The Best Power Supplies For Gaming in 2021

Thermaltake makes surprisingly affordable power supplies that also offer great performance for the price. The Toughpower GX2 80+ Gold 600W features a non-modular design but at least the PSU comes with the 80 Plus Gold certification. The performance is fine and you can expect this PSU to behave in line with its specs.

This PSU is made for budget gaming builds but this doesn’t mean the Toughpower GX2 80+ Gold 600W is a slouch. It can power demanding CPUs and high-end GPUs. For instance, with this PSU you can run an R5 5600X and an RTX 3070 combo, which isn’t half bad for a budget PSU. Overall, this is an excellent budget PSU but if you want a simpler installation, go with a fully modular model.

Corsair is known for its PC peripherals but the company also manufactures excellent PSUs. The Corsair RMX Series RM550x is an amazing power supply. In fact, if you don’t need anything more powerful this one’s the best power supply for a gaming PC you can get.

It features amazing performance, no matter how hard you push it. Efficiency is superb for an 80 Plus Gold PSU. This one is capable of trading blows even with 80 Plus Platinum models, which is a respect-worthy achievement. Load regulation is among the best in the class.

The Corsair RMX Series RM550x operates completely silent up to 250 W loads. Once the fan starts running expect the noise not to cross the 20 dBA limit, another excellent achievement. You can only hear clearly it under extreme loads, but that happens only during stress tests and not in real use.

Even the price isn’t too steep for what you get. Overall, if you need a regularly sized PSU in the 550 W category, look no further. The icing on the cake is the 10-year warranty offered by Corsair.

The NZXT C750 looks good (for a power supply) and it comes with excellent performance, good efficiency, fully modular design, and a 10-year warranty. The PSU has some downsides but they’re not game-breaking, aside from making noticeable noise under high loads. The PSU is fairly quiet under most conditions but the fan kicks into sixth gear when under high load, which can be loud enough to be distracting.

This shouldn’t bother you if you’re gaming with headphones or have an already loud CPU, GPU, or case fans but those looking for a quiet power supply should look elsewhere. The thing is, in the world where PSU prices are higher than ever the NZXT C750 is selling at a pretty competitive price, which makes it a great bang for the buck choice.

be quiet! is known for its efficiently silent cases and fans and when it comes to power supplies, the company does not disappoint. The Straight Power 11 Platinum 650W is a quality power supply with excellent efficiency, full modularity, quality cables, and pretty solid performance. The best part about this PSU is that it’s completely silent most of the time.

Even when fully loaded the fan’s so quiet its noise is overshadowed by other fans in your PC. That said, while the PSU has high-quality parts, its overcurrent protection is set too high, which could damage your PC in case of a sudden power spike. If you live in an area with an unstable power grid, you should think twice before getting this PSU.

Everyone else should definitely consider getting this PSU if they want an efficient and quality made 650W power supply that’s exceptionally quiet. The only major downside, aside from high OCP, is the high price and five-year warranty period, which is lower than what other manufacturers offer in the same price bracket.

EVGA Supernova 650 G5 is a solid 650 W PSU that features 80 Plus Gold certification. The PSU looks nice. As is the case with the be quiet! Pure Power 11 600W, this one also features brightly colored fan cover.

When it comes to performance, this PSU is a solid competitor but not the best in the class. The semi-passive mode makes the PSU completely silent up until 20 percent load. From there, the fan turns on and it can become really loud when under heavy load. Under 80 percent load expect 35 to 40 decibels, which is a steep noise level for a power supply.

Efficiency is very good and completely justifies the rating. Load regulation is tight, one of the best in the class. The PSU handles variable loads – usual scenario in real-world usage – really bad. Overall, this is an okay PSU for the money but it suffers from low overall performance and a really noisy fan. At least EVGA offers a 10-year warranty, which is always nice to have.

The Cooler Master MasterWatt 650 is an affordable PSU for those who need a reliable Power supply for a low price. This power supply has 80 Plus Bronze certification. Low price point also means semi-modular design and uninteresting design. Cooler Master offers a 5-year warranty with this PSU, which is okay for a budget model.

When it comes to efficiency, this PSU shows excellent efficiency for its 80 Plus Bronze rating. The semi-passive mode works for loads up to 15 percent. When under medium and heavy loads the fan never goes above 35 decibels. Under normal loads you can expect the noise to be in the 30-decibel range, which is a satisfying result.

The PSU if fitted with low-grade capacitors, which could become an issue in the long run. Load regulation is good for the price, just know that higher-priced models can deliver much tighter load regulation. Overall, this is an excellent budget PSU that should be powerful enough for almost any configuration.

The ASUS ROG Strix 750 is a superb 750W power supply based on an efficient Seasonic platform that also comes with excellent performance. The added bonus is almost zero noise, no matter the stress. This is an excellent choice for high-end builds, especially if you’re a silent PC type of person.

The PSU looks better than most other models and it comes with a selection of magnetic stickers, which can be applied to the side of the PSU. The ROG Strix 750 is fully modular, and the quality of the included cables is pretty high. The only major downside is the price, which is pretty high, especially for an 80 Plus Gold PSU.

If you’re looking for the best power supply for your machine, look no further than the Seasonic Prime PX-850. 850 W is more than enough even for the Core i9-9900K + RTX 2080 Ti combo. So, even if you get more power-hungry CPU or GPU in the future, this PSU will be able to power them.

This PSU features 80 Plus Platinum certification and its performance and efficiency are on par with the rating. In other words, both are brilliant. Its max load surpasses the rated specs by 82 W so you can be sure it will run like a charm even under extreme loads.

The semi-passive fan mode doesn’t really work, but that doesn’t matter. Yes, fans are spinning even under light load but they are practically silent until the load reaches about 450 W. Under heavy loads fans stay below the 35-decibel limit, which is a solid result for an 850 W PSU.

Seasonic Prime PX-850 also comes with amazing load regulation that is probably the best in the class. Finally, Seasonic offers a 12-year warranty for this model, which is another huge plus. A brilliant PSU in every regard. It is expensive but the price is definitely worth it.

If you need a 1000 W power supply for your workstation or dual RTX 2080 Ti system, the EVGA Supernova 1000 PQ is an excellent choice. The PSU features 80 Plus Platinum Certification and its efficiency is in line with the rating. The performance is also excellent.

The semi-passive mode is on until the 30-percent load. Even after the fan starts spinning the PSU is virtually silent, with notable noise coming only during stress tests. Load regulation is tight and in line with all other specs.

Stuff we don’t like is the semi-modular design despite the pretty high price. And yes, the price is too high. The 10-year warranty period is always welcome. Overall, this is a superb 1000 W power supply with a steep price.

The Corsair AXi Series AX1600i is the top of the line PSU with enough power to run a small town. But seriously, if you want absolutely the best and most powerful power supply, this is the one to get. It can power practically any configuration. The model comes with 80 Plus Platinum certification and it features the best specs you’ll see in this list.

Load regulation is as tight as it gets, with deviations in the measurement error range. Efficiency and performance are also superb. Every other measurement is also either the best or among the best compared to other high-end PSU models.

The semi-passive mode is superb. Fans aren’t running until the load goes over 600 W. Under medium and high loads, the noise is extremely low. The PSU reaches 20 decibels under 1.3 KW load, which is a praiseworthy result. Even under max load the noise barely reaches 35 decibels.

Overall, the Seasonic PRIME 1300 is a godlike PSU with amazing performance and efficiency, as well as perfect measurements in every department. It’s also extremely silent and operates under very low temperatures. The PSU comes with a 10-year warranty and it truly is the best power supply for 99.9 percent of users.