiency, stability, protections?
More is better in my book as well, but more money, not wattage ;)
For the combo above, I'd say some quality 400W Enermax Liberty or maybe some 500W Thermaltake will be OK.
More is better in my book as well, but more money, not wattage ;)
For the combo above, I'd say some quality 400W Enermax Liberty or maybe some 500W Thermaltake will be OK.
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