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Join the list any time before June 25th at 10 a.m. PT. On that date, the list will be closed and randomized, and you will receive an email with your results shortly after.
hey, so i suck at picking parts and never know if they’ll fit my build. like, my first job was as a hardware guy back in the 90s and haven’t really kept up. is there a compatibility checker somewhere?
i just don’t want to buy 12 PSUs with the intention of sending 11 back. I know I’m buying from A cOrPoRaTiOn but it still seems dishonest to me
Avoid any random generic Chinese named stuff. Go with legit brands like Thermaltake, Corsair, Cooler Master, EVGA, Seagate, and so on, and if budget allows, get one that’s at least Bronze rated (Silver or Gold is better, but not necessary). If budget doesn’t allow, white certified is fine, but don’t cheap out near capacity.
Use a PSU calculator for the parts you’re selecting. Power supplies are rated to always provide consistent load of at least 80% of rated spec if they’re rated at least white certified (better for Bronze, Silver, and Gold), so aim for a PSU with at least 20% overhead. So if the system uses 600w peak, you’ll want a 720w PSU or better.
In general, an 800w PSU is generally more than enough for most systems, unless you’re buying really power hungry parts (think Nvidia 5080 or 5090 and the highest end Intel chips or AMD threadrippers).
If in doubt, just buy a bigger PSU than you need, like 1000w. Always better to have more than you need, it only uses what the system requires, it’s not like it’s always actually going to draw that 1kw power.
Thank you for the detailed advice. I cheaped out on my psu on my last build and figured it wouldn’t hurt too much.
Oh, past me, you sweet summer child.
Just use pcpartpicker.com
It’s very good at telling you if parts aren’t compatible.
thanks! i’ll give it a try next upgrade