The best power supply for a gaming PC. Rating of power supply manufacturers

The power supply, acting as a stabilizer, is more important for a computer, even than the processor. If the power supply fails, there is a risk of the video card failing, which means irretrievable loss of valuable data. Therefore, immediately choose the best one from those presented in our rating of power supply manufacturers.

Winner of the rating of power supply manufacturers. It produces expensive models, but they are practically silent (they only make a quiet whistle) and suitable for all modern motherboards. The company was the first, back in 2005, to put on sale a certified power supply.

SeaSonic's cooling systems are fanless, with all modern protection measures. Many models are 80 Plus Gold certified. The wires can be unfastened.

A company from Taiwan, relatively young (since 1999), but experienced in the production of power supplies. Thermaltake has focused production on premium cooling systems and cases, so these products cannot be called cheap.

In order to accelerate to maximum values, you can’t think of a better power supply than this. Their blocks are most often modular, with the ability to detach excess wires. They produce many powerful serial models that can support up to 3 video cards. The energy efficiency certificate is one of the best - 80 Plus Gold.

At the same time, Thermaltake has a low noise level (the fan does not work when the computer is idle) and practically no heating.

The optimal power supply option in terms of price-quality ratio. The company is famous for cooling computer equipment (processor coolers), cases, and there are both gaming versions (up to 3 video cards) and budget office models.

Therefore, AeroCool power supplies are practically silent, only under very heavy loads. And then, the video adapter is more likely to make noise. They heat up only at maximum loads - the production system does not allow any shortcomings.

A Chinese company with 20 years of production experience, which has focused specifically on power supplies. Therefore, if you do not want to overpay for an advertised brand, then you can purchase Deepcool.

Produces a special line for gamers - 80 Plus Platinum certified, high efficiency and very powerful.

It practically does not produce other components, focusing entirely on power supplies, which are quite expensive. And as a result, the company is one of the 5 best manufacturers in the world, with high productivity and low noise levels (no more than 21GB). Stable operation for 5 years is guaranteed. And budget models have a short wire and few connectors

But, despite the high production rates, these power supplies are noisy under load. And budget models have a short wire and few connectors.

The best option in terms of price-quality ratio. Another young company, only South Korean, known for its processor coolers. The main emphasis is on noiselessness, which is partly achieved by a good quality housing.

Most power supplies are certified 80 Plus Gold or Platinum, which will work with minimal drawdowns and without voltage ripples under increased loads.

One of the major electronics manufacturers with an emphasis on industrial, which has been producing products under the motto “energy efficient, clean and innovative solutions for the future” for 4 decades.

Delta supplies its power supplies to Dell, HP, and IBM.

All of them are of good quality, but there are also fakes, with markings that do not correspond to reality.

A Taiwanese company whose main products are extremely budget-friendly, but at the same time with modern bells and whistles (backlighting). The warranty ranges from 36 to 57 months. They can be connected to all motherboards, and their features include flat modular cables. But the fans are not noisy at all.

The downside is that not all models have detachable wires, and not all are 80 Plus certified.

The company sells products for gamers who are interested in overclocking components. But she doesn’t produce it, but orders it from partners (there are 3 of them).

Their distinctive feature is a densely braided cable. A very small percentage of defects, but the most common complaint is the high noise level in some models, although other buyers claim the opposite.

Half of the power supplies do not have a safety certificate at all, and the other half have 80 PLUS Bronze (middle class) standards.

A little later, the company “became famous” for a scandal with misleading labeling (the number 430 in the name of the power supply, but in fact the power is 350 watts).

The job of a computer power supply is to turn 220 Volts AC into three different DC voltages. The incoming network voltage constantly fluctuates slightly, and the load on the video card, central processor and other components often “jumps” very strongly. At the same time, the power supply is required to constantly and accurately maintain the required voltage.

The power supply is one of the key components that affects the safety of the system as a whole.: If there is any defect, the currents passing through it can damage the components connected to it and even cause a fire. In general, there are plenty of arguments for a serious approach to choosing a high-quality power supply.

A good PSU should operate as efficiently as possible (that is, with low heat loss). It is also undesirable for its fans to make a lot of noise. And electrical elements must be completely silent at low loads (the noise of the chokes should not be heard).

Power

Depending on the components, computers can consume power from several watts to several kilowatts. The power supply must be designed to cope with the maximum load, and it is advisable to have reserves - only in this case will it work efficiently and quietly.

The optimal power of a power supply can be calculated by the sum of TDP(thermal package) of the processor and video card, multiplied by 1.5. So, for the Core i5-8600 processor (TDP 65 Watt) and the AMD Radeon RX 560 video card (TDP 75 Watt), a power supply with a power of at least 450 Watt is suitable. A 450-watt unit would be loaded at about 50%, a 750-watt unit at 30%. For an accurate calculation, use the power supply power calculator: bequiet.com/ru/psucalculator.

Power supply for office PC

If you are building a simple PC for office tasks, then it is not at all necessary to buy a powerful power supply. 300 W is enough. But you still need to have a reserve. After all, you can work not only in Word, but also edit graphics and even build 3D models. A 500 W power supply is perfect for these purposes; you won’t feel much savings when buying a device with less output (if you buy high-quality ones).

Depending on the components used in them and the cooling system, their price varies from 2,000 to 7,000 rubles. To ensure that your PC lasts a long time, we recommend not saving too much and opting for a power supply from a well-known brand, for example, Thermaltake TR2 S 500W, costing about 3,200 rubles.

It has a very quiet cooler, high-quality elastic braiding of wires and produces 75 W on the 5 V line and 420 W on the +12 V line.

Efficiency

So, a good power supply provides the maximum possible power consumption to all PC components. So that you can evaluate the efficiency of the power supply before purchasing, manufacturers certify them to the 80 Plus energy efficiency standard with additional levels of Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and the very rare Titan.

Each power supply generates heat, which in rare models with a passive cooling system is removed only by the heatsink, requiring precise planning and constant optimal environmental conditions. For users who are extremely noise sensitive, we recommend a power supply with a hybrid cooling system, e.g. Corsair RM550x, costing about 8,000 rubles.

Corsair RM550x notable in that its fan only turns on when the load exceeds 40% or the temperature rises. This ensures stable, continuous operation under any circumstances. For other users, we recommend regular power supplies with an active cooling system - for example, be quiet Straight Power 10. Its fan operates almost silently under light load. The noise only appears when full power is required.

Expensive capacitors last longer

The first step to high quality is the choice of well-known manufacturers: be quiet!, Cooler Master, Corsair, Enermax, Thermaltake Xilence and others. As for equipment, when choosing a power supply, you should pay attention to the presence of all the necessary plugs - available models often do without a power connector for SATA devices, and some may even comply with an outdated standard.

Also check the exact number of 12-volt plugs (6- or 8-pin) for your video card. And modern modular connection technology Cable management allows you to connect only the necessary cables to the power supply and not create a mess in the case.

Expensive capacitors of top power supply models can withstand high temperatures (for example, not 85°, but 105°C), due to which they last longer. Manufacturers can anticipate this fact quite accurately. Long-lasting power supplies can be found among models with a five-year warranty. For example, Cooler Master G650M, with a power of 650 watts and a cost of about 5,600 rubles.

Photo: manufacturing companies

Let's start with the obvious - with power. Remember that the purchased power supply must have at least 25% power reserve from the peak power in the assembled system (it is not difficult to calculate it - there are many online calculators on the Internet). Taking into account the future upgrade, it is worth setting aside up to 50% of the reserve - this will not only allow you to seriously increase energy consumption in the future, but will also reduce the load on the power supply, ensuring it operates in the most optimal part of the efficiency curve.

The efficiency of switching power supplies is nonlinear - at low load and at maximum it is lower than at average (around 50-60%). However, the efficiency that is most important to us is at maximum load, especially when we are talking about systems with high power consumption. If you are assembling a simple PC with a 250-watt power supply, then its efficiency will not be decisive - even a cheap “Chinese” one will heat up slightly. But at powers above 500 W, a difference of a few percent in efficiency will already make a serious difference in heating, and this directly affects not only the noise of the power supply, but also its resource, especially when the radiators and fan impeller have already collected dust.

We recommend that you only consider purchasing power supplies with 80 Plus certification, indicating that the efficiency of the power supply is above 80% (this not only promises low heating, but also directly indicates the quality of the components). There are several certification options, we present them in order of increasing efficiency: Bronze->Silver->Gold->Platinum->Titanium. And, if at powers within 500 W the 80 Plus Bronze unit will be a completely balanced choice, then in the kilowatt region it is already worth looking at “platinum”, or even “titanium”.

In the list of characteristics you need to pay attention to one more point. This is about presence of PFC- physically, the operation of this system is to minimize the phase shift that is inevitable in AC networks due to the presence of high-capacity capacitors at the input of the power supply. If a power supply without PFC has a power factor of about 70%, then active PFCs can bring it to almost an ideal unity - and with a kilowatt load this provides no less than a savings of up to 300 watts of power consumption. But do not forget that not every PFC circuit can “make friends” with uninterruptible power supplies - since in cheap UPSs the voltage shape is far from an ideal sinusoid, the PFC literally “goes crazy”, refusing to work.

All things around us consist of individual parts. Accordingly, a particular device or object can be disassembled into its component parts. But let's think about what an ordinary person can buy in parts and then assemble something whole? A smartphone or an audio system is unlikely, but enthusiasts collect personal computers all the time. The result is slightly cheaper than ready-made factory assemblies. And no one canceled the pleasure from the process.

Of course, a motherboard, a powerful processor and video card, and a large amount of RAM are important, but without proper power, even the coolest components will be of no use. And the elements are supplied with energy by a small box, which sometimes receives very little attention - this is the power supply. We will try to correct such a serious omission in our traditional ranking. But before we get to it, let's look at a couple of very important points.

The best power supply manufacturers

In recent years, the market for stationary PCs and their components has been gradually losing momentum, but this does not reduce the number of manufacturers. At the same time, we should not forget that some cunning companies simply stick their logo on the finished product. Of course, you shouldn’t trust such people. Fortunately, the power supply industry is quite conservative and there are a number of companies that you can trust unconditionally - these are Antec, be quiet!, ENERMAX and SeaSonic. Also worthy of your attention are major players in the component market, such as Corsair, FSP, ZALMAN, DeepCool, AeroCool, Chieftec, etc., which produce slightly cheaper options.

The best inexpensive power supplies costing up to 2,500 rubles.

3 GIGABYTE GZ-EBS50N-C3 500W

Thoughtful design
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 2,075 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.5

At first glance, the PSU from GIGABYTE inspires confidence. Solid black matte case, the hole for the wires is limited by a plastic ring, which prevents chafing. The wires, of course, are not braided, but in this price category you can’t expect anything else. The power supply can also be praised for the thin wire grille that covers the cooler - due to this, the airflow is excellent, and getting to the fan for cleaning is easy as pie. Everything is great, but there is one huge catch - in fact, the power supply produces a maximum of 350 W, as evidenced not only by the small text on the sticker, but also by real measurements.

Advantages:

• Not a bad design
• Easy access to the fan for cleaning
• Lowest cost

Flaws:

• The actual power does not match the declared one

2 FSP Group Q-Dion QD450

Excellent efficiency
Country: Taiwan
Average price: RUB 1,862.
Rating (2019): 4.6

The second line of the rating is occupied by an inexpensive model from Q-Dion. In fact, the model was developed by the well-known FSP Group, which indicates the good quality of the power supply. The appearance is as modest as possible - gray metal, non-removable wires without braiding - everything corresponds to the price tag. It is unlikely that you will be able to build a beautiful PC based on it. Note that there are two versions of this power supply: one does not have a shutdown button, which we will write down as a disadvantage, the other has it. Pleased with the slightly longer cable length than competitors. Independent tests have revealed the following:

Advantages:

• Excellent efficiency indicator. Even under maximum load, the power supply provides an efficiency of at least 80%
• Acceptable temperature level

Flaws:

• High noise level at loads above 150 W

What should the power supply power be? Unfortunately, not all people who assemble a PC on their own ask this question. It often happens that in pursuit of savings, buyers leave their old, low-power power supplies, which is why a newly assembled computer may either not start or turn off under high load - for example, in a dynamic scene in a video game. The second extreme is too much power. Of course, there will be no harm from a 1.5 kW power supply, but your wallet will obviously lose more weight than necessary.

So it turns out that you can’t do without mathematics here. So, the CPU consumes from 35 to 160 W depending on the model, the video card - 75 W via PCIe, 75 W via 6-PIN, 150 W via 8-PIN (if there are several connectors on the card - we add it up), motherboard - 35-65 W, each RAM module averages 5 W, HDD – maximum 15 W. The rest are “trifles”, like coolers, PCI-X devices, etc. consumes less than 5 W, and therefore can be ignored. Detailed information about consumption can be found in the technical characteristics of a particular part, but it will be much easier to use a power supply power calculator. Fortunately, such services are available both on specialized websites and on manufacturers’ pages.

1 AeroCool VX500 500W

The best ratio of price and quality
Country: Taiwan
Average price: RUB 1,729.
Rating (2019): 4.7

AeroCool is an excellent manufacturer of cooling systems, but their power supply also turned out to be very good. The power, according to users, is as advertised, the build quality is good, but there are several serious shortcomings. Firstly, there is a high noise level, which cannot be overcome without serious intervention in the internals. Secondly, the presence of only a 6-pin connector for a video card. Fortunately, the cost of the model is the lowest in our rating, and therefore, if silence is not important to you, you can safely buy it.

Advantages:

• Relatively high efficiency
• Good appearance
• Large area of ​​ventilation holes
• Outputs up to 38A at 12V1

Flaws:

• Noisy
• No 6+2-PIN connector

The best power supplies costing from 2500 to 5000 rubles

4 Chieftec GPE-700S

The most powerful power supply in its class
Country: China
Average price: 3388 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.5

What about the other aspects? The appearance is quite interesting - stampings and beveled corners add some flair - the device will look great on a gaming computer. The cables are multi-colored, most of them without braiding - a minus for them. And the length allows you to install the power supply only in MicroATX cases. We will also criticize the set of connectors - they are enough for a 500-horsepower unit, but not for a 700W model.

Advantages:

• Power 700 W

Flaws:

• Low efficiency - for loads over 600W the value drops to 76-78%
• High noise level - up to 54 dB at maximum load
• High temperatures - capacitors can heat up to 65 degrees

It is worth noting that the stated shortcomings will not interfere with everyday work due to the impossibility of achieving maximum power in most situations.

3 Deepcool DQ550ST 550W

Highest efficiency (80plus Gold certificate)
Country: China
Average price: 4491 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6

The third line of the rating is occupied by far from the simplest power supply. It has the least power among competitors at the highest cost. But the investment is more than justified. The reason is according to the 80plus Gold certificate. The appearance matches the price tag - the steel case is painted black, and a beautiful white fan with a diameter of 120mm is hidden behind the removable grille. Cables without braid, black, flat - these are convenient to hide to create the maximum "clean" look inside the PC. The set of cables is sufficient to assemble a modern gaming or office system.

Advantages:

• Efficiency of at least 87.5% throughout the entire power range. At a load of 250-350W, the figure rises to 90.1%. Best in class
• Low noise level - 35.5 dB under load
• Stable voltage

2 FSP Group ATX-600PNR

Best price/power ratio
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 3,040 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6

FSP group fully follows its “convictions” - to create the most inexpensive and simple-looking power supplies with powerful and high-quality filling. The case is practically no different from models half the price, and therefore we recommend that aesthetes who want to build a beautiful computer immediately turn their attention to another model. Also, you will not find any mention of the availability of 80plus certificates. The model shows even efficiency (83-85%) throughout the entire power range. But there is a nuance - with a power above 500 W, there is a chance that the power supply will simply turn off. But the voltage stabilization works great: on the 3.3 and 5 V lines the deviations are no more than 0.02 V, on 12 V - no more than 0.5 V.

The cooling system does not deserve such praise - the temperature of the components is quite low, but the rotation speed of the 120 mm fan varies in a very small range, and therefore the noise level is almost always above average - 45-46 dB

Advantages:

• High power for little money

Flaws:

• High noise level
• Can be turned off when the load is over 500 W

1 AeroCool KCAS-650M

Detachable cables. Quiet cooling system
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 4,030 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7

The leader is the power supply from Aerocool. The KCAS line belongs to the gaming line. The design of the device clearly hints at this - the strict features of the case and the discreet fan behind the stylish grill are combined with a juicy sticker on the side wall. The fan has a diameter of 140mm, which allows it to spin at a relatively low frequency, which means the noise level remains at an acceptable level, as confirmed by numerous reviews. The unit belongs to the class of partially modular: only the 24-pin ATX and 8-pin CPU cable come out of the case, everything else can be detached if necessary. All cables come in a protective braid. The cables themselves are multi-colored - immediately a minus for the aesthetics of the computer.

During testing, no obvious disadvantages were identified. The manufacturer claims compliance with the 80plus Bronze standard. The minimum efficiency was detected at powers of 150 and 550 W - 85-86%. In all other modes the indicator did not fall below 90%. Great!

Advantages:

• High efficiency
• Low noise level - 35 dB in normal mode
• "Even" voltage on all lines.

The best power supplies over 5,000 rubles

3 GIGABYTE G750H

Most affordable in class
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 6190 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6

Let's start the category of top-end power supplies with a relatively inexpensive 750 W model. The G750H has a very simple design - a black faceted body, an unobtrusive 140mm fan behind a removable grill. The only thing that dilutes the picture at least a little is the bright stickers on the side edges. The design is partially modular, the main cables are built into the housing, the rest can be disconnected if necessary. I'm glad that all the wires are made in the same color - black - this adds integrity to the assembly. Another option would be a fabric braid...

The power of the power supply corresponds to the nominal power. Efficiency across the entire power range is at an excellent level - 88-92%. The voltage stabilization system is also pleasing. As the 12V load increases, the line does not deviate from the nominal value by more than 0.1 V. The fan rotation speed in almost all modes is 800 rpm, which creates a noise of 40 dB.

Advantages:

• Nominal power corresponds to real power
• Excellent voltage stabilization
• High efficiency

Flaws:

• Somewhat noisy

2 Cooler Master V650 Modular 650W (RS650-AFBAG1)

The most reliable
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 8098 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7

It's difficult to find fault with anything in this power supply. Judging by the measurements, the efficiency fully complies with the 80 Plus Gold certificate. All necessary protection systems are also present: overvoltage, overload, short circuit. But all this is usual for this category. But a completely modular system with flat and very flexible cables cannot but rejoice. Due to their sufficient length and high flexibility, they can be easily hidden in special niches. The package contents were also impressive - a fabric bag, detailed instructions, a full set of cables and a dozen plastic ties for fastening.

Advantages:

• High efficiency and availability of all necessary protection systems
• Best current on all lines
• Fully modular design with soft wires
• Use of Japanese capacitors and 5 year warranty
• Low noise level

1 Thermaltake Toughpower DPS G RGB 650W

The best power supply for gamers
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 8190 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.9

Thermaltake knows that gamers want power and beauty. The leader of our rating satisfies both requirements. The efficiency indicator is simply excellent - below 90% it decreases only at a load of 1/10 of the maximum, while in all other cases it is at the level of 91-93%. At the same time, the system cannot be called noisy - at a load of up to 60%, the fan speed is below 600 rpm, making it almost impossible to hear it in the case.

Slightly less useful, but no less interesting features include RGB lighting and proprietary software. There are programs for PCs and smartphones on Android and iOS. It’s better not to even think about the latter, because the quality of execution is simply terrible, but the desktop application is quite functional and useful. Using it, you can change the color and brightness of the backlight, view the temperature of the power supply, current and voltage in selected sections, efficiency and power. It is also possible to set the cost of 1 kWh in dollars and see in real time how much money your PC is spending.

Advantages:

• High efficiency
• 4x 6+2-PIN PCI-E, 8x 4-PIN IDE and 8 SATA connectors
• Has RGB backlighting
• Useful application for PC
• Very nice and complete set

Recently, an updated version of the material was presented to your attention, summarizing the results of testing 500- and 550-watt power supplies. New models recently added to our selection have noticeably changed the balance of power in their price categories and influenced the selection results. In addition, prices were revised, which had changed significantly since the release of the first version of the review, and the cost of all devices was “linked” to the dollar exchange rate.

This material is built on the same principle: we will consider an expanded selection of /-watt models, adjust the distribution of devices by price groups and select the best power supplies under new conditions.

First, it’s worth briefly introducing the newcomers. “Six hundred” cars are few in the updated list, but they are certified according to the 80 Plus Bronze standard and belong to the most competitive middle class. This is EVGA 600B Bronze.

Among the 650-watt models, the middle class is represented by DeepCool Aurora DA650, Fractal Design Integra M 650W and XFX PRO650W. All of these units are also 80 Plus Bronze certified. Another power supply – Seasonic X-650 – belongs to the category of expensive devices. They are 80 Plus Gold certified.

Now it is worth reminding readers how such review materials are constructed. As in the previous ones, the selection of devices is carried out in two stages.

1. At the first stage (section “Preliminary selection”), the weakest (non-competitive) devices are eliminated. The following are sequentially excluded from the general list:

• Models that do not meet the real power requirements of our methodology;
• Models that do not provide the proper (defined by the ATX standard) quality of voltage stabilization;
• Models that do not meet noise requirements (really noisy units, not well suited for everyday use).

In conclusion, we note that in the material presented below there are a lot of references to our methodology for mass testing of power supplies. We strongly recommend that you read it before reading.

List of models

As noted above, the selection of tested blocks has been expanded to include eight models.

600-watt power supplies are represented by “bronze” EVGA 600B Bronze. 650-watt models – DeepCool Aurora DA, Fractal Design Integra M 650W and XFX PRO650W models, certified to the 80 Plus Bronze standard, as well as Seasonic X-650 models, certified to the 80 Plus Gold standard.

The total number of tested devices increased to fifty. Here is a list of them in alphabetical order. In all cases, links to detailed reviews are provided.

29 out of 50 units studied belong to the “600 W” category (this list also includes several power supplies with a power of 620-625 W), another 21 units belong to the “650 W” category (this includes the Enermax ERX630AWT model with a power of 630 W).

Preliminary selection

First stage: power characteristics

As before, at the first stage we weed out insufficiently powerful blocks that actually do not correspond to the declared category.

According to the requirements of our methodology, all 600-watt models must ensure normal operation of the system at a load of at least 500 W, and 650-watt models - at least 550 W. This is far from the most stringent condition - all high-quality power supplies easily exceed the “mandatory” level by 50-100 W. Only the “weakest” blocks with insufficient power of the 12 V line or anomalies in operation are eliminated. This is exactly what we need at the pre-selection stage.

Let's look at the table. It provides the power of the 12 V line declared by the manufacturer (the units are sorted according to this parameter) and data on the maximum load that the power supply handled during testing. The left column indicates compliance with the requirements of the methodology.

So, nine devices failed to cope with the task. Retired models can be divided into several groups.

Firstly, this is a power supply with insufficient power of the 12 V line - less than 500 W. All models are located at the very bottom of our table - these are Gigabyte ATX-G600K, Gigabyte ATX-G650K, High Power 650HPC and Power Rebel RB-S600-AQ3-0.

The second category is power supplies that failed the test due to premature overload protection (the system instantly turns off when the test starts). These include the FSP ATX-600PNR, as well as one of the newcomers, the DeepCool Aurora DA650.

Two more blocks dropped out of the race for other reasons. The Chieftec BPS-650S2 dropped out due to too significant voltage drop on the 12 V line (the system refused to work normally). The Thermaltake LT-600NL2NL set a kind of “anti-record” - it failed (and under a load of only 400 W) and was sent for repair under warranty.