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I am currently working on building a PC and need a power supply. My motherboard is a microATX with 24 pin and 8-pin power supply connections. I am using a microATX case that I had before (not bought for this project but still fits all components except for power supply). I have not found a power supply that will fit in my case and also accommodate the 24+8 pin connections on my motherboard, in addition to my (approximately) 350-watt requirement. I am thinking about using a larger (physically) ATX power supply outside of the case, but need to know if there are any special accommodations I need to make (e.g. special housing, additional fans, etc.). I would also like to know how much wattage the PSU can supply before causing damage to my system or causing low power draw and not turning on the PSU.

Thanks in advance.

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Id imagibe the only thing ti be sure if (and it shluld happen anyway) is to make sure tje metal paer of your case is grounded to the PSU.

An overspecced power supply cant damage your PSU provided the voltages remain correct - a wattage rating refers to the maximum output. Its better to overspec rather then underspec the PSU (but that can waste energy depending on the efficiency curves) No one can answer your minimum requirements without knowing the components - 350 watt will likely be OK for a typical new CPU with integrared graphics, but a decent discrete GPU will want more.

With respect of cooling it depends totally on your case and build. If you are drawing substantial power, extra fans in the case can help, as long as they all push air through it the same way - typically suck from front, push through back (and assume the case us not open). Again, no single answer - many entry level systems can be passively cooled save for CPU fan. Generally systems which draw lots of power will (a) have a fan and (b) have built in protections - so if something does get hot it slows down. That said, unless the system has been specced specifically fir low power I would add at least 1 case fan assuming a 350 watt PSU.

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  • I have heard some places that if the power consumption is below a certain percentage of the maximum PSU output, the PSU will not run. Is this true? If so, what is that percentage?
    – AlwaysBeProgramming
    Commented Jun 7, 2019 at 20:29
  • If thats true it would be PSU specific. I imagine it would be trivially low amounts, but I have.not come across this myself. APSU for a computer.needs to be able to handle very variable power liads as an idle desktop might use 20% of an intensive game, and the draw can vary substantially from moment to moment.
    – davidgo
    Commented Jun 7, 2019 at 20:35

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