How much power does a power supply actually use

[Mag]

So I've got a 350W power supply. Does that mean its using 350w of power allt he time or only what all my components require?

I'm just trying to figure out how much my always on pc is costing me in power bills

 

[Teq]

Depending on the guts of your system, the load on the powersupply can vary anywhere from about 40 watts (standby mode) to several hundred watts with everything going full tilt.

When the computer is "off" the supply remains on using about 3 watts to maintain the circuitry necessary to sense the power button.



--->It ain't better if it don't work<---