Does a computer really use 450 watts?

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MySnipeDown

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Nov 24, 2013
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I made a computer build and on pc part picker it says it's estimated wattage is 432. My father says that 432 watts would melt our wires and burn the house down and that that's enough wattage to run a factory. But I need a clear answer as for how much wattage my computer would actually use. Please help!

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Newegg)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($101.24 @ Amazon)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($135.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($312.99 @ B&H)

Case: Antec GX700 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze
Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04

DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1071.15
 
Solution
R
A typical wall outlet in the US is on a 15 amp breaker. 15 amps at 110 volts = 1650 watts that a typical wall outlet can handle. Keep in mind that most homes have more than one wall outlet on a breaker circuit. A typical small house in my area has 100 Amp service from the power company. This translates to 11000 watts that the home can use. Bigger homes can have much higher figures. 432 watts should be no problem.
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anti-painkilla

anti-painkilla

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Your Dad is having you on. A lot of heaters are 1000-2000W.

Your computer will be rated for that, it won't use that most of the time. The most it will use is when the graphics card is running at full load.

I use this chart when it comes to recommending a PSU. This is based purely on the GPU and leaves a fair bit of overhead. The PSU you are getting will be fine.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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That's the equivalent of 5 (old style) lightbulbs, or 1/2 a microwave oven.
He must be thinking of a very small factory.
 
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GeekThief-1354135

GeekThief-1354135

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i tried running my system (CPU and graphics card) under full load and only managed to draw 385 watts from the wall socket.

and as for 450 Watts being enough to run a factory or bur down a house. maybe your father mistook watts for Amps ?

oh and if it helps i believe 450w would be about 2 amps in the US with a 110v wall outlet :)
 
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robo7425

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A typical wall outlet in the US is on a 15 amp breaker. 15 amps at 110 volts = 1650 watts that a typical wall outlet can handle. Keep in mind that most homes have more than one wall outlet on a breaker circuit. A typical small house in my area has 100 Amp service from the power company. This translates to 11000 watts that the home can use. Bigger homes can have much higher figures. 432 watts should be no problem.
 
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Solution
dwatterworth

dwatterworth

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That 432 watts that the PSU calculator spits out is for 100% full load on every single component. In reality you'll be seeing power draws ~200W-250W under reasonably heavy gaming. ~100W idle/internet browsing load with everything on would be normal as well.
 
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Tom Tancredi

Tom Tancredi

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Actully 'full load' occurs EVERY time you TURN ON a electrical component. It draws a full maximum power to 'energize' all components to respond to further impulses of power over the connection (hence why you should wait 15 seconds or more after pulling the power on a electrified object for the power to 'dissappaite' as the excited molecules use up the energy till none exists and are depowered.

While most 'off the shelf' computers are going to use the power levels your citing, a gamers rig will constantly do 2 times more then that, and NOT under full load. Your forgetting a HDD is constantly spinning, power constantly has to be sent to the video ports (including the ones your not using), USB ports are constantly 'powered' on for USB devices even if not plugged in, even your mouse/keyboard ports are 'powered' this same way and constantly have a measurable power pushed to the port even if it isn't plugged in. Never mind the fans going, powering the CPU increases and decreases on use, memory has to be full powered.. and so on and so on.

As you can see there is alot of components being powered just 'sittting'. The BEST measurement would be a Wall Jack power meter, plugs into the Wall outlet then you plug in your power strip (for your computer, monitor, printer, modem, router, etc) into the meter. It will provide a accurate guage constantly of your power use, be it when your in the middle of a 64Person mission on BF4 or just listening to some tunes on iTunes.
 
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MySnipeDown

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So If my computer is running 432 watts, will it be good if I have a 450 80+ psu?

 
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dwatterworth

dwatterworth

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Just to debate the power figures, a mildy OC 3770k (undervolted to 4.1ghz) on an Asus P8-Z77i-Deluxe, 7950 boost w/ref. cooler, H90 w/140mm fan, 230mm fan, 120mm fan, 16gb ram, (2) 24" TN panels, SSD and 2.5" HDD pulls ~150watts sitting at the windows desktop after login with both screens on. That seems like a fairly up to date gaming computer. The figures are displayed on both my UPS and kill-a-watt. Just to put an actual measured figure out there. Highest measured and recorded figures on powerchute application showed just over 300 watts maximum draw over the history of recording data.

You definitely do not want your PSU to be at your max load figure. You typically want 2X the power your system will use under regular use. Power supplies operate at peak efficiency around 50% load. The higher wattage the power supply is compared to your actual demand, the lower load/strain will be placed on the PSU, resulting in lower fan speeds or the possibility of the PSU fan shutting off altogether, reducing noise.

I think you are thinking of electrical motors with non-soft-start technologies on a piece of hardware drawing maximum power on power-on cycle. The most noticeable components of the computer that DO start at full power are the fans which do receive full power to guarantee they start spinning before cycling down to PWM/RPM rates.
 
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GeekThief-1354135

GeekThief-1354135

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it's always good to have a bit of head room on your psu. i always go for a psu that higher rated than what my pc needs. the psu will then be able to handle power spikes and future upgrades better. so a 550w or 600w psu would be my choice.
 
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ko888

ko888

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During gaming I doubt you would be burning a CD or DVD.

Your system power draw during gaming may reach 342 Watts from the PSU which would work out to be around 410 Watts at the PSU's AC power plug when taking into consideration the XFX 550W PSU's conversion efficiency.

That's less than 3.5 Amps on a household 120V circuit. The household circuit should be rated for at least 15 Amps if it adheres to proper building codes. If your household wiring melts with such a light load then you've got some serious problem with your household wiring and you shouldn't even be living in that house since it's a fire trap.
 
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Energy96

Energy96

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I think your dad is just trying to pull one over on you probably to save money on his electric bill.

Otherwise, he is just an idiot lol.


Most small factories are pulling 10's of thousands of watts.
 
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