# how can i find out my power supply watts?



## thunderraiden

Is there a program i can use to find out the outage of my power supply.


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## ChaosMachine

The easiest way is to open up your computer case and check the sticker of the power supply. Somewhere should be a code of , for example, XXDX400. That 400 means, in most cases, that's a 400 W supply. Otherwise there is going to be another sticker with more detail specifications of the power supply. Check there.

Hope this helps.


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## Volt-Schwibe

you may even luck out, and have it stamped right on there as "350 watts" for example.

but, if you can't determine it by the numbers, let us know what the numbers are, and we can more than likely look something up, and tell you the wattage of your supply.


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## please

@ thunderraiden
If I may add my two cents, the total wattage of many PSUs can be very misleading. The more important statistics are its 12V+, 5V+ and its 3.3V+ rating(s). Unfortunately, they can also be somewhat overestimated. The best defense against a questionable PSU is to get one that is known to be of excellent quality and of ample power output. See the "PSU" link in my sig for a list of some of the better PSUs.

Is there a reason you need to know that you'd like to share with us?


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## Volt-Schwibe

i will go out on a limb here and guess why they need to know.

it's in the video cards section, chances are, they bought a new g-force or ATI video card, that says on the box, "XXX watt power supply required."


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## thunderraiden

Bingo. 

And the last video card i had died, so i want to make sure it wasnt the fault of a shatty PSU.


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## Tumbleweed36

Hi,

You have to watch that Waltside. Just check his sig out: 


> Location: Behind You, Watching You As You Type.


 I think he has ESP.


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## thunderraiden

ok so, i was checkin out pricewatch.com and saw they were selling a 600Watt Power Supply for just $20. Its all new products they sell, so something must be wrong with it. Are power supplies universal, as in they will all fit in the same space, or are they really different? I have an HP Pavilion Case if that info helps.


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## Volt-Schwibe

Tumbleweed36 said:


> Hi,
> 
> You have to watch that Waltside. Just check his sig out:
> I think he has ESP.


no, i'm really behind you, look for yourself.


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## w00t

Dude It should say how many watts you have but you should always take away maybe 50 from that number unless its a really good psu and trust me its not.


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## thunderraiden

Ha walt, i dont know how u got behind me, there is a wall behind me!


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## linderman

Thunder:

not all power supply's are created equal !!! the cheap PSU's or generics as they are politely named >>> arent worth the nice glossy packaging box they come in. FYI a good quality PSU is going to set you back about $100.00 >>> anything for much less money is going to cause you a ton of headaches and maybe even burn up that new big dollar gfx card you just bought 


PLEASE gave you a decent link to check out / I suggest you look into the Antec or Enermax line of PSU's they are about as high quality as you can get for $100.00 there are plenty of other super quality PSU makers but they leave the $100.00 mark in a hurry / I strongly suggest at least a 550 watt PSU the easier the load on the PSU >>> the longer they live and the less heat they will emit into the inside of your case >>>> dont want that new video investment getting cooked by an underpowered PSU

regards

joe


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## w00t

Walt is always behind you.

:as I turn around in paranoia:


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## Throwed

helpful post. thanks


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