Best PC Gaming Power Supply for the Money 2018 – Tiered PSU List

It’s tempting to want to skimp on your power supply when building a computer; however,  there are many important reasons not to. This is especially true when you have expensive components you’re trying to protect. What’s more is that a high-efficiency power supply represents significant energy savings over the life of your computer. Efficiency is especially important in areas where the price of a killowatt-hour (kWh) is high.

If you’re constantly gaming, working, streaming movies, or mining with your computer, then more than likely you should shoot for a power supply that’s rated the top end of the scale in energy efficiency. On the other hand, budget builders may not want to cripple the key components by purchasing a PSU that’s more than what your value build needs.

Understanding Power Supply Parts and Tiers

Over the past decade various community forums have been breaking power supplies down into tier lists based on their part quality, load testing, ripple and noise measurements, build quality and more. Information from *these websites, as well as our own experience, have helped in compiling this list.

Based on the overall cost of your machine and how much you plan on using it you’ll probably want to go with a PSU in the Tier 1 to Tier 3 range. Overclocking should also be a strong consideration in your decision with the understanding that higher tiered units will offer additional longevity and emit less heat overall.

Tier 1 – 3 400 to 500 Watt Budget PC Power Supplies

Model		Tier	Tech Highlights	Connectors
	Corsair Builder CX 500 See Amazon Price See Newegg Price	3	Bronze Certified, Single +12V Rail, 20+4 main connector, not modular (Available for CXM series), 100-240v input voltage, >100k MTBF, +12V@38A	1 x Main connector, (20+4Pin), 1 x 4+4 Pin EPS 12V, 2 x PCI-E, 5 x SATA, 4 x Peripheral, 1 x Floppy
	Antec VP-450 See Amazon Price See Newegg Price	2b	Up to 80% efficiency (not 80 Plus Certified due to lack of PFC circuit but typically higher), 1 x 120mm quiet fan, 20+4 main connector, 2 12V rails, 2 year warranty, +12V1@18A, +12V2@18A	1 x Main connector, (20+4Pin), 1 x 4+4 Pin, EPS/ATX 12V, 4 x Peripheral, 4 x SATA, 1 x Floppy, 1 x PCI-E
	SeaSonic G Series 550 See Amazon Price See Newegg Price	2	80 Plus GOLD, Modular, ATX 12V / EPS12V, 100-240V, Smart and silent fan control, 20 + 4 pin main connector, Single +12V rail, +12V@45A	1 x 20+4pin Main Connector, 1 x 4/8pin CPU, 2 x 6+2pin PCI-E, 5 x Peripheral, 6 x SATA, 2 x Floppy
	EVGA SuperNova 550 GS See Amazon Price See Newegg Price Read Review	1	80 PLUS GOLD 90%+ Efficient, Fully Modular, ATX12V / EPS12V, 100 - 240 V, 24 Pin Main Connector, 5 Year Warranty, Japanese Capacitors, Single +12V Rail, MTBF 100,000 Hours	1x 24 PIN ATX, CPU 1 x 8 pin (4+4)+ 8 pin, 4 x 8 pin (6+2 PCIE), SATA 6x, Four-Pin Peripheral 4x, Floppy 1 x

For each capacity of power supply, I’ve included my favorite Tier 1-3 picks. For this category, I’ve included 3 very different options.

Seasonic G Series: The tier 2 Seasonic G series is pricier than the other options in this category because of the quality of components and manufacturing used. 80 Plus Gold certifications means that it’s at least 87-90% efficiency during standard usage.

Antec VP-450: While the VP series for Antec isn’t 80 Plus Certified it’s been shown to be above 80% efficiency in most instances. What’s more is that despite its two rails it has 2 over current protection channels. Overall, this power supply is inexpensive and will last you a long time.

Corsair CX 500: I’ve seen this power supply for as low as $30 and for the money you could definitely do a lot worse. It’s a tier 3 80 Plus bronze certified and made of parts that give it an MTBF or mean time before failure of 100,000 hours. While it may not have Japanese capacitors it does have a 3-year warranty.

EVGA 500 W1: While I wouldn’t recommend that the W1 be installed on an expensive machine, it works well for more affordable builds. I’ve seen it go as low as $24 after a $20 rebate so keep your eyes peeled for a good deal.

Tier 1 to 3 600 to 750 Watt Power Supplies for Your Gaming PC

		Tier	Tech Highlights	Connectors
	EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2, G3 See Amazon Price See Newegg Price Read Review	1	80 Plus Gold Certified, Full Modular, 10 Year Warranty, 90% typical efficiency, 12V@70.8, Japanese Nippon Chemi-Con solid state capacitors, Quiet and intelligent auto fan for silent operation.	1 x 24 Pin ATX, 2 x 4+4 Pin EPS12V, 4 x 6+2 Pin PCI-E, 9 x SATA, 4 x Molex, 1 x Floppy
	Cooler Master V750 See Amazon Price See Newegg Price	1	Quality Japanese Capacitors, Gold Certified, 120mm intelligent fan, 20+4 pin main connector, Single +12V rail, 90-264V input, +12V@62A, MTBF 100,000 hours, Modular HDD and SATA cables	MB 20+4 Pin x 1, CPU12V 4+4 Pin x 1, PCI-e 6+2 Pin x 4, SATA x 8, 4Pin Peripheral x 6, 4Pin Floppy x 1
	SeaSonic 650W See Amazon Price See Newegg Price	2	80 Plus Gold, Integrated VRM, Polymer Aluminum Japanese Capacitors, Sanyo Denki Silent Fan, Active PFC, Single +12V Rail, +12V@54A, 100-240V input voltage, full modularity	1 x Main connector (20+4Pin), 1 x 4 Pin ATX12V, 2 x 8 Pin EPS12V, 8 x Peripheral, 8 x SATA, 2 x Floppy, 4 x PCI-E
	CX Series 750W See Amazon Price See Newegg Price	3	80 Plus Bronze Certified, Extra Long Fully Sleeved Cables, Single +12V Rail, +12V@62A, MTBF 100,000 Hours	1 x ATX Connector, 1 x EPS Connector, 2 x PCI-E Connector, 4 x 4 Pin Peripheral, Connector, 6 x SATA Connector, 1 x Floppy Connector

Cooler Master V750: This high quality 100% Japanese capacitor power supply is a top tiered option for those looking for a quality PSU that will last a long time. It’s perfect for a single higher-end GPU configuration overclock and very reasonable at just above $100.

Seasonic G Series: For just $10 you can upgrade your 550 Watt Seasonic G power supply to the 650-watt version. This is a good deal considering the quality of parts you get with this PSU.

Corsair CX Series 750 Watt: Just like above you’re not getting the absolutely highest tier with the CX series, but this is still a good value option for those doing a budget build or even a mid-range build that still wants a high level of wattage and may not be worried about setting any overclocking world records.

EVGA SuperNOVA 650 and 750 G2: The G2 is one of the most popular options on the market right now as you can get a 750W tier 1 Gold Certified PSU for just under $100. It’s definitely worth comparing against the other options I mentioned above.

Top 800 to 1,000 Watt Power Supplies

	Model	Tier	Tech Highlights	Connectors
	Seasonic X-850 (SS-850KM3) See Amazon Price See Newegg Price	1	80 PLUs Gold, Sanyo Denki Ball Bearing Fan, 12V@70A, 7 year warranty, full modularity	1 x Main connector (20+4Pin, 600mm), 1 x 4+4 Pin EPS 12V (650mm), 1 x 8 Pin EPS 12V, (650mm), 8 x Peripheral, 8 x SATA, 2 x Floppy, 4 x PCI-E (600mm)
	Cooler Master V850 See Amazon Price See Newegg Price	1	80 Plus GOLD up to 93% efficiency, Fully modular, 12V@70A, 100% Japanese Capacitors, Silent 135mm FDB fan, 5 year warranty	M/B 20+4 Pin x 1, CPU 4+4 Pin x 1, PCI-e 6+2 Pin x 6, SATA x 9, 4 Pin Peripheral x 4, 4 Pin Floppy x 1
	EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 G3 See Amazon Price See Newegg Price	1	80 Plus Gold Certified, Full Modular, 10 Year Warranty, 90% typical efficiency, 12V@70.8, Japanese Nippon Chemi-Con solid state capacitors, Quiet and intelligent auto fan for silent operation.	1 x 24 Pin ATX, 2 x 4+4 Pin EPS12V, 4 x 6+2 Pin PCI-E, 2 x 6 Pin PCI-E, 10 x SATA, 4 x Molex, 1 x Floppy

Tier 1: At this level, there’s not a lot of difference between a tier 1 and tier 2 gold certified power supply. For this reason, I recommend you stick with one of the power supplies on the tier one list. I’ve listed three options below I have confidence in. Go with whichever one you can get the best deal on. Right now, the EVGA SuperNova model is on rebate so it’s probably the one I’d go with.

1,000+ Watt Power Supplies

	Model	Tier	Tech Highlights	Connectors
	EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 / 1600 G2 See Amazon Price See Newegg Price	1	Gold Certified, 90% Typical Efficiency, Fully Modular, 12V@108.3A, Japanese Nippon Chemi-Con solid state capacitors, quiet and intelligent auto fan, 10 year warranty	1 x 24 Pin ATX, 2 x 4+4 Pin EPS12V, 6 x 6+2 Pin PCI-E, 2 x 6 Pin PCI-E, 12 x SATA, 5 x Molex, 1 x Floppy
	Seasonic SS-1250XM X-Series See Amazon Price See Newegg Price	1	Gold Certified, 90-264V, 12V@104A, Fully Modular, Japanese Capacitors, High Current GOld Plated Terminals, Honeycomb Ventilation, 5 year warranty	20+4-pin x 1, EPS12V / ATX12V 4+4-pin x 1, EPS12V 8-pin x 1, PCI-E 6+2-pin x 8, SATA x 11, Peripheral 4-pin x 8, FDD 4-pin (Y-adapter) x 2
	FirePower Silencer MK III 1200W See Amazon Price	1	Modular, 80 Plus Platinum Certified, 12V@99.5A, 140mm Double ball-bearing fan RPM varied for quiet operation, ErP compliant, 100% Japanese low ESR 105 Degrees C capacitors, 7 Year Warranty	1 x 20+4-pin ATX, 2 x 4+4-pin ESP/12V CPU, 6 x 6+2-pin PCI-E, 4 x 4-pin Peripheral, 12 x 5-pin SATA, 1 x FDD

I’m not going to go into too much detail here because my explanation for these picks is pretty much the same as my 800 to 1000 watt picks. If you need this wattage, go with something in the tier one range. The FirePower Silencer MKIII is a platinum option (formerly PC power and cooling) I threw into the mix for this level; however, it’s very pricey compared to the other two models. Go with this model only if you need the absolute best in efficiency and quality.

The option I really like this month, like above, is the EVGA SuperNova 1300 watt model. At $159 after the rebate, it’s one of the better deals you’ll find.

Tier 1 PSU Interactive Poll

Please vote for your favorite and comment below.

EVGA G2 vs G3 Series

The EVGA SuperNova series of power supplies is one of the most popular on the market. It’s one that we recommend because of its mix of good pricing and quality build components.

The new G3 series includes five new options that go from 550 watts to 1,000. These models use a 130mm fan with a hydrodynamic bearing and are fully modular. In addition, they all come with a spectacular 10-year warranty. Connectors use 18 gauge wires. Japanese capacitors, ripple suppression, load regulation, and build quality are all a plus.

Compared to the G2, the G3 is more compact (30mm shallower) and looks nicer as well. It also has slightly better efficiency.

Verdict:

The G3 series isn’t the quietest on the market, but it’s made of good stuff all around. The warranty is a plus. It’s not cheap, but most options come on sale for $20 to $40 savings if you’re willing to be patient.

Rebates, Prices, and Monthly Updates

With all of this in mind, it can still be difficult to know exactly which PSU to purchase in a given month. Price and rebates change monthly and it takes research to know exactly which model to go is the best value. This is where this post comes in. This is one of several I’ll be updating regularly to use as a reference for our subscribers and those in the community. Updating my recommendations regularly in pages like these seems like the best way to get information to more people as our YouTube channel and website continue to grow.

Understanding 80 Plus Certification

Your electrical outlet produces AC power while your computer uses a power supply to convert that power into the DC power that’s used in most electronics. Having the 80 Plus specification simply means that a power supply has qualified for 80% or better efficiency at 10, 20, 50 and 100% of its load. Beyond the standard 80 Plus certification, power supplies can also qualify for Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Titanium ratings. Here’s a graph that explains exactly how that works:

While more efficient may seem better you’ll also need to keep in mind how much time your machine is running vs. how much time it’s idle. The price per watt of power increases exponentially with efficiency and those who don’t constantly run their computers may not find they save money beyond a certain efficiency level.  For more information, see my post on How Much it Costs to Run Your Gaming PC.

Final Thoughts:

Overall you’ll have to use a little bit of your own discretion while choosing a power supply. You don’t want something so expensive that it takes away from your key components, but if you’re spending a lot on your rig already, then it’s probably a good idea to go with something that’s a better quality to help your components last a long time.

Sources: Xtremesystems.org, Newegg Community Forums, SilentPCReview, Anandtech, HardwareSecrets, HardOCP, and JohnnyGURU.