Looking for a gaming PC, budget is ~2500 for PC only

[Vegas82]

They said their current system is 3 years old, no specs. They didn't say theyre replacing in another 3 years. The sensible thing would be get a good, over specced PSU that sits at 50-60% max and can deal with the peaky power draws and keeping it for several builds. Saves money long run, and better for e-waste.

The sensible thing to do is spend the money where it’s going to deliver the most performance since that’s what OP is worried about. If they’re replacing a 3 year old PC, instead of looking to upgrade, it’s obvious that wasting money on a psu they’ll never fully utilize is silly. All to save a nickel a month.

[FlawlessSoul]

They said their current system is 3 years old, no specs. They didn't say theyre replacing in another 3 years. The sensible thing would be get a good, over specced PSU that sits at 50-60% max and can deal with the peaky power draws and keeping it for several builds. Saves money long run, and better for e-waste.

With ATX3.0/ATX12VO and new GPU power requirements on the horizon, buying an overspecced PSU for future builds is just terrible advice.

Also, the difference in decent modern PSUs between peak efficiency and efficiency at max rating is about 5% at worst.

A 750W or 850W PSU is more than sufficient.