Best PC power supply 2018: top PSUs for your PC

We’re just going to come out and say it: there is nothing more important than picking up one of the best power supplies when you’re building a new PC. It might be tempting to save a bit of cash in order to spend a little bit more on one of the best graphics cards, but trust us – it’s not worth it. If you’re trying to build the best PC you can, you need to buy the best power supply that you can muster, as every single component in your computer is going to depend on it. If you get a cheap, shoddy power supply and it fails – you could be stuck with a very expensive paperweight.

Nobody wants to deal with the nightmare of a failing power supply – trust us. And the worst part is, a lot of the time you won’t even know your power supply is on its last legs until it’s too late. Sure, there are some symptoms as in your face as your PC flat out refusing to boot, but they could be as subtle as some lost power efficiency. Do yourself a favor, if you’re building a PC, go out and buy the best power supply you can muster. No one wants to have their house catch fire to save $20.

The good thing is that there are a ton of amazing power supplies that you can buy right now. There are budget power supplies that will power your PC with no frills, and high-powered units that can pump out the ludicrous power requirements that some of the best gaming PCs need to run. No matter what you’re looking for, you can be confident that you’ll find the best power supplies right here on this list – we’ve tested them all ourselves.

The Corsair RM750x tops our list for one simple reason: it’s the most well-rounded power supply on the market. On top of a 10 year warranty and an 80 Gold Plus efficiency rating, the Corsair has a fully modular cabling system. That means you only need to install the cables you need. Not having unused cables in your case is great for air-flow and for those who appreciate the value of good cable management.

When you’re trying to keep the price of your PC similar to that of a console, you don’t want to blow a lot of your budget on a power supply. That’s where more economical options like the EVGA 500 B1 come in handy. This PSU is essentialist without neglecting the needs of its audience. For less than $50 USD, you can expect 500 watts of power transmitted through several SATA cables and two PCIe slots. A three-year warranty is merely icing on the cake.

This product is only available in the US and UK at the time of this writing. Australian readers: check out a fine alternative in the Corsair RM750x

Power supply fans seem to run the loudest, and unlike case fans, they aren't quickly swappable. Fortunately the Straight Power 10 line up runs nice a quiet. Options range from 400w to 700w, and they're SLI and Crossfire certified. They also have a modular design, letting you use only the cables you absolutely need to use. It's also low-profile, freeing up even more space inside your computer tower.

Power supplies can occupy a ton of space in your desktop tower, however time has allowed for the units to get smaller while the power they emit only expands in magnitude. The Silverstone SX550 is almost half the size of other power supplies, so that you can better facilitate cables and airflow inside your computer. This makes it notably ideal for micro ATX and mini-ITX builds, though you could slide it into a mid- or full-size tower as well if you deem it necessary.

This is an absolute monster of a power supply. This is for the serious builder who plans on powering multiple graphics cards, cooling systems, and perhaps a small village in rural North Dakota. It has the highest possible 80 Plus Titanium efficiency rating, and is fully modular so you only need to add the cables required by your build. If you have the money to go big, this is the power supply to get.