How to Choose a Proper Power Supply Wattage

[delrey]

Greetings fellow Techspotters,

I've built a few PC's in my time and dealt with many issues with them (especially not my own PC's). However, one area that I struggle with is choosing the proper amount of watts. Now, I have a somewhat understanding of what I'm looking for in terms of brand and features. At this point in time, I have the brand and features covered. What I would like to ask help for is the proper watts.

The build will be the following:
i5 3570k (not planning on overclocking)
Asus P8Z77-V LK
16GB DDR3 1600
GTX 1060
Sata SSD
1 TB HDD
Air cooler with a 120mm fan (have not decided on which one yet)
Mid tower case with probably 3 120mm fans (have not decided on case yet)

I'm planning on getting either a SeaSonic or Corsair.

FYI, I ran into this: http://www.coolermaster.com/power-supply-calculator/
It says load wattage is 288 watts. Would this be correct? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Edit: SeaSonic has a similar calculator too. They recommended a Bronze model. Is there a benefit for a standard user going for a Gold rating? My guess is yes but I'm not sure. Thanks again.

 

[cliffordcooley]

I always figure 300W for the base system and then an additional 100/150 watts (whatever the GPU calls for) for each GPU. Since I've only one physical CPU, I don't have to calculate more than 300W's for the base system. Calculating this way seems straight forward and easy enough to comprehend.

The online calculator you used came up with 288, which seems to be a bare minimum. I think I remember someone suggesting to double that value, so that there is headroom and no strain on the PSU. My advice would be to use a 500W for a single mid-tier GPU, and 600W for two mid-tier GPUs.

 

[RaXoR]

600-650W will suffice for any system running one GPU. This is specially true if you are looking at making any future upgrades. You may purchase a 1060 6GB today but in the future you may want to get a, hypothetical, 2080Ti. That PSU will be able to handle either one of them. Same goes for the CPU. This also works with overclocking. I have my CPU and GPU OC'd and have a 620W PSU. I have a Ryzen 5 1600 and a GTX 1080.

 

[delrey]

Thanks guys. I ended up getting https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...7151186&cm_re=seasonic-_-17-151-186-_-Product

Probably a little overkill for the current set up but wanted it for future builds/updates like @RaXoR stated.

 

[cliffordcooley]

That's a good PSU.

 

[RaXoR]

What cliffordcooley said, it will serve you perfectly for years to come.

 

[elites2012]

I usually add the wattage of the cpu and gpu together. then I give each component 10 watts. and add 100w for headroom.