80 PLUS Gold Efficiency

80 PLUS Gold certifies that a power supply achieves at least 87% efficiency at 20% load, 90% at 50% load, and 87% at 100% load when operating on 115 V AC. It is the most common efficiency tier for quality mainstream and high-performance PSUs. Gold-certified units significantly reduce heat output and electricity consumption compared to Bronze-rated units, typically adding $10–30 to the purchase price over Bronze.