The best power supplies for PC gaming

While the rumoured 600W+ power requirement for the RTX 4090 didn’t quite pan out, Nvidia does recommend at least an 850W power supply for this generation’s top card, up from 750W for the 3090. So there are probably quite a few people out there looking to upgrade their rig. Regardless of whether you’re buying a new system or upgrading though, it’s always a good idea to have a good PSU at the heart of your system. These are five of the PSUs we recommend for gamers.

1 CORSAIR RM750X

www.corsair.com | $199

While we’re all getting carried away at present with 850 and 1,000W PSUs, the truth is that 750W will still be more than enough for most people. The RMx line is among the best in the PSU market, combining high performance and reasonable prices. This model uses a magnetic levitation fan for quiet operation, plus high-quality Japanese caps, and has a long 10-year warranty.

2 SEASONIC PRIME TITANIUM TX-1000

www.seasonic.com | $529

If you’re considering a high-end GPU upgrade in the next couple of years then it makes sense to go for at least 850W, if not 1,000W for proper future-proofing. Seasonic’s base platform is used by many other manufacturers including Corsair. This PSU is crazy efficient and quiet, thanks to its fluid dynamic bearing fan, and also comes with a generous 12-year warranty.

3 BEQUIET! PURE POWER 11 FM 550W

www.bequiet.com | $170

If you’re running an average system without the need for stupid power requirements, this PSU from BeQuiet! is the one to go for. It’s 80 PLUS Gold and Cybenetics Gold-certified in efficiency, plus it has a Cybenetics A noise rating, meaning it’s ultra-quiet. But perhaps best of all is that it’s priced at under $200, which is excellent value for such a high-quality PSU.

4 CORSAIR AX1600I

www.corsair.com | $699

If you’re going to be pushing your PC by filling a computer with the most power-hungry components, and then driving them hard via overclocking, then this is the PSU for you. As well as its ridiculous 1600W capacity, it’s highly efficient, thanks to GaN MOSFETs, which can offer up to 99 percent efficiency. It is remarkably quiet too, thanks to its high-quality FDB fan.

5 SILVERSTONE SX1000 PLATINUM

www.silverstonetek.com | $369 The best small-form PSU on this list doesn’t stop it from having every connector a gaming PC builder needs, at least for the next few years. It’s completely modular, which is handy for compact builds as you can leave out cables to save space. It can be pushed hard too – we monitored 1500W capacity in our testing. The double ball-bearing fan also keeps it cool.