Physical Size vs Wattage in Chip Resistors

Much like the physical size of a through hole resistor many people think the physical size of a chip (smt) resistor is associated with the wattage specification of that resistor. Similar to the through hole resistors you will find some common sizes when looking at specific wattages, however this is not standard. For instance if you were to choose 1/4 watt resistors Digi-Key currently has 92,164 different stocking and non-stocking options at the time of this post and of those 71,016 are a size 1206(3216 Metric). While 1206 is the most common size for 1/4 watt you can also find options down to an 0201 and as large as a 2010 that are also 1/4 watt and there is no specific standard that calls out what size a 1/4 watt resistor will be.

For this reason it is always imperative that you verify the physical size of the resistor you are ordering is the correct physical size.
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