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PC power supplies are relatively huge compared to those used with laptops.

But why is this so when a laptop today can have an equal level of performance as a high end PC?

Are they both switching power supplies or is the laptop PSU something completely different?

Also, why is it that a laptop power supply does not need a cooling fan but a PC one does?

And is there some serious difference in electricity consumption that one should factor in when deciding on whether to buy a laptop or a PC?

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  • A decent size laptop power supply is maybe around the 100W range while a decent size desktop power supply is probably closer to the 900w range. Also I don't know I've personally ever seen a desktop power supply below 200w, which is really small for a desktop, but still over twice as big as the average laptop's PSU. So yes, a laptop uses a lot less energy.
    – jAce
    Jul 28, 2014 at 23:37
  • Nope, not at all. While there are laptops that do carry desktop or server grade hardware the typical laptop PSU probably tops out at 130W, though 65 or 90 watts is more typical. Your typical laptop PSU also probably only outputs one voltage that makes things simpler. Even a dual xeon based monster of a laptop tops out at 300W. The average low end PC power supply is 300W. 500W is more typical for a gaming rig, and you can go up to 1.5 Kw for a power supply. Don't forget that laptops also are designed with tighter thermal requirements and that is a constraint on performance.
    – Journeyman Geek
    Jul 29, 2014 at 0:24

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Laptops don't have an equal level of performance as a high end PC. Even high-end laptops generally use different CPUs, different memory, different GPUs, fewer drives, and so on. High-end laptops have larger power supplies, close to the size of desktop power supplies.

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