Is 1000W Power Supply/PSU Overkill?

1000W power supplies seems like a huge amount of power, after all most builds do just finef with 500-700W power supplies.

So why would anyone ever need an 1000W unit, well it seems that there will be a use for them after all.

Considering the trend of power consumption with graphics cards and other components, it seems that a 1000W power supply is becoming the norm.

Is 1000W Overkill For A Power Supply?

The power draw of components nowadays is huge, especially with graphics cards, so we don’t believe 1000W is overkill.

But the most important question is, what type of computer are you building, and what type of components are you going to be using.

Yeah that’s right, it mostly comes down to your specifications, and use for your PC, so to some users, yes 1000W is absolutely overkill.

Also Read: Best 1000W Power Supply

Is 1000W Overkill For Gaming PCs?

For gaming PC’s you will often find a graphics card, and graphics cards are known for consuming a huge amount of power.

This is evident with the RTX 30 series cards, and the up and coming RTX 40 series cards which look like they will be consuming even more power.

So for a gaming PC, you may find yourself needing at least 1000W of power, but take a look at the table down below for help.

So what we can see from the table above is that the top end graphics cards need at least a 1000W power supply.

So if you’re building a top of the range gaming PC, then yes, a 1000W power supply is necessary, and not considered overkill.

But if you’re building a mid-top tier gaming PC, then 1000W may be considered overkill, you may be able to do just fine with 750W.

Is 1000W Overkill For Video Editing?

For video editing, it heavily relies on the CPU, but the GPU is increasing in prominence, so you should watch out.

Due to the nature of video editing, we don’t believe you need a 1000W power supply, this is because CPUs are not as power hungry as graphics cards, let’s look at the table down below.

We can see that the CPU doesn’t consume nearly as much power as the GPU does, the recommended power supplies peak at around 700W.

But that doesn’t mean that CPUs aren’t becoming increasingly more power hungry as the generations go on.

CPU clock speeds are slowly increasing, the Ryzen 7000th series is expected to break 5GHz, and the Intel 13th gen is expected to touch 6GHz.

As the clock speed increases, so will the power consumption, so you can only expect CPUs to become even more power hungry.

This is why overclocking dramatically increases the power consumption, even if you do not increase the core voltages.

What Increases A Computer’s Power Requirements?

Every single component in your computer will consume some level of power, so that includes drives, fans, peripherals, CPU, and GPU.

GPUs will consume the most power, this is the most power hungry component of a PC build.

CPUs will consume a considerable amount of power, but not as much as a graphics card would.

Components such as RAM, SSDs, HDDs, CPU coolers, and the Motherboard will all consume power, but it’s pretty much negligible, you should focus more on the CPU and the GPU.

Factors That Increase Power Requirements:

• All Components
• Clock Speeds
• Overclocks
• Fan Speeds

Is Having An Overkill Power Supply Bad?

If your PC build doesn’t need a 1000W power supply, the only negative thing that would come out of it is that you probably could’ve saved some money.

Otherwise, having an overkill power supply doesn’t affect your computer in any way, and it can serve as a benefit if you intend on upgrading the components in the future.

Your computer will only pull what it needs, it will never pull the full 1000W if the components don’t need it, this can fry your components.

So there’s no need to worry about having an overkill power supply damaging your expensive CPU or GPU.

What Brands Make The Best 1000W Power Supplies?

If you’re interested in picking up a 1000W power supply, then there’s a few brands to look out for.

Corsair is a reputable brand in the power supply market, they release some awesome units such as the Corsair HX1000, and the Corsair RM1000x

EVGA also sells some great quality power supplies, they have the famous SuperNOVA PSUs which are popular among gamers.

Seasonic is one of the major power supply brands, most units you buy from Seasonic will be good, you don’t have to worry about getting anything bad from them.

Be Quiet! is also a great power supply brand, their whole brand is about being quiet, so you should find great power supplies here for gamers.

SuperFlower Superflower is among the highest rated OEM/Power supply manufacturers out there. They take extreme pride in their quality, and offer extremely long warranties.

So, 1000W Is Great For Future-Proofing

Looking to be prepared for the RTX 40 series, and RX 7000 series graphics cards? Then 1000W should suffice for most individuals.

The mid tier cards shouldn’t require a 1000W power supply, so in a way, the 1000W PSU should have you future-proofed for the mid-tiered cards.

And, it should provide you enough power to add additional PCIE components such as WIFI and sound cards.

For the top of the range graphics cards (RTX 4090 and RX 7900 XT), you may require a 1200W power supply.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we don’t believe that 1000W power supplies are overkill, this is because they’re becoming more and more viable as components consume more and more power.

But, not everyone will need an 1000W power supply, mid range gamers and video editors can do fine with 700-750W power supplies.