Bronze vs Gold PSU

Bronze vs Gold PSU

All PCs require different parts to run smoothly and efficiently. A gamer’s PC comes with cooling devices while a normal PC doesn’t have one and so on. One important component that we need to discuss when it comes to PCs is the PSU or the power supply unit. There are quite a few options of PSUs to choose from based on the purpose they serve and your requirement. 

What is a PSU?

A PSU or power supply unit is a tool that goes with the computer. It is concerned with converting AC flow to low voltage and regulated DC power and it does so for the internal parts of a computer. Today PCs usually have a switch mode power supply option and some of these power supplies manually allow you to choose input voltage and some adapt themselves to the mains voltage.

It is not something that an average Joe might just get after reading about it once. Usually, gamers or people invested in technology understand this kind of jargon. However, before we proceed all you need to know about PSUs is that they switch AC to DC for the internal parts of the PC.

Bronze vs Gold PSU

There is a chance that you might be a gamer and still don’t understand much about PSUs. This is when you head to an expert or look on the internet and come across an article like this. You might read stuff like Bronze PSU, Gold PSU, Platinum PSU, etc. but might not be able to understand what all this means. To put it out in a simple way these are just certifications given to make you understand the tiers. Just as you have platinum, gold, and silver tier in a credit card or various other stuff similarly here again it distinguishes higher and lower-level PSUs.

Now usually an 80+ Bronze PSU is considered good enough. No consumer-grade power-supplying unit will ever give out the mentioned amount of supply 100% of the time which is a fact that you need to accept. If your system requires 400W of power supply but pulls out 475W from the switch then the extra 75W is wasted as it gets converted to heat and this leaves you with 80% efficiency. However, as the efficiency of the PSU goes up less heat is produced and less wastage of electricity takes place.

Also Read: What Should I Do When Power Went Out in One Room?

Now that we understand a bit about PSUs let’s compare Bronze vs Gold PSU. The efficiency of the PSU usually remains the same at different loads of power supply and so a PSU that is rated 80+ will give away 80% efficiency at 20%, 50%, or even 100% load but it might not be the same for all models. 80+ bronze and 80+ gold are the most common PSU models that manufacturers push out and their efficiency may vary or stay the same at different loads.

Not only is 80+ gold PSU giving out more efficiency it also usually boasts a better price-to-performance ratio and so even if it’s costlier than the 80+ bronze model it still poses as the better option. So as is usually the case between gold and bronze tiers in any comparison, here again, the bronze vs gold PSU comparison is won by the latter.

Bronze vs Gold PSU Savings

The thing between bronze and gold PSU is that the latter might be costly but it is more efficient and also causes less wastage and that is what makes its USP that much nicer. However, what is the cost of obtaining this benefit? The savings you make when using a gold PSU over a bronze PSU should be significantly high to offset the cost, otherwise what good is paying more money? Both PSUs have a long life but gold has a longer life than bronze PSUs so does that help it even out the cost?

Well if the guys on the internet are to be believed then the answer to the above question is no. However, if you read articles about it then maybe you can justify getting a gold PSU over a bronze PSU. Bronze vs Gold PSU savings come anywhere between 2 and 20 dollars a year. The difference in the price of a gold and bronze PSU can easily be above 50 dollars or so. So even if you are saving 20 dollars a year you would still need to use it for at least three years before you break even and make a profit on the option of getting gold PSU over bronze.

To put things into a clearer perspective let’s bring Platinum PSU into the conversation and show you a Bronze vs Gold PSU-esque comparison of the three to determine whether going higher is better or staying lower.

Also Read: What Causes Power to Go Out for a Few Seconds?

PSU Bronze vs Gold vs Platinum

Just as gold PSU posed as the better PSU against bronze based on superior efficiency and performance, understandably Platinum will outperform both of them. However, the price of a Platinum PSU is also significantly much more than that of a bronze or gold PSU.

So as you see the efficiency of Platinum and Gold PSU is more than that of bronze PSU. However, for bronze PSU the efficiency improves as we move from 20% load to 50% and then comes back to the previous levels as we move to 100% load. But in the case of Platinum and gold PSU, their performance falls compared to their performance at 20% load.

PSU bronze vs gold vs Platinum will come to the same conclusion as the comparison between the former two because tier-wise bronze is the lowest grade here while platinum is the highest. But the energy efficiency of models only comes into the picture when the consumption of the user is high. If you use the PC for long periods almost daily then getting gold or maybe even platinum PSU is justified as the price difference will break even quicker.

On the other hand, bronze PSU is more than enough in most cases and is also cheaper than the other two and so it is pocket friendly. If you are not using the PC often then the extra price paid for a gold or platinum PSU may take longer to attain the break-even point of cost and so the choice comes down to your use and pricing factor. If you care for efficiency and making sure there is less wastage then the higher-tier model is for you.

So that’s all you need to know about PSUs and which one you should go for. We did the Bronze vs Gold PSU comparison and also saw bronze vs gold PSU savings. Based on what we saw we have learned that the lower model is pocket friendly and good enough while the higher models are long-lasting, more efficient, and cause less energy wastage. We hope that you now know what PSU suits your needs.