80 PLUS Gold and 80 PLUS Platinum are the pinnacle of the80 PLUS efficiency certification program. They both offer enhanced energy efficiency as compared to their lower-grade counterparts, 80 PLUS Bronze or Silver.
It’s important to note that thedifference between these two efficiency levels is relatively subtle. To be more precise, the difference is primarily limited to varying amounts of energy consumption and heat generation only.
So, deciding between Gold and Platinum power supply is kind of likepicking between two really good options.
Personally, I prefer a Gold power supply, as it fits my budget and is efficient enough to meet my needs. Also, it is easily available in my region, making it a better choice.
Get a Gold power supply if you want to reduce the upfront cost of purchasing a PSU and still get an efficient power supply. On the flip side, go with the Platinum ones if you have a little more budget and seek the bestpower supply efficiencywith reduced heat generation.
What is Gold Power Supply
Gold power supply is as good as Gold. I mean, just look at the numbers. You get 87% efficiency (at 20% and 100% load) and a whopping 90% efficiency at 50% load?
If you are wondering what these numbers really mean, here’s a quick example to help you better understand this.
Assume you have a 1000-watt PSU with 80 PLUS Gold efficiency rating. Here’s a summary of how much power it actually draws to meet the system requirements.
As you may see above, the PSU will pull around 1150 watts from the wall to fulfill the system’s requirements of 1000 watts. The remaining 150 watts would be wasted in the form of heat.
Similarly, if your system is demanding 500 watts (50% load,) the PSU will pull out 555 watts from the wall. 55 watts dissipate as heat and so on.
What is Platinum Power Supply
As you might have already guessed, Platinum power supplies are one step ahead of the Gold ones in terms of efficiency.
They yield an efficiency of 90% at 20% load, 89% at 100% load and an impressive 92% at 50% load. Isn’t that amazing?
Referring back to the example we discussed earlier, a system with Platinum PSU will pull around 1123 watts to supply 1000 watts, 222 watts to supply 200 watts, and 543 watts to supply 500 watts.
