Gold/Silver/Bronze ??

[bigislandigor]

Can someone explain the ratings for psu's Gold/Silver/Bronze and what they mean? I'm doing my first build.

 

[blackjellognomes]

They're efficiency ratings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_PLUS

 

[Pyroflea]

80 PLUS is an initiative to promote energy efficiency in computer power supply units (PSU). It certifies products that have more than 80% energy efficiency at 20%, 50% and 100% of rated load, and a power factor of 0.9 or greater at 100% load. That is, PSUs that waste 20% or less electric energy as heat at the specified load levels, thus reducing electricity use and bills compared to less efficient PSUs. Sometimes rebates are given for manufacturers who use 80 PLUS-certified PSUs.

There's 5 levels:

80Plus
80Plus Bronze
80Plus Silver
80Plus Gold
80Plus Platinum

Obviously, Platinum rated supplies will be the most efficient of the bunch.

There is a nice table outlining the efficiency percentages required for each rating here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_PLUS

EDIT: blackjellognomes beat me to it

 

[bigislandigor]

Best answer selected by bigislandigor.

 

[bigislandigor]

Thank you very much Pyroflea

 

[Pyroflea]

No worries Watch out for knock-offs (such as 85 Plus ). Any reputable manufacturer will be a fantastic choice.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey