PSU Wattage and 80 Plus Ratings, Explained
Wattage is how much power a PC power supply delivers, while an 80 Plus rating such as Gold says how efficiently it does it; they are separate choices.
By Paul SyversonFounder.
On this page
The short answer
A PC power supply (PSU) has two headline numbers that answer different questions:
- Wattage (650W, 850W, 1000W) is the most power it is rated to deliver to your parts.
- The 80 Plus rating (Bronze, Gold, Platinum and so on) says how efficiently it converts power from the wall. A more efficient unit wastes less power as heat.
An 80 Plus Gold rating does not mean more watts. Pick the wattage your parts need, then pick the efficiency level.
How much wattage you need
Corsair suggests this method:
- Look up your graphics card's power draw, ideally for the exact model, since cards with the same chip can be tuned to draw different amounts.
- Add your processor's rated power (TDP).
- Add 150W for the motherboard, memory, storage, fans and peripherals.
- Add 150W of headroom for efficiency and future upgrades.
The total is the wattage to aim for. Corsair adds that a PSU running near its limit needs its fan to spin faster, so headroom also helps keep it quiet.
Common sizes on Wiki Shopping:
| Wattage | Power supplies |
|---|---|
| 650W | 13 |
| 750W | 27 |
| 850W | 47 |
| 1000W | 61 |
| 1200W | 9 |
What 80 Plus Bronze, Gold and Platinum mean
80 Plus is a certification program run by CLEAResult for computer and server power supplies. A unit is tested at set shares of its rated load and must reach a minimum efficiency at each. For standard 115V desktop power supplies, the program lists:
| Level | 20% load | 50% load | 100% load |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80 Plus | 80% | 80% | 80% |
| Bronze | 82% | 85% | 82% |
| Silver | 85% | 88% | 85% |
| Gold | 87% | 90% | 87% |
| Platinum | 90% | 92% | 89% |
| Titanium | 92% | 94% | 90% |
| Ruby | 93% | 95% | 91% |
Titanium also has a 90% minimum at 10% load, and Ruby adds 91% at 10% and 85% at 5%. Efficiency means the share of wall power that reaches your parts; at 90%, a PSU delivering 450W draws about 500W from the wall, and the rest becomes heat.
Which rating to choose
Higher efficiency means less wasted heat, which Corsair notes can lower electricity use and fan noise. Gold is the most common rating on Wiki Shopping: 74 power supplies list 80 Plus Gold, 44 list Platinum and 9 list Bronze.
Other specs on the label
- Form: 93 power supplies on Wiki Shopping are ATX size and 21 are the smaller SFX size.
- Cables: 95 list fully modular cables and 9 non-modular.
- ATX version and GPU connector: 86 list ATX 3.1 and 9 ATX 3.0; 83 list a 12V-2x6 connector for graphics card power.
How we count
Wattage, rating, form and cable type are read from each power supply's store listing. Of the 182 power supplies listed on October 26, 2026, 127 list Bronze, Gold or Platinum; the rest list another rating or none and are left out of that count. The 450W example is our own arithmetic. Counts change as listings are added or removed.
Shop by spec
Power Supplies
1000 Watts, Platinum, ATX, Fully modular
- Complete control to choose which power supply and which cables you need. Total control and freedom. No need to pay for (unnecessary cables). Choose the perfect customized cables from CableMod. (No cables included)
- Ready to handle new and upcoming CPU and GPU hardware, high power peaks of up to 235% of its rated output.
- The 12VHPWR connector provides up to 600 watts of power to the GPU through a single connector directly from the Revolt power supply.
- 80PLUS Certified 94% efficiency at 50% load increases stability which lowers power consumption and heat from the PSU
850 Watts, Gold, ATX, Fully modular
- Fully Modular PSU: Reliable and efficient, low-noise power supply with fully modular cabling, so you only have to connect the cables your system build needs.
- Intel ATX 3.1 Certified: Compliant with the ATX 3.1 power standard, supporting PCIe 5.1 platform withstands 2x transient power excursions from the GPU.
- Keeps Quiet: A 120mm rifle bearing fan with a specially calculated fan curve keeps fan noise down, even when operating at full load.
- 105°C-Rated Capacitors: Delivers steady, reliable power and dependable electrical performance.
- Modern Standby Compatible: Extremely fast wake-from-sleep times and better low-load efficiency.
1000 Watts, Gold, ATX, Fully modular
- Fully Modular PSU: Reliable and efficient, low-noise power supply with fully modular cabling, so you only have to connect the cables your system build needs.
- Intel ATX 3.1 Certified: Compliant with the ATX 3.1 power standard, supporting PCIe 5.1 platform withstands 2x transient power excursions from the GPU.
- Keeps Quiet: A 120mm rifle bearing fan with a specially calculated fan curve keeps fan noise down, even when operating at full load.
- 105°C-Rated Capacitors: Delivers steady, reliable power and dependable electrical performance.
- Modern Standby Compatible: Extremely fast wake-from-sleep times and better low-load efficiency.
650 Watts, Gold, ATX, Non-modular
- 80 PLUS Gold
- Non-modular
- Compact sizing
- Full-Bridge + DC-DC +LLC
- Single Rail Design
- Industrial level protection with OVP, OCP, SCP, OPP,OTP