The PSU controls the system’s power supply for optimal performance and protection, making it the heart of any gaming PC build.
You, therefore, want to pick the best PSU you can get for your money in terms of wattage, modular design, and energy efficiency rating.
Most gaming builds will need power ranging between 450 to 650 watts unless you use a powerful GPU like the recently released RTX 4090.
But picking an 850W PSU ensures it reliably supplies your system with all the power it needs while making room for future upgrades.
I have handpicked the best 850W PSUs for gaming for all budgets in this guide. It includes both ATX and SFX to cater to all builders.
Best 850W PSUs for Gaming
Corsair RM850x—Overall Best 850W PSU for Gaming Builds
The Corsair RM850x power supply is highly regarded by most builders. It’s fully modular and has an 80+ Gold efficiency rating.
My favorite feature about it is the zero RPM fan mode that offers near-silent operation at low to medium loads.
- Highly efficient.
- Good value for your money!
- Rated as very reliable by most builders.
- Much quieter fan.
- Looks great in all-black PC builds.
- Built with premium components.
- 10-year warranty.
- The cables are bundled and sleeved, which isn’t great for clean and sleek cable management.
The Corsair RM850x affords a high-efficiency operation for lower power consumption, less noise, and cooler temperatures.
EVGA 850 BQ—Best Budget 850W PSU for Gaming Builds
The EVGA 850 BQ is a semi-modular PSU that offers a great balance between price and performance.
It has an 80+ Bronze efficiency rating with a tried and tested efficiency of over 85% under typical loads.
- Great value for money.
- Great build quality for efficiency.
- Heavy-duty protections, including OVP, UVP, OCP, OPP, and SCP.
- Includes free power on self-tester.
- A quieter, intelligent auto-fan.
- The ball-bearing fan doesn’t offer silent operation.
The EVGA 850 BQ PSU is a perfect choice for builders who want great value for their money. But you can get the much better EVGA 850 BQ 80+ Gold for a few extra bucks.
Corsair RM850e—Best Value 850W PSU
The Corsair RM850e is a close cousin of the RM850x, and while the latter is quieter, the RM850e is great for clean and tidy cable management due to its flat cables.
It comes with Dual 8-Pin EPS-12V connectors, which offer wide compatibility with modern motherboards and GPUs.
- Reliable and efficient.
- Extremely fast wake-from-sleep times.
- All-black flat cables that are marked clearly.
- Zero RPM Fan Mode for near-silent operation at lower loads.
- Package includes black screws and black cable ties.
- The cable length could have been a little longer!
The Corsair RM850e has an 80+ Gold efficiency rating and is fully modular. It features a 120mm rifle-bearing fan for low-noise operations.
Cooler Master V850 SFX GOLD—Best 850W PSU for an SFF Build
The Cooler Master V850 SFX GOLD is a wonderful power supply for small form factor PC cases requiring an SFX PSU.
It has an 80 Plus Gold efficiency rating and is fully modular, giving you full control of cable management.
- Perfect for most SFF builds.
- Delivers top-notch performance and reliability.
- Uses a 92mm FDB fan that runs near-silent even at full load.
- SFX-to-ATX bracket included.
- 10-year warranty.
- It can be quite a pain to work the cable management.
Cooler Master has included an SFX-to-ATX bracket if you upgrade your case from SFF to mATX, ATX, or EATX.
Lian Li SP850—Best 850W PSU for an All-White SFF Build
I’ve seen most builders use the Cooler Master V850 SFX GOLD for their PC when building with Lian Li SFF cases.
But the Lian Li SP850 is an excellent SFX 850W PSU for all white PC builds. It also comes in black, and it’s rated 80+ Gold efficiency.
- Fully modular with color-matching braided cables for a sleek build.
- Designed with durable Japanese electrolytic capacitors.
- A premium exterior with brushed aluminum housing.
- Heavy-duty protections, including OVP, UVP, OCP, OPP, and SCP.
- The included 12VHPWR connector cable isn’t compatible with 40 series GPUs.
The Lian Li SP850 is the perfect SFX 850W PSU for builders who want the most stylish, high-performance SFF builds for showcasing.
Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 850W—Best 850W PSU with RGB Fan
The Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 850W is built with high-quality components for efficiency. It’s fully modular with an 80+ Gold efficiency rating.
It incorporates the Thermaltake Riing 14 RGB fan with five lighting modes and a built-in memory that lets you return to the previous color in every PC boot-up.
- One button RGB control.
- 5 RGB colors, including Solid Red, Blue, Green, White, and an LED off mode.
- Ultra-quiet smart Zero fan.
- Face-up fan placement for better cooling.
- Heavy duty protections for reliability.
- Low profile flat cables for clean cable management.
- The price is steep!
The Toughpower Grand RGB 850W features an ultra-quiet, smart Zero fan that ensures near-silent operation when the PSU working load is below 20%.
EVGA Supernova 850 G7—Best 850W PSU for Performance
Like the Corsair RM850x, the EVGA Supernova 850 G7 is a highly regarded ATX PSU. It has an 80+ Gold efficiency rating and is fully modular.
It features a Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) Fan and EVGA ECO Mode for near-silent operation and durability.
- Great build quality for efficiency.
- Built-in full suite of heavy-duty protections.
- It has a system load indicator LED bars.
- 100% Japanese capacitors.
- Eco Mode with FDB fan.
- Includes power on self-tester.
- 10 years warranty!
- The connector cables look and feel cheap.
The EVGA Supernova 850 G7 is an excellent choice for builders who want high-voltage stability. It’s premium and designed for reliability and extremely high efficiency!
Seasonic Focus GX-850—Best Value 850W PSU for a Low Noise Build
Seasonic is a reputable PSU manufacturer, and the Focus GX-850 doesn’t fall short! It has an 80+ Gold efficiency rating and is fully modular!
It comes in a compact 140mm design to fit all ATX systems and features Seasonic patented hybrid fan control for optimal balance between silence and cooling.
- Advanced three-mode fan control.
- Premium build for reliability and efficiency.
- A compact size to fit deep in any ATX case.
- High-quality components for stable performance.
- Fanless mode offers unsurpassed silent performance.
- 10 years warranty.
- Noisy operation under heavy loads.
The Seasonic Focus GX-850 lets you control the fan in three modes, fanless, silent, and cooling, for balance between near-silent and optimal cooling operation.
Be Quiet! Straight Power 11—Best 850W PSU for Quiet Operation
The Be Quiet! Straight Power 11 is a fully modular 850W PSU with an 80+ Gold efficiency rating.
It features a virtually inaudible Silent Wings 3 135mm fan that offers quiet operations without compromising performance.
- Funnel-shaped fan opening for high airflow intake.
- Premium Japanese capacitors for reliability.
- A fully modular design for clean cable management.
- The DC side is wire-free for enhanced cooling and durability.
- Four PCIe connectors for multi-GPU support.
- Advanced FDB fan that eliminates operational noise.
- The price is on the steep end!
The Be Quiet! Straight Power 11 will appeal to builders who want virtually inaudible operation with top-notch airflow for efficient performance.
Adata XPG Core Reactor—A Great Value 850W PSU for a High Efficient Operation
The Adata XPG Core Reactor is another highly rated 850W PSU in the gaming PC building world! It’s fully modular and has an 80+ Gold efficiency rating.
Like all the other power supply units on the list, it’s made with high-quality Japanese capacitors for reliability and efficient performance.
- Premium build quality for durability.
- 120mm FDB fan for near-silent operation.
- It features intelligent fan control.
- Offers a full suite of heavy-duty protections.
- 10 years warranty.
- Quite pricey!
The Adata XPG Core Reactor is power-efficient, premium-built for reliability, and fully modular for an easy cable management experience.
How to Choose the Best 850W PSUs for Gaming?
Usually, the first step when picking a power supply unit for your gaming build is calculating the estimated wattage of all the internal components.
The experienced builders do this by adding up the recommended system power requirement on the specs list on all the parts they have picked.
But if you’re a new builder, you can use a platform like PCPartPicker that gives you the estimated wattage as you add the parts, which is super handy!
I presume you already have the estimated total wattage that your PC will draw, and an 850W PSU is the ideal power supply unit to complete the build.
The good news is that there is a large supply of 850W PSUs from different manufacturers. To help you pick your ideal fit, consider the following factors:
ATX Vs SFX PSU
After deciding on the PSU wattage, the next thing you need to consider is the form factor. They’ll either come in the ATX or SFX form factor.
ATX power supply units are usually the industry standard for most builds. They are designed to fit the regular ATX, large EATX, and most mATX PC cases.
But SFX PSUs come in smaller designs to fit in small form factor (SFF) cases because they don’t have the space needed to fit a full-size ATX PSU.
You’re more likely going to need an ATX power supply. That’s unless the case manufacturer specifically states you use an SFX one.
Modular Design
A non-modular PSU has all the cables permanently attached, while a fully modular design has no cables attached.
Semi-modular PSUs have only the most important cables attached, with room to add extra cables as needed.
A fully modular power supply unit lets you use only the cable you need for simple and clean cable management.
It’s almost impossible to find a non-modular 850W PSU. But some manufacturers design semi-modular ones which are affordably priced.
I recommend getting a fully modular PSU since it offers total control of your build’s cable management.
Efficiency Rating
Once you have decided on the form factor and modular design, the next thing you need to consider is the efficiency rating you can afford.
Almost all PSU manufacturers design PSUs with the 80 Plus efficiency rating certification. The “80 Plus” rating system is the industry standard!
To be 80 Plus certified means that the PSU has at least 80% efficiency at three load levels of 20, 50, and 100 percent loading.
Simply put, an 850W 80 Plus PSU will draw a maximum of 1,062.5W at 100% load, which means less wattage is wasted as heat in the conversion process, saving your energy bill.
The 80 Plus efficiency rating has since expanded in recent years to categorize different PSUs from the least to the most efficient.
These categorizations are denoted by five ratings, including Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Titanium, with Bronze being the least efficient 80 Plus rating.
The 80 Plus Gold efficiency rating is usually the sweet spot for most gaming PC builds. Anything above this is overkill and quite expensive!
ATX 3.0 Compatible
ATX 3.0 is the new specification standard for PSUs. This new design adds a new PCIe 5.0 connector with 12 + 4 pins alongside the usual 6 or 8-pin connection.
The new connector is meant to make the power supply PCIe 5.0 ready. They have high power delivery for GPUs with up to 600W of power.
Since the new era GPUs require more power—especially the RTX 4000 series, an ATX 3.0 PSU ensures your build is future-proofed for power-hungry GPUs.
Color
Lastly, you will also want to consider the color of your 850W PSU. Usually, most PSUs are available in black!
But some manufacturers also design them in white colors to cater to builders looking to build sleek, all-white gaming PCs.
Once you have narrowed your search through these factors, you can pick your ideal PSU, depending on your budget.
