Choosing the best power cord for your computer a layman's guide

1
Choosing the Best Power Cord for Your Computer
A Layman's Guide
Most of the businesses run on computer these
days. The way they have become contingent for
conducting daily business activities, they need
proper power supply. If they dont get their
electrical oxygen, they may suffer from crashes,
boot failures, or even explode into fumes. In
order to prevent occurrence of these incidents,
one needs to choose the best power supply cable
for their PC.
1
2
Although these power supply cords are the heart
for PCs computer builders and daily operators
often overlook them. They choose the power
supplies depending on its wattage capacity only.
Assuming the higher the wattage, the better is
the cord. And often ignore other vital factors.
This ignorance not only ends in wasting money
and electricity but even ruins all the component
parts of computer. You need to select a computer
power cable that ensures stability and
reliability for years. For that, you might need
to go by these points in order to make the right
choice. Wattage The computer models, their
makeover and build-up companies differ. And so
do their wattage capacity. When you choose a
computer power cord, check your model and its
wattage capacity which you might find in the
user manual. In case, you dont find in there,
there are Power Supply Unit (PSU) wattage
calculators with the help of which you can pick
the right cord.
2
3

• Below given is information on different power
  supply capacity
• 400 Watts
• The most common power cords carry a capacity of
  400 watts and can replace the most branded
  computer power supply units. They are available
  at a low price and can handle all the component
  computer parts in a systematic manner. However,
  they are not feature-rich, not modular and at
  the max can give 2 years warranty.
• 430 Watts
• These power cables are better than 400 PSUs with
  30 more units. They encompass necessary
  features and provide 3-5 years warranty.
  However, even these are not modular.
• 500 Watts
• As you are already aware, PCs differ from each
  other. If you have a custom-built PC, you should
  prefer a cord that has 500-600 wattage capacity.
  As you are likely to get 3-5 years warranty with
  a better appearance and quality. Further, these
  help in building a high end graphic card and
  renders better cable management.

3
4

• 700 Watts
• If you are ready to invest money and install
  second graphics card with more features and
  modularity, go for power cords that have 700
  wattage capacity. Moreover, you get a 5 years
  warranty on this.
• 750 Watts
• This is the maximum wattage capacity any computer
  needs even if you are playing games.
• Thereafter comes 1000-1200 wattage capacity power
  cords which anyone would need only if they run 3
  or more graphic cards and 5 hard drives.
• After all, you need to choose a PSU that matches
  with your PC capacity plus 20 buffer as it
  renders safety and future proofing. Ultimately
  it all depends on your activities and budget
  constraints.
• Efficiency Standard
• Once you figure out the power consumption needs
  of your computer, you need to consider energy
  saving options too. And therefore, it worth
  talking here about 80 power efficiency. It
  simply describes those computer power cables that
  dont waste

4
5

• a lot of electricity. There are 6 categories
  under the 80 certified power supplies. Let us
  have a look at all those categories and how much
  power they save.
• 80 White saves 80 power
• 80 Bronze saves 85 power
• 80 Silver saves 88 power
• 80 Gold saves 90 power
• 80 Platinum saves 92 power
• 80 Titanium saves 94 power
• Do remember that your computer rarely uses the
  total wattage unit from the cord. Instead, it
  only pulls how much it needs. For example- if
  you watch videos and surf on the web, your PC
  will use only a couple hundred watts. So, of
  course you can go with a more efficient power
  supply depending upon good deals if available,
  your budget and activities.
• Modularity
• One important aspect to consider while choosing
  computer power cord is modularity check. Let me
  tell you it has become very easy to figure out
  the type of cable for your computer as there are
  only 3 options available
• Direct Cable Ideally, these power cables come
  directly from power supply houses. As they are ch
  eaper in

5
6

• production and design and are therefore available
  to consumers at low prices. But, these are not
  suitable for a technology-oriented person as
  they prefer to change their settings according
  to changing times. Which is not possible in case
  of direct cables. Moreover, cable management
  becomes difficult as there are a number of cables
  to deal with.
• Semi-Modular Technocrats may prefer buying
  semi-modular cables. As they provide flexibility
  in their removal at ones own will. These semi
  modular cable connectors like Molex (4-pin) and
  SATA (15-pin) offer middle ground pricing and
  provide easy cable management solutions.
• Full-Modular Technocrats may prefer to use these
  cables as they are removable thereby making the
  installation process sleek and easy. It enables
  frequent changing of built up production or
  design thereby making it fully modular.
• Conclusion
• Hope, you understood why power cords are so vital
  for PCs. Furthermore, we hope this information
  comes of help and enables you to choose the best
  computer power cord depending on various factors.

6