Getting the right power supply for your PC’s needs isn’t an easy task, especially with newer components coming out with heavier power requirements.
With the release of the RTX 40 series cards, they consume even more power than their predecessor, so it’s absolutely imperative that you make sure you supply enough power to these graphics cards.
It’s actually pretty common to underpower a PC, and the effects can be significant with you experiencing effects such as choppy frame rates, and overall slow performance.
Luckily here, I’ll recommend you some of the best power supplies on the market that won’t blow up on you, and should be able to deliver solid power if you understand your computer’s power needs.
In a hurry? I’ve compiled a list of the 850W Power supplies in a table below!
Seasonic FOCUS Plus 850 Platinum | Best 850W PSU For Gaming
Specifications
- Wattage(Max Output): 850W
- Efficiency Rating: 80+ Platinum
- Length: 140 mm
- Modular: Fully Modular
- Form Factor: ATX
- Connectors(EPS + PCIE): 2, 6
- Warranty: 10 Years
Reasons To Buy
- Fully Modular
- Long 10 year warranty
- Pretty compact, easy to install
- Goes great with RTX 30 series cards
- Runs silent
- Strong build quality
- Decent amount of cables
Reasons To Avoid
- Coil Whine
Review
As a gamer, ensuring that my graphics card gets enough power is crucial if I want to have consistent frame rates. For a high end gamer, this is a power supply that delivers a great experience, and it runs quietly.
Our biggest fear when building a computer is having a power supply explode and even take other components with it, but you can rest assured as the power supply has a 10 year long warranty.
As for pricing, you won’t be breaking the bank with this one although it provides a lot of value, so it offers an amazing bang for your buck.
Power delivery is amazing, the voltage regulation is strong, and it delivers clean power, this is perfect for users looking to overclock.
One potential downside is that you may experience coil whine which can be distracting and annoying especially if you’re a gamer.
Alternative: The EVGA Supernova 850 T2, 80+ Titanium is a step up from the 80+ Platinum power supply. A Titanium power supply is good enough to run multiple power-hungry components
EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 |Best 850W PSU For Light Gaming
Specifications
- Wattage(Max Output): 850W
- Efficiency Rating: 80+ Gold
- Length: 177 mm
- Modular: Fully Modular
- Form Factor: ATX
- Connectors(EPS + PCIE): 2, 6
- Warranty: 10 Years
Reasons To Buy
- Fully Modular
- 10 Years Warranty
- Single +12V Rail
- ECO Mode
- Cable management is good
- No Coil Whine
- Runs quiet with ECO Mode off
- High quality Japanese capacitors
Reasons To Avoid
- ECO Mode Not Designed For Gaming/Heavy Loads
Review
The EVGA G2 850W seems like the perfect power supply for gamers, it runs exceptionally quiet, it has minimal coil whine, and it has a strong +12V Rail.
Although the EVGA G2 850W is 80+ Gold, it doesn’t mean it’s bad compared to 80+ Platinum power supplies. It just means it’s slightly less efficient, but this has a minimal effect in the short term. However, long term wise, 80+ Platinum is definitely better.
The +12V Rail is there to ensure that you have enough power delivered to your graphics cards such as the RTX 3090 TI. It is critical to make sure that your PSU can deliver a sufficient amount of power to your GPU, this prevents system instabilities, and bad frame rates.
As for the build quality, it’s exceptional as it uses high quality Japanese capacitors, which contributes to the long lifespan of around 10 years, no one wants a power supply to fail quickly, it’s an inconvenience that no one wants to go through especially if you use your PC frequently.
One reason to avoid this is the ECO mode isn’t designed for gaming or heavy loads, so you will have to game with ECO Mode off. But this isn’t an issue as ECO mode off still runs quietly.
Alternative: The best alternative would have to be the EVGA Supernova 850 P6, it’s slightly more efficient, and it runs quieter. Better for gamers running high end graphics cards.
Corsair RMx850 | Great 850W PSU For Video Editing
Specifications
- Wattage(Max Output): 850W
- Efficiency Rating: 80+ Gold
- Length: 160 mm
- Modular: Fully Modular
- Form Factor: ATX
- Connectors(EPS + PCIE): 3, 4
- Warranty: 10 Years
Reasons To Buy
- Fully Modular
- Fairly compact
- 10 year long warranty
- Runs very quiet under load
- High quality build
- Minimal coil whine
- Easy to install
Reasons To Avoid
- Stiff cables
Review
The Corsair RMx850 is a viable alternative to the EVGA supernova G2 850 as they’re quite similar in their pros and cons.
The Corsair RMx850 can be a great option for video editors and professionals as it runs quiet, a loud power supply can be distracting and distract you from the focus of your work, it’s important that you use a PSU that has minimal coil whine and noise generation under load.
If you’d like to game on it, there’s nothing stopping you, the RMx850 can handle pretty much most high end setups with RTX 40 series graphics cards, so you’re free to game on the side if you’d wish.
A potential downside to the Corsair RMX850 is that the cables can come stiff which can inhibit cable management, but if you can get past this, the PSU is absolutely amazing.
Alternative: The Corsair RM1000x (2021) is a decent alternative, it offers an extra 150W of power in case you’re looking to have enough power for the RTX 40 series cards.
ASUS ROG STRIX 850W Gold PSU| Best Mid Tier 1000W PSU
Specifications
- Wattage(Max Output): 850W
- Efficiency Rating: 80+ Gold
- Length: 160 mm
- Modular: Fully Modular
- Form Factor: ATX
- Connectors(EPS + PCIE): 2, 6
- Warranty: 10 Years
Reasons To Buy
- Fully modular
- Awesome aesthetics for gamers
- Included LCD screen
- Easy cable management
- High quality components
- Japanese capacitors
- Attractive pricing
Reasons To Avoid
- Fans may get loud
Review
By the looks of this power supply, it’s clearly marketed towards gamers with its flashy aesthetics and features. We all know looks have no bearing on performance, but aesthetics is a big factor for many gamers, they want their PC to look as good as possible.
But the power supply is more than looks, it uses high quality components such as Japanese capacitors which gives it a long 10 year lifespan, this means you can rest assured that the PSU will last a long time, and even be viable when the next generation of graphics cards comes out.
Also, the power supply is easy to cable manage and install as it’s compact with the 160 MM build, and fully modular cables. Cable management is crucial, if your cables are too stiff, then it can inhibit your ability to manage them and may cause an increase in temperatures.
As for costs, the power supply is affordable which is surprising for the amount of value you receive such as the LCD screen, and the 10 year long warranty.
The biggest downside to this power supply is the fans may get too loud if you’re sensitive to certain noises. Otherwise than that, the power supply is pretty solid.
Alternative: The best alternative to this power supply would be the ASUS ROG STRIX 850W Platinum variant as this would be more efficient for more power hungry builds.
But will definitely come at an additional cost, so if you have an extra $40 laying around, it could be a worthwhile investment.
5 Tips To Consider Before Purchasing A Power Supply
1. Don’t Assume Higher = More performance: Many assume that higher wattage power supplies are better for performance, but this isn’t the case. You won’t need a 1600W Power supply unit for a system that only requires 600W.
2. Pay Attention To Efficiency Ratings: Higher efficiency power supplies use better components which results in the power supply generating less heat and consuming more energy.
3. Research The Brands: There are so many power supply brands out there, and not all of them produce great products. Reliable manufacturers are – Corsair, Seasonic, EVGA.
4. Know What Type Of PSU You Need: Do you need a modular or a non-modular power supply? Modular power supplies allow you to add and remove cables, none of them are soldered. Non-modular units come with all the necessary cables pre-attached, you cannot remove any of them.
5. Don’t mix and match cables: If your choice of power supply is fully modular, you’ll notice you can remove all the cables. While this is fine for cable management, you shouldn’t include cables that didn’t come with the PSU, this is why some power supplies fail and bring other components with them.
What Brands Make The Best 850W Power Supplies?
Looking for a decent power supply is a task everyone should do, never cheap out on a PSU as it can cause significant damage to your components.
Corsair – Is a decent power supply brand that sells some high quality PSUs. The Corsair RM850x (2021) is one of the best 850W PSUs from Corsair.
EVGA – Is also another reputable brand in the power supply market, they have some popular units such as the EVGA SuperNOVA 850 P2.
Seasonic – Have some high quality power supplies, they’re great if you’re looking for something durable like the Seasonic FOCUS Plus 850 Platinum.
Quick note – Always pick a power supply that has a decently long warranty like 10 years!
Capacity & Efficiency:
Before you purchase a power supply, make sure it has an 80% certificate. Most power supplies will have this nowadays, but just keep an eye out.
| LOAD: | 20% | 50% | 100% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80+ PLUS: | 80% | 80% | 80% |
| 80+ PLUS BRONZE: | 82% | 85% | 82% |
| 80+ SILVER: | 85% | 88% | 85% |
| 80+ GOLD: | 87% | 90% | 87% |
| 80+ PLATINUM: | 90% | 92% | 89% |
| 80% TITANIUM: | 92% | 94% | 90% |
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