If a motherboard can be defined as the backbone of a computer system, the power supply would be the heart. A motherboard indeed connects all the components but the power for all the components goes from the power supply.
A power supply is a very crucial component of a computer system and it is also one of the most underrated components by users. The reason for this is that people consider the power to be a consistent thing and do not know the consequences of using a low-end power supply. In real, using a bad-quality power supply could not only fail your power supply but it can affect every single component in your system, whether that be your expensive processor, graphics card, or your motherboard.
Many things define the quality of the power supply and the most common concept about the quality of a power supply is its power rating, which is described in watts, i.e. people consider a power supply a good one if its power rating is above 700 or 800 watts. Although it is true for many power supplies, this is not an intrinsic quality of a power supply, which is why a PSU can still be a very bad one despite having as much as 1000 Watts as its power rating.
The quality of a power supply is checked through its protection features such as over-current protection, over-voltage protection, etc., its consistency in voltage values, and its efficiency rating. In this article, we will be looking at some of the Best PSU For Gaming in 2021.
CORSAIR power supplies are no doubt the best power supplies on the planet you could get and the company charges a high price for their products as well. The OEM for their power supplies is Seasonic most of the time, which is why the quality of their products is top-notch. CORSAIR AX1000 belongs to the flagship AX-series power supplies, which come with high-end features that the low-tier PSUs do not come with.
The looks of the power supply are nothing special but it looks very decent due to simple design. There is written AX1000 in large font along with the CORSAIR logo at the side while the top side has only a small CORSAIR logo. You can change the side sticker, as the power supply comes with stickers having other colors.
CORSAIR AX1000 is an ATX power supply having a continuous power rating of 1000 watts. This power supply is also one of the latest power supplies from the company and it has an 80 Plus Titanium and ETA-A+ rating, which means that it has over 94% efficiency on 50% load and over 90% efficiency on any other load. There is a 135 mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing Fan in the PSU which keeps it cool during high loads and can run passively as well, keeping the power supply quite silent.
Coming to the current supply of the PSU, CORSAIR AX1000 provides 83A through a single +12V rail, which makes it highly capable of running high-end multiple-GPU systems, as 83A results in 996 watts of power. Moreover, it has 25A on the +3.3V rail, 25A on the +5V rail, 0.3A on the -12V rail, and 3A on the +5VSB rail. Overall, the combined power of the power supply cannot surpass 1000 watts.
As for protection features, CORSAIR AX1000 comes with Over Voltage Protection, Under Voltage Protection, Over Power Protection, Over Temperature Protection, Over Current Protection, and Short Circuit Protection. This makes it great for those people who are living in an area having a lot of electrical surges.
Coming to connector counts, CORSAIR AX1000 is a fully modular power supply that comes with a lot of cables, resulting in 1 x ATX connector, 2 x 4+4 pin EPS12V connectors, 8 x 6+2 pin PCIe connectors, 16 x SATA connectors, 8 x 4-pin Molex connectors, and 1 x FDD adapter. This means that you can even run two of the most power-hungry graphics cards, even if the power requirement of the graphics card is over 300 watts. If you want to run a Quad-GPU setup, it would be better to go with the higher-powered CORSAIR AX1600i power supply.
Conclusion
CORSAIR AX1000 is the best of the best when it comes to reliability and that is why it comes with a 10-year warranty as well. This power supply is going to be great for enthusiasts who are into extreme overclocking and want supreme stability in their system. With an 80 Plus Titanium rating, you would be having lower heat emission as well compared to other power supplies, although its 135mm fan is capable of handling a lot of heat.
EVGA is quite a competitor to CORSAIR in power supplies, despite having a much lower share in the market. Their Supernova series is quite famous and covers a wide range of power supplies having both low-tier and high-tier models. EVGA Supernova 1000 T2 is among the flagship models of the company and comes with a lot of high-end features.
EVGA Supernova is quite similar to CORSAIR AX1000 when it comes to technical specifications, however, the design of the PSU is quite different. The PSU has a specification table at the side along with the model of the power supply while the top has EVGA Supernova 1000 T2 written on it. The matte texture of the power supply feels really good and it would complement matte-textured casings. There is an Eco-mode button along the area of the connectors, which makes the PSU run as a fanless PSU below a certain temperature range.
Coming to the technical specifications, the PSU comes with an 80 Plus Titanium rating and has a 140mm double ball-bearing fan in it. The PSU can supply 83.3A on the +12V rail, which is even higher than the CORSAIR AX1000, although not by miles. On the +3.3V rail, it has a rating of 20A; 20A on the +5V rail, 0.5A on the -12V rail, and 2.5A on the +5VSB rail.
The power supply unit comes with Over Voltage Protection, Under Voltage Protection, Over Current Protection, Over Power Protection, Short Circuit Protection, and Over Temperature Protection, which is quite similar to the AX1000.
As for the connectors, this PSU is also a fully-modular unit like CORSAIR AX1000, however, the connector-count is lower than AX1000. It comes with 1 x ATX connector, 2 x 4+4 pin EPS12V connectors, 4 x 6+2 pin PCIe connectors, 2 x 6-pin PCIe connectors, 12 x SATA connectors, 6 x 4-pin Molex connectors, and 1 x 5.25″ to 3.5″ adapter.
Conclusion
EVGA Supernova 1000 T2 is a great alternative to CORSAIR AX1000 and it has similar technical specifications, which is why you can buy this PSU instead of AX1000 if you lean towards EVGA customer support, which is often considered one of the best in the league. The warranty of the PSU is also 10 years like the AX1000 and so are the protection features and efficiency rating.
SEASONIC although manufactures power supplies for other companies like CORSAIR, the company also designs power supplies under its name. Seasonic is one of the largest manufacturers of power supplies and creates power supplies for other industrial solutions as well apart from computers. Seasonic PRIME FANLESS series power supplies are one of the finest power supplies by the company, that are designed without a fan and since fanless design results in high thermals, these power supplies have a very high efficiency rating, to reduce the thermals.
Since this is a fanless PSU, the design of the power supply is quite interesting. The whole outer shell of the power supply has large vents to compensate for the performance loss due to the absence of a fan. This not only does work but it also improves the looks of the system. Even on the connectors’ side, there are vents for airflow and there is a small PRIME logo at the top.
This power supply is also 80 Plus Titanium certified which means that you won’t have to deal with a lot of heat, which is one the reasons that this power supply is functional because, with low-end power supplies, the presence of a fan is a must; after all, lower efficiency leads to high heat emission. For protection, the power supply supports Over Power Protection, Over Voltage Protection, Under Voltage Protection, Over Current Protection, Over Temperature Protection, and Short Circuit Protection. Now for the voltage rails, the PSU supports 58A through the +12V rail, 20A through the +3.3V rail, 20A through the +5.5V rail, 0.3A through the -12V rail, and 3A through the +5VSB rail, where the total continuous power is rated at 700 watts.
This configuration of power is perfect for most of the PC users because most people use a single graphics card and the overall power requirement of the computer is around 300-400 watts, where the efficiency rating of the PSU is highest (40 – 50%) and fanless approach makes the PSU completely silent, which is a great thing for those people who want to build a silent computer system. Moreover, the power supply comes with the longest warranty on the list that is 12 years.
Now, coming to the connectors of the power supply, the PSU supports 1 x ATX connector, 2 x 4+4 pin EPS12V connectors, 6 x 6+2 pin PCIe connectors, 20 x SATA connectors, 5 x Molex connectors, 2 x Molex to SATA 3.3 adapters, 1 x Molex to FDD adapters.
Conclusion
Seasonic PRIME FANLESS TX-700 is the perfect power supply for most PC users, having a super-high efficiency and silent operation due to the absence of a fan. The power supply power rating makes it excellent for any single-GPU user who wants top of the line performance. If you don’t intend to use multiple graphics cards in your system, this power supply is one of the best you can get.
Thermaltake manufactures a lot of components when it comes to computers but one of their rising components in the market is their power supplies and one of the reasons for this is the high value for money. The company provides a wide range of power supplies, both low-tier, and high-tier, and the Thermaltake Toughpower series is the flagship series from the company for power supplies. Thermaltake Toughpower iRGB Plus 1050W is one of the latest models and is targeted towards users who intend to use multiple graphics cards in the system.
The design of this power supply is very unique. This is the only power supply on the list that comes with RGB lighting and this was a new thing in the power supplies and it attracted a lot of customers who were into RGB lighting. The RGB lighting comes from the fan that has ARGB lighting in it and the large rectangular vents allow the RGB lighting to spread into the case. There is a 140mm Riing Plus RGB fan in the PSU and it has 12 addressable RGB LEDs that can be controlled through the software. There is a button at the back of the power supply as well, which can be used to turn on and off the RGB lighting.
The efficiency rating of this power supply is lower than the previous supplies but the difference is not that big and this PSU is 80 Plus Platinum certified power supply which means that it is around 92% efficient at around 50% load. The power supply support Over Current Protection, Over Voltage Protection, Under Voltage Protection, Over Power Protection, Over Temperature Protection, Short Circuit Protection, and Fan Failure Protection. Like the CORSAIR AX1000, this power supply also comes with a 10-year warranty.
The +12V rail of the power supply provides up to 83.33A of current, which sums up to around 1000 watts of power. It supports 22A through the +3.3V rail, 22A through the +5.5V rail, 0.3A through the -12V rail, and 3A through the +5VSB rail.
This a fully modular power supply and it supports 1 x ATX connector, 1 x 4+4 pin EPS12V connector, 1 x 8-pin EPS12V connector, 8 x 6+2 pin PCIe connectors, 12 x SATA connectors, 4 x Molex connectors, and 1 x Molex to FDD adapter.
Conclusion
Overall, Thermaltake Toughpower iRGB Plus 1050W is a great power supply for those people who want to maximize the looks of their system, and thanks to RGB lighting it could be easily done. The performance of the power supply is phenomenal as well and even though this power supply is not 80 Plus Titanium certified, it can easily take a beating.
Here we are with another CORSAIR product and this is CORSAIR HX750i, which is just below the AX series when it comes to performance. CORSAIR HX series suits a lot of people who want high reliability but cannot spend a lot on the power supplies like the AX series ones. CORSAIR HX750i is slightly lower than the Seasonic Fanless Prime 700W when it comes to performance but it comes with a fan and provides some additional features.
CORSAIR HX750i is very similar in design to the CORSAIR AX1000 and in fact, most of the models of these series look alike. The shape of the vents is a bit different and there is a specification table at the top, unlike CORSAIR AX1000.
The performance of this power supply is a lot slower than the AX1000 and this power supply has a continuous power output of 750 watts, however, the efficiency of this power supply is quite close to the AX1000 and this PSU is 80 Plus Platinum certified, just like the Thermaltake Toughpower iRGB Plus 1050W. The ‘i’ in the name of the power supply denotes that this power supply supports CORSAIR Link Digital, which allows the user to control various parameters of the power supply through the software application.
This power supply is unique when it comes to voltage rails. The software application allows the user to configure the power supply to use either a single +12V rail or multiple +12V rails (four in total). The +12V rail is rated for 62.5A, the +3.3V rail is rated for 25A, the +5V rail is rated for 25A, the -12V rail is rated for 0.8A, and the +5VSB rail is rated for 3A.
The power supply supports 1 x ATX connector, 2 x 4+4 pin EPS12V connector, 6 x 6+2 pin PCIe connectors, 12 x SATA connectors, 8 x Molex connectors, 2 x Molex to FDD adapters, 1 x C-Link I2C cable, and 1 x C-Link USB Mini to Motherboard USB Header cable.
Conclusion
CORSAIR HX750i is a great power supply that keeps a balance between price and performance. This power supply, although, is not as efficient as the Tier-1 power supplies, it is still as reliable as them and you shouldn’t be having any problem with this PSU as long as you are not exceeding the power rating.
Pros
Suits a lot of users for the value
Supports CORSAIR Link Digital
Cons
The build quality is a bit inferior to AX series PSUs
SilverStone is a name that is not known to a lot of people but technology enthusiasts are very fond of its products. SilverStone SFX-L 800W is a high-end power supply that comes with 80 Plus Titanium rating and is aimed towards professionals.
This is the only power supply on the list that is not an ATX PSU and it is an SFX-L PSU instead. This makes it slightly smaller than other PSUs on the list, which is why it has higher compatibility with small cases.
The technical specifications of this power supply are very interesting. The power supply comes with 80 Plus Titanium Rating, which is excellent, and its +12V rail is rated for 66A, which is enough for a dual-GPU system. On the +3.3V, it is rated for 16A; 15A for +5V, 0.3A for the -12V rail, and 2.5A for +5VSB rail.
The PSU supports 1 x ATX connector, 1 x 4+4 pin EPS12V connector, 4 x 6+2 pin PCIe connectors, 12 x SATA connectors, 3 x Molex connectors, and 1 x Floppy connector. The presence of only one 4+4 pin EPS12V connector means that this PSU cannot be used with extreme-end motherboards which require two of them.
Conclusion
SilverStone SFX-L 800W is a product that is a must buy if you own a case that does not allow an ATX power supply. Even though the power supply is quite smaller than ATX PSUs, the performance of this power supply matches some of the very high-end power supplies.
be quiet! Is a company that designs computer products for people who are interested in silent operation. The company designed some of the most famous cases in the past and now their power supplies are making a name as well. be quiet! Straight Power 11 Platinum 750W is a high-end power supply that focuses on a quieter operation while providing phenomenal performance.
The power supply uses the Silent Wings 3 fan, which is a 135mm fan and is one of the quietest fans in the market. The power supply provides four +12V rails, where two of them have 20A rating and the other two have 24A rating. The +3.3V rail is rated for 25A, the +5V rail is rated for 25A, the -12V rail is rated for 0.3A, and the +5VSB rail is rated for 3A.
The power supply supports 1 x ATX connector, 1 x 4+4 pin EPS12V connector, 1 x 8-pin EPS12V connector, 4 x 6+2 pin PCIe connectors, 12 x SATA connectors, and 4 x Molex connectors, and 1 x Molex to FDD adapter.
Conclusion
be quiet! Straight Power 11 Platinum 750W is a nice product for those who don’t want to spend a lot on a power supply and yet don’t want to compromise on performance.
FSP is a large manufacturer of power supplies and it is similar to Seasonic in operations. FSP Hydro PTM 650W is a mid-range power supply from the company that has 80 Plus Platinum certification and is priced moderately.
The power supply has a great warranty period of 10 years despite being cheaper than previously mentioned PSUs. The power supply is fully modular and supports 1 x ATX connector, 1 x 4+4 EPS12V connector, 4 x 6+2 pin PCIe connectors, 12 x SATA connectors, 4 x Molex connectors, and 1 x Molex to FDD connectors.
The continuous power rating of the power supply is although 650 watts, the unit is very reliable unlike cheap 650-watt power supplies and the 80 Plus Platinum certification is enough justification for that.
Conclusion
FSP Hydro PTM 650W is a power supply that is aimed towards mid-range users that want reliability and stability in their system but don’t want to dedicate a large proportion of sum for the PSU.
Cooler Master is a well-known name in the PC market and the company has a huge range of PC products. The company recently released a lot of power supplies and one of the best-valued PSUs among them is the Cooler Master MWE 650.
Cooler Master MWE 650 is a 650W power supply, as the name suggests and it is an 80 Plus Gold rated power supply. The power supply is available for less than a hundred bucks and thus it is the cheapest power supply on the list.
Despite being cheap, it is rated for 54.3A of current through the +12V rail and so it can easily support even the heaviest graphics card along with a high-end processor. The power supply is fully modular as well and supports 1 x ATX connector, 1 x 4+4 pin EPS12V connector, 1 x 8-pin EPS12V connector, 4 x 6+2 pin PCIe connectors, 8 x SATA connectors, 6 x Molex connectors, and 1 x Molex to FDD adapter.
Conclusion
Overall, despite being the cheapest PSU on the list, Cooler Master MWE 650 is a powerful PSU that can take care of the needs of most PC users whether that be hardcore gamers or professional users.
Pros
Cheap price
5 years of warranty seems lower compared to others
In this article, we have listed some of the best power supplies that you can buy in 2021 and we have listed options that target a lot of types of users and we hope that these PSUs will take care of your requirements adequately.
CORSAIR AX1000 is considered the best PSU for gaming. It’s simple yet the decent design and 80 plus titanium make it an ideal choice for gaming rigs.
Is 650w PSU good For Gaming?
Well, normal gaming can be done perfectly on just 400w or 450w PSU so 650w is more than enough unless you are using 2 GPUs than you’ll need at least 650w or 750w of PSU.
Who makes the best PC power supplies?
EVGA, Corsair, Thermaltake, Seasonic, Cooler Master, and NZXT are some of the best or well-known brands for power supply units for PCs.
Is Seasonic a good power supply?
Yes! Seasonic is one of the best and well-known manufacturers of power supplies.
Zakriya is right from Pakistan. He was raised with a quest for gaming craze with an organization of specialized folks. This is the place he understood that computer games can grow your creative mind to unlimited universes. Gaming is no longer for him only a method for amusement, yet enthusiasm. From the youthful age of 8, gaming was simply the main method for communicating. At whatever point he got the opportunity to play computer games, he took it with two hands and played for quite a long time. Much to his dismay that gaming would turn into his closest companion.
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