A field technician is assembling a custom audio/video workstation. The system components h… — CompTIA A+ (Core 1 & Core 2)

A field technician is assembling a custom audio/video workstation. The system components have the following peak power requirements:

- Processor (CPU): $125\text{ W}$
- Dedicated Graphics Card (GPU): $285\text{ W}$
- PCIe Video Capture Card: $30\text{ W}$
- Motherboard, RAM, and cooling system: $70\text{ W}$
- Storage drives: $30\text{ W}$

To ensure stable operation and longevity, company policy specifies that the total power draw of all components must not exceed $80\%$ of the power supply unit's (PSU) rated continuous capacity.

What is the minimum rated capacity, in Watts ( $\text{W}$ ), required for the power supply unit?

Answer: 675 W

Answer

The minimum rated capacity required for the power supply unit is

675\text{ W}

The total system power consumption is calculated by summing the requirements of all individual hardware components (

125\text{ W} + 285\text{ W} + 30\text{ W} + 70\text{ W} + 30\text{ W} = 540\text{ W}

). To ensure the system power draw does not exceed

80\%

of the PSU rating, the total draw is divided by

0.80

, resulting in

\frac{540}{0.80} = 675\text{ W}

Step-by-Step Solution

Calculate total peak power requirement of all workstation components.

125\text{ W} + 285\text{ W} + 30\text{ W} + 70\text{ W} + 30\text{ W} = 540\text{ W}

total power draw.

Before sizing a PSU, all component TDPs and peak power demands must be combined.

Calculate the minimum required PSU continuous wattage rating given the

80\%

load limit.

\frac{540\text{ W}}{0.80} = 675\text{ W}

Dividing the expected load by

0.80

ensures the power supply operates within its recommended continuous duty cycle without overloading.

Key Concept

Power supply sizing calculations including peak load headroom and maximum load percentages

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