Power Supply Size Question. (and on USB 2 or 3 usage)

[Robert11]

Hello,

a. Is a 300 watt power supply sufficiently large for a desktop pc ?

PC would have a single 1 TB hd, and lots of USB ports usage.
No gaming, but lots of videos.

Or, would 400 watts be a lot "safer" ?

b. USB 3 usage very prevalent these days, or USB 2 still most popular and used ?

Thanks,
B

 

[seavixen32]

You may want to upgrade later so it would pay you to install the 400w PSU.

As for USB 3, have a look here: SuperSpeed USB 3.0 FAQ

 

[bobkn]

There's no short answer for this. Systems vary a lot.

For example, a high-end discrete graphics card can consume 300W by itself.

Current CPUs tend to max out at 125W, but overclocking can take that to 200W.

Box stock appliance PCs with onboard graphics often ship with minimal PSUs (low 200s to 300W).

As regards USB3, I expect that it's too new to have become more common than USB2. Intel motherboards (Ivy Bridge) that support it without third-party controllers have been on the market for only a few weeks.

 

[bigmck]

If you are going to buy a 300W you might as well get a 500W to cover yourself in the future. The price is not that much different. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...p?CatId=1079&name=500-Watt-Plus-Power-Supply&http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=106&srkey=power supply

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Hello,

a. Is a 300 watt power supply sufficiently large for a desktop pc ?

It certainly can be.

My entire PC, including monitor, uses no more than 150 watts under a high load. I don't have a video card.

In normal operation, it uses much less.

I have a 560 watt PSU, way more than I need. I would have preferred to buy a PSU with much less power, but I could not find a high quality modular unit down around 350 watts. They don't seem to be made.

Video cards aside, the trend in power consumption in newer PCs is down, not up.

You should let us know what components you will be buying, particularly the video card. If you are buying a pre-assembled PC from a good OEM, the power supply should be more than adequate.

"Safer" is a function of build quality rather than the sheer number of watts.

 

[Robert11]

Hi.

Thank you all for advice and info.
Nice of you folks to take the time to do so.
Very appreciated.

Bob