VcBoy87-
This should answer your questions (from PC P&C website):
. DOES A POWER SUPPLY UPGRADE MEAN A HIGHER ELECTRIC BILL?
This is the biggest myth of all. First, it's important to understand that a power supply only delivers the power that's needed by the system, nothing more. If your PC currently has a 400W supply and the system needs 350W, it will still need and use only 350W - if the only change is upgrading to a 500W power supply (the upgrade makes sense since there are many advantages to running a power supply at a lower percentage of its rated capacity). Whether the electric bill goes up or down is solely determined by the efficiency of the new power supply. Greater efficiency means a lower electric bill because more of the AC power is converted into DC for the computer, rather than wasted as heat. The savings can really add up over time. For example, when the money saved in electricity over the course of its 5-year warranty is taken into account, the efficient, next-gen Turbo-Cool 850 SSI is no more expensive than a standard unit such as the Antec True Power 550. Here's the math:
Model
Efficiency @ 550W
Input Power @ 550W
Turbo-Cool 850 SSI
81.9%
672W
Antec True Power 550
73.8%
745W
For the same output power, the Turbo-Cool 850 uses 73W less input power.
5-year savings = .073KW x $0.10/KWH x 24 x 365 x 5 = $319.74