80+ Bronze vs Gold Power Supplies
Bronze certifies roughly 85 percent efficiency at half load and Gold roughly 90, a five point gap that is the widest step most people will actually choose between. The electricity saving is still modest, but this is the point on the scale where the rest of the unit tends to change with it: Gold units are far more likely to be fully modular, to carry the current ATX standard, and to come with a longer warranty.
This is the one efficiency step that usually is worth taking. Not for the electricity, which is still small, but because the Gold tier is where modular cables, current-standard compliance and long warranties become normal. Bronze remains a reasonable choice for a modest build with a low draw, particularly when the price gap is wide, but check what else you give up rather than reading the badge alone.
The difference on paper
These hold for the category as a whole, independent of any one unit.
Efficiency figures are the 80 PLUS certification thresholds at 115 V, which are minimums a unit has to meet rather than a measurement of any particular unit. Waste heat is the certified figure applied to a 400 W draw, rounded.
The difference in practice
How the two actually differ across units you can buy today, rather than what the standard permits. Measured across 59 80+ Bronze and 229 80+ Gold units with a live offer at the retailers we track, and updated daily.
Depth and noise are quoted against their own samples because neither is published for every unit, and assuming a figure for the ones that do not publish one would change the answer.
The picks on each side
The cheapest unit on each side, and the cheapest one that clears a bar worth clearing: at least 40 of 100 on the quality score. Recalculated daily from live prices.
80+ Bronze
80+ Gold
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Common questions
Is an 80+ Bronze power supply good enough?
For a build with a modest graphics card and a sensible total draw, yes. Bronze is a real certification with a real test behind it. Where it starts to hold you back is on a high-draw build, where the extra waste heat and the shorter warranties become harder to ignore.
How much electricity does Gold save over Bronze?
Around five percent of what the machine draws. At a 400 W draw that is roughly 27 W of waste heat avoided, or about 40 kWh a year at four hours a day. Useful, but not on its own a reason to pay a large premium.
Does 80+ Bronze mean the PSU is low quality?
No. It means it met a defined efficiency standard. Quality varies a lot inside every grade, which is why the platform, the protections and the warranty tell you more than the badge does on its own.
Keep going
Browse 80+ Bronze units or 80+ Gold units with every filter, read up on how much wattage you need, or start from the power supply comparison hub.
The efficiency links open the table filtered to that grade and above, since the filter works as a minimum rather than an exact match.