Hey guys, looking at possibly building an HTPC. When I look at the power supplies though, what do I get? How do I know how much power I will need?
Do I go for fan or fanless?
What efficiency, Gold, Bronze and what does it really mean?
Also, modular or not??
Everything else I have a good grasp on. It is just the power supply I don't know what to go with.
Planned build would be Intel i5 most likely, H87 motherboard, in Silverstone HTPC case (GD06 most likely), 250gb SSD, 4TB HDD, built in graphics and audio, Bluray player and 8GB of ram.
W/wo fan depends on the enclosure. A traditional enclosure has the PSU sucks hot air from inside the enclosure and vents it out, so if you have one of these, you need a fan. If your enclosure has other vent-outs, then fanless maybe OK.
Gold, Blonze, I think they are just marketing terms, I personally would not pay much attention to them. Of course the more efficient the better, more usable and un-wasted power, but would I pay double to go from 70% to 80%, NO. So look at the curve and pay what you feel like gives u the most bang for the buck.
Modular are for people who MUST keep everything tidy, perfectly manicured innards but you pay for it. Talk to your wallet.
Power required: This is tricky. Basically you add up (not a trivial task due to lack of manufacturers' info) all the max power requirement of all the components you are going to throw in there, then add another 50 watt for good measure and that's your target.
Planned build would be Intel i5 most likely, H87 motherboard, in Silverstone HTPC case (GD06 most likely), 250gb SSD, 4TB HDD, built in graphics and audio, Bluray player and 8GB of ram.
I'd get a 300W PSU for that. PSU efficiency peaks at around 50% load, and those components will draw ~150W under heavy use. If there is a chance you're going to add a graphics card, bump it to 400W. Modular is worth the price in a small chassis, and it's still a nice luxury in a large chassis.
I buy Seasonic because I've had good experience with them and they play nicely with my UPSes. I'm brand-cautious about PSUs because they are the hardest component to diagnose failures on. A bad PSU will eat up more of my time than any other part.
Only go fanless if noise abatement is a concern. If so, you'll need to take other steps to keep your machine cool. SPCR is a good resource for fanless/quiet pcs.
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