2 general questions about PSU's

[demonikal]

Does a PSU use only as much as is plugged into it

So, I realize that there's an RMS or whatever and then a maximum wattage and if someone thinks they will need every watt that makes up the maximum wattage, then they should probably buy a more powerful PSU.

But, if you don't have a ton of stuff running off it, or the stuff you're running off it uses less electricity, will you still be wasting electricity if you've got a more powerful one

I ask, cuz I want to make a fairly "green" PC - one that doesn't use a crazy amount of electricity. I want to build a PC according to what I need/want and then I wanted to maybe do a really small form factor PC that's more "green" - more environmentally friendly. And I don't know if there is even such a thing

 

[beers]

PC components draw whatever amperage they need.

At idle you'll see less power usage.

A PSU's rating is just an indication of how much power it can provide, the actual power consumption of the rig depends on all of the components and is not automatically the rating of the unit.

 

[demonikal]

That reminds me of this question I had the other day and forgot to ask:

Is SATA more "power-friendly" than "PATA/IDE"? Or is it simply faster? Or is it actually faster and less "power-friendly"?

Of course, in this respect, I prefer speed over saving power, but it seems when new hardware comes out, not only is it faster, but it also uses less electricity (ex: incandescent bulbs to CFL bulbs to LED bulbs).

 

[johnb35]

A Sata power connector delivers all 3 volt ranges. 3.3, 5, and 12. The devices still need the same amount of power to operate correctly so we really can't say that sata is more power friendly then Molex connectors.