Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion around computer power supplies. Some is just due to a lack of education and understanding of electronics. Some confusion is due to the many variables involved when it comes to computers and computer power supplies.
But much is due to misguided, and in some cases, deceitful "marketing hype" by power supply makers! And finally some confusion is due to irresponsible bloggers and others who fail to do their homework first and simply pass along incorrect information, or worse, fabricate their own.
And then there are some who have swapped out a power supply or added RAM or assembled a computer who suddenly feel they are electronics experts.
This leads many to not understanding the importance of using a quality supply from a reputable maker.
One of the biggest mistakes users can make is to cut corners in the budget by buying a cheap power supply. Yet everything inside the computer relies on quality (clean, stable, and within tolerance) power.
One of the biggest misconceptions is some believe too big a PSU may deliver too many watts for the computer to handle. That's not how electronics work. If the computer (motherboard, RAM, CPU, drives, graphics) need 200W, they will draw from the PSU 200W, regardless if the PSU is rated at 350W or 750W. And the PSU will draw from the wall just 200W too, plus another 40W (wasted in the form of heat) due to PSU inefficiencies (assuming a 80% efficiency rating at that load level) - again regardless the capability of the PSU.
It is true that this is "basic electronics" stuff. DC is what is taught in beginning electronics classes with Ohm's Law (E = IR) right at the foundation. But of course, not all study electronics, or go on to be students of electronics either as future engineers, or as certified electronics technicians from trade and technical schools.
@ Brandon Bias - Sorry for the distractions. Assuming
this is your PSU, since it is 80 Plus Certified, if you
look here you can see your PSU maintains at least 80% efficiency across 20, 50 and 100% loads. That is very good as typical (non-80 PLUS certified) power supplies tend to have just one efficiency peak (a "Bell" curve). And sadly, that PSU will most likely be marketed at that one high rating.
But computers provide a wide variety of loads on the PSU, depending on what the user is doing. Your PSU has a relatively "flat" efficiency curve so it is efficient whether the computer is idle, or tasks with demanding 3D animated gaming.
And in reading a couple reviews of your PSU, it obtained excellent "voltage regulation" ratings, meaning as the load varied, the output voltages remained constant at +3.3VDC, +5VDC and +12VDC ±5% as required by the ATX standard - all while maintaining a very respectable low
ripple levels.
So not only is your PSU fully capable of supporting your hardware with lots of wattage headroom to spare, but does it with good, clean, stable power too.