Thursday, March 28, 2024

The best PC power supply

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Power supplies aren’t the most exciting part of a new PC build, but they’re arguably the most important. A good PSU can keep your overclock stable and your PC safe from surges. Our favorite PSU is the Corsair RM750 as it’s fully modular, very efficient, comes with a ten-year warranty, and it’s not too expensive either.

But if that’s not what you’re looking for, we also have some other favorites, like the impressively tiny FSP Dagger 500w, or the monstrous Seasonic Prime Ultra 1,300w. Read on to learn more about what we consider the best PC power supplies.

The best PC power supply at a glance:

  • The best PC power supply: Corsair RM750
  • The best small form PC power supply: FSP Dagger 500w
  • The best high-end PC power supply: Seasonic Prime Ultra 1,300w
  • The best budget PC power supply: Corsair CX550
  • The best RGB PC power supply: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 650w

The best PC power supply: Corsair RM750x

Corsair make some fantastic power supplies. But many come with very similar naming conventions, so picking our favorite of even that lineup — let alone all PSUs — wasn’t easy. But the RM750 gets the nod for its combination of high-end features and affordable pricing. At just over $100, the 750w model isn’t super cheap, but it’s far from expensive. It comes in a number of wattages, so you can save a little if 750w is overkill for you or opt for 850w for just $10 more.

Whichever option you pick, the RM range comes with fully modular cabling, high-quality capacitors, a quiet fan, and modern standby support, which helps this unit get up to speed from standby in under five seconds. The more-expensive RMX range offers slightly higher-quality components, but it’s not quite as efficient. This unit enjoys an 80+ Gold efficiency rating, so you can be sure that you aren’t wasting much power even when your system is running at full tilt.

The best budget PC power supply: Corsair CX550

The PSU we recommend in all of our budget gaming system builds is the Corsair CX550. It isn’t a trendsetter or showstopper, but it is a stable and safe power supply. At this kind of price, that’s exactly what you need. It’s available in various other capacities and for just $5 more you can get semi-modular cabling, but this entry-level version is the most affordable and therefore most suited to our favorite budget PSU.

Despite the relatively low-cost, you still get a quiet fan, five-year warranty, and 80+ Bronze certification for reasonable efficiency. Compatible with all modern CPUs and motherboards, this PSU has enough juice to power entry-level gaming PCs, all the way up to relatively high-end systems with powerful graphics cards. Double check it has enough headroom for your particular GPU on a site like RealHardTech first, but if this falls within your limits, then the CX550 is a fantastic budget power supply to choose.

The best small form PC power supply: FSP Dagger 500w

Packing high-powered components into a miniature PC case is all the rage. But along with using compact cooling solutions and motherboards, many MicroATX and mini-ITX cases also need to use a small form PSU. This SFX unit from FSP is a fantastic option with an attractive shell, excellent modular cabling, and a decent capacity of 500w. If you need more, though, there’s always the 600w version for about $20 more.

It enjoys 80+ gold efficiency, a quiet fan that operates at near silent when the unit is under 50% load, and has full Japanese capacitors for excellent stability and long life. If you run into any problems (which you shouldn’t), there’s a three-year warranty you can take advantage of too.

The best high-end PC power supply: Seasonic Prime Ultra 1300w

There’s not much point in building a multi-GPU system these days outside of benchmarking and a very few select games. But if you do, you’ll want a monstrous power supply to make sure your 2-4 powerful graphics cards have all the power they need. The Seasonic Prime Ultra is our favorite for that task, with a mammoth 1,300 watts of power and all the features you’d expect from a high-end PSU.

It’s fully modular, enjoys an 80+ Platinum efficiency rating, has a 12-year warranty, and operates entirely silently until 40 percent load is reached. It also has gold plated connectors for additional durability and a touch of class, all while supporting multiple graphics cards.

It’s pricey, but for super-powered PCs that want the utmost stability and plenty of protection for your highly expensive components, you can’t go wrong with the Seasonic Prime Ultra.

The best RGB PC power supply: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 650w

If you like your PC bright and colorful, then you shouldn’t neglect your PSU when it comes to selecting RGB-equipped components. There are a number of units out there that look great but don’t have the necessary underlying components to guarantee stable operation too. There’s where the Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB comes in.

Combining fully modular cabling with programmable RGB lighting, 80+ Gold efficiency rating, and a silent operating fan (unless high-operation is required), this is a great option. The RGB lighting can be configured alongside any other lighting in your PC to make sure it’s uniform and synchronized for maximum effectiveness.

There’s even a 10 year warranty, so if your lighting fails, Thermaltake will make sure you get a replacement.

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