Power Supplies

Your power supply has one primary job — to convert your wall outlet's AC power into DC power that your desktop computer can use. Most power supplies also regulate line noise and guard against voltage spikes, which helps maintain consistent power levels and protects your PC from damage. ATX power supplies, including the latest ATX 3.0 standard, are designed to meet these requirements and provide reliable power to all components.

While a power supply unit (PSU) might not be the most exciting or glamorous part of your PC, every other component depends on it — from the motherboard to the CPU to the graphics card! In laptop computers, where the battery supplies power, the DC power supply is housed in the laptop's charger, which delivers DC power to the battery through its adapter. (Shop our lineup of laptop chargers here).

The hardware in your PC determines how much wattage you'll need to look for in a PSU. Most computer power supplies are rated for output between 600 to 1,000 watts under maximum load, although design or gaming PCs with power-hungry GPUs may require a higher wattage rating. For those needing a higher wattage, we carry ATX 3.0 Power Supplies featuring up to 1250W of continuous powe

Fortunately, you can put the calculator away — our PC builder makes it easy! Just add your parts, like your processor, motherboard, RAM, and hard drive, to Micro Center's PC builder tool, and we'll show you power supplies, including ATX 3.0 options, that meet or exceed your wattage needs. Then, browse our full range of power supplies to find one that delivers the perfect balance of power and 80 Plus rated efficiency.

ATX 3.0 is the latest standard for power supplies, specifically designed to meet the requirements of modern PCs. It ensures efficient and reliable power delivery to all components, helping maintain consistent performance and protecting your PC from potential damage. Micro Center offers a range of ATX 3.0 power supplies, providing you with the latest technology for your PC build.

A PSU's form factor determines whether it will physically fit into your computer case. ATX power supplies are the most common and fit a variety of PC cases, but builders creating compact PC builds should check out our selection of smaller form factors such as SFX and mini-ITX.

Micro Center also offers a complete range of fully modular, semi-modular, and non-modular power supplies. Fully modular power supplies allow the user to detach the power cables, which can be crucial for cable management strategies. Semi-modular or non-modular options, which come with some or all cables permanently attached, are often good money-saving options for builders whose cable management needs are more straightforward. Finally, we've made sure that our lineup of power supplies includes a variety of options for connector types. SATA connectors are commonly used for powering components such as SSDs, while many PSUs use PCIe connectors to power the GPU directly. Check the specific connector requirements of your PC components and use our PC Builder to ensure your PSU offers compatible outputs.