Any tangible difference between 80+ bronze and higher (gold, platinum)?

Virtual01 · March 3, 2015

Is there any real difference between bronze and gold PSUs? Wikipedia says that these 80+ PSUs run more efficiently at load the higher they are rated, but does this translate into any tangible difference when gaming or otherwise?

RichardsD · March 3, 2015

No, but it means that it is much more power efficient.

dadasmithywinkle · March 3, 2015

Is there any real difference between bronze and gold PSUs? Wikipedia says that these 80+ PSUs run more efficiently at load the higher they are rated, but does this translate into any tangible difference when gaming or otherwise?

Nope, not really. The only difference will be on the power bill.

Blebekblebek · March 3, 2015

the obvious difference is PRICE TAG

however most people who's getting "GOLD" psu is because they want japan capacitor that can endure higher temp.

Katrar · March 4, 2015

the obvious difference is PRICE TAG

however most people who's getting "GOLD" psu is because they want japan capacitor that can endure higher temp.

You can sometimes get lucky with Bronze. I picked up a Kingwin Mach 1 (Bronze) a couple years ago in part due to its Japanese capacitors. Always check! =)

blackadder · March 4, 2015

they have high rated caps and normally better parts along with a longer warranty. you won't be able to tell unless you really check up on your power bill or are a electrical engineer.

quan289 · March 4, 2015

When you get a unit that's more efficient, you are also getting a unit that produces less heat. Heat is among the one main contributor that determine the overall lifespan of a particular capacitor, and as such, it can give the manufacturer the excuse to uses cheaper, lower quality caps in their units.

A few example of this are (all secondary caps will be rated for 105C) :

Antec Earthwatts Platinum - Uses 85C CapXon (Chinese) Primary cap and a mixed of Japanese caps from Rubycon and NCC, as well as CapXon on the secondary.

Corsair CS - 85C NCC Primary and Taiwanese Elite and Teapo secondary

Corsair RM - 105C NCC Primary and CapXon secondary.

Enermax Revolution X't - 85C Japanese Panasonic / Matsushita and CapXon secondary

BeQuiet Straight Power 10 - Full 105C Teapo

If your goal is to ensure that you get a PSU that has full Japanese caps, you shouldn't have the mindset that a higher efficiency unit will automatically determine whether it uses Japanese or Chinese / Taiwanese caps.