I am going to upgrade my PC over Christmas, and right now I'm trying to pick out a PSU. I would like it to be fully modular, 80+ gold or better efficiency and preferably cheap. I found the Antec HCP750 Platinum and it looks awesome. It's very cheap (as far as platinum rated fully modular PSUs go), and has plenty of wattage. However, now I'm wondering if it has too many watts. My maximum estimated wattage is 457, and the Antec PSU goes up to 750. That seems like a good thing in case I ever wanted to, say add additional video cards or more powerful video cards. Are there any downsides that I'm unaware of to having significantly more power in your PSU than your pc will actually draw? (Electricity bill, longevity of parts... etc.) Should I go for something more reasonable, like a 500-600W?
How far above my power draw should a PSU be?
gaming;pc;power supply
For a 80-Plus Platinum power supply, efficiencies are between around 5% of one another between the 20 to 100% range of load(88-92, give or take a percent). It tops at around 70% load. Having more than required is certainly not a bad thing. PSU's like the HCP are rated to deliver their full wattage at fairly high temperatures, and 300W is enough for any card.So go ahead, you're good to make the purchase. Hardware reviewers use oversized power supplies all the time, and nothing happens to them.