Best low wattage psu

8tg · January 1

Alright, so the meme machine is an N100 and 3070ti, it’s being swapped to the arc a380. However currently it runs with a corsair rm1000x, because it’s funny, but it’s also just a huge efficiency waste and I’d rather use that psu for something drawing several hundred watts more than this.

But my other power supplies are basically burners, they exist for test benches or I have some from 2004. Which would ironically be hilarious to use but rocking the 500w ultra x connect 20 years into the future would be questionable.

So I want something fairly high end, a reliable and forgettable psu, something I can literally never touch again and not worry about. I don’t really know a whole lot about this part of the market.

Whats the best low wattage power supply on the market? Something like that seasonic prime fanless 450w thing? Cost is no concern, located in the us.

this is just kinda what I’m defaulting to if there isn’t a better option, the seasonic prime fanless 450w

but I swear silverstone has something like this I just can’t remember it’s name

Tetras · January 1

It depends on pricing really, most PSUs are made at 550 or 650 minimum nowadays, so I'd try and get a top tier PSU at the cheapest price you can. The efficiency loss of higher wattage PSUs at low loads is often a lot less than you'd imagine (i.e. across a range, they may be equally bad, unless the manufacturer significantly changes the design/components between wattage).

mariushm · January 1

Look at 500-650w platinum / titanium power supplies. The efficiency at low wattage is very high, and so little differences that it doesn't matter.

seon123 · January 1

6 minutes ago, 8tg said:

but it’s also just a huge efficiency waste

It's really not. The efficiency of modern PSUs rises really early, and stays pretty much constant up to 110% load. E.g. the RM1000x 2021 is 85% efficient at an 80W load, very similar to the Whisper M 450W, which is 89% efficient at 80W. At such low power draws, that equates to 14W power loss from the RMx vs 10W from the Whisper M. Don't worry about getting a low wattage PSU for the sake of saving a few watts, and just get a decent PSU within your budget.