Will a 1500W power supply use a lot of electricity?

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ShindoSensei

ShindoSensei

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So I've saved up to buy the EVGA SuperNOVA NEX1500 PSU (http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=120-PG-1500-XR).

It has a good deal of power to it, but my mom says that the electricity bill will be through the roof with it. If I buy it will it use a ton of electricity in an already high consuming room (3 monitors, chargers, etc.)?
 
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nukemaster
The power consumption is based on DC load(computer) + waste %(100 - efficiency %). so a 400 watt load with an 80% efficient power supply will take 480 watts form the wall(400 + 20% or 20 watts for every 100 watts used)

Now a power supply is more efficient at about 50-60 percent load(k11142 beat me to it).

Image from Corsair and hosted by Imageshack.us
ax850efficiency.png


So if you have a gaming system that needs 350-400 watts to run(so the system is used mostly for games), 700-800 watt power supplies are well matched to
A. have spare power
B. Hit peak efficiency.

Now it is important to know that power supplies get more and more efficient all the time. Computers also use less power for the most...
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hero1

hero1

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Why are you buying that PSU? What are your system specs? Because that is a lot of power. So unless you are running a 4 way SLI/CF then you don't need that PSU period.
 
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henkbas

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that really depends on the setup it needs to power.
 
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dextermat

dextermat

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Hi,

Unless you are tri sli and overclocking you are just buying a overkill psu.

A core i5, not overclock with a gtx 660 would use about 450 w,

If you overclock a core i5 250k @ 4.2 ghz + triple sli, your looking at about 600 - 800 watt... so it's still overkill.

For electric consumption, it's related to your components, the more you have + the more you run = the more electricity you pay. If you game all day and all night it will have an impact while just a few hours won't .
 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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The power consumption is based on DC load(computer) + waste %(100 - efficiency %). so a 400 watt load with an 80% efficient power supply will take 480 watts form the wall(400 + 20% or 20 watts for every 100 watts used)

Now a power supply is more efficient at about 50-60 percent load(k11142 beat me to it).

Image from Corsair and hosted by Imageshack.us
ax850efficiency.png


So if you have a gaming system that needs 350-400 watts to run(so the system is used mostly for games), 700-800 watt power supplies are well matched to
A. have spare power
B. Hit peak efficiency.

Now it is important to know that power supplies get more and more efficient all the time. Computers also use less power for the most part as well(sure some parts can take lots, but an average gaming PC takes less power then it used to.).

So in short, the power bill will not change much, but it may go up a bit if the load is very low.
 
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everlost

everlost

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to add to Nukes answer. 1500w is the output rating, power to your computer components. if your computer only uses 400watts then your only using 400watts. not 1500watts.

now 1500w, if you trully need that much, on a house circuit could be trouble. 1500w/115vac = 13A. a typical circuit is only 15A leaving only 2A room on the rest of your circuit for monitors, chargers, etc. unless you have a 20A circuit.

a 15A cct plug is shaped like (I I) while a 20A is (I I-).
 
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ittimjones

ittimjones

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It's way more power than you need. Just get a Corsair or Seasonic 80+ gold or platinum at about 800W and you will be set for throwing anything you can at it.

Also, a PSU only uses as much power as it needs, not all that it's capable of. Idling, you will barely use any, but at while playing games, you will use a LOT more.
 
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ShindoSensei

ShindoSensei

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Thank you so much for your reply (thanks to everyone else as well!). It may or may not be more than I need, but I need to keep the power in check, as I will need something very powerful to power my experiments.
 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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Are you even talking computers anymore? What kind of experiments?
 
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ShindoSensei

ShindoSensei

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Running modded hardware, which if you do in incorrectly (me) you can use lots of unnecessary power



 
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Larry_3

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The previous answers are solid. But to get your mom off your back, get one of these power meters. Plug it into your outlet or surge protector, then plug the PC (only) into that. It reads wattage real-time as you use it. This is also the easiest way to see what size PSU you will need. Run Prime95 with a movie or game sim, or get advice on how to stress test. Find your max wattage, and then double that. That is your needed PSU.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161077200248?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Cost: $15
 
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sammy sung

sammy sung

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It should also be noted, that even if that degree of amperage were required, that supply is of poor quality. EVGA sells excellent units. This is not one of them. It's made by FSP, which isn't a manufacturer I'd associate with quality.
 
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