A power supply is one of the most important components for a build, yet, it somehow is somehow overshadowed by the craze of improvement in performance through other components. It might not add up to your frames per second, and neither does it add to the aesthetics, but it is still as crucial as the other main components, in fact, it is the one that keeps the others up and running smoothly and achieving their full potential. Often, the importance of a Power supply is neglected thus causing power issues and even put the life of other components at risk, in the long run.
Power supply units (or PSUs) are important pieces of equipment for computer gaming. Unfortunately, these important components are often overlooked. Your gaming computer needs that extra power so it doesn’t overload – and for silent operation, it doesn’t need just any power supply unit.
One of the biggest factors to look for in a power supply unit, besides the obvious factor of wattage, is the amount of noise it makes. Nobody wants to be distracted by the loud humming of their gaming rig while they’re trying to stay in the zone.
A quiet power supply will save the day and prevent you from getting scolded or frustrated and let you enjoy your favorite game at ease. You really do not want any annoying sound around you while sleeping, you know that.
That is why I have listed out some of the most favorite brands of silent power suppliers that will make your gameplay better than ever. Following are the brands I have reviewed that make it easy for you to choose from.
Image | Product | Features | Price |
---|---|---|---|
Seasonic PRIME 600 Titanium SSR-600TL 600W Power Supply |
| Buy On Amazon | |
Be quiet! Straight Power 11 550W Power Supply |
| Buy On Amazon | |
EVGA Supernova 850 T2 Power Supply |
| Buy On Amazon | |
Corsair RMX Series (2021), RM650x, 650 Watt |
| Buy On Amazon |
1. Seasonic PRIME 600 Titanium SSR-600TL 600W Power Supply
This is the best passive PSU that money can get you today. It is super-efficient, its overall performance puts to shame many high-end active cooling PSUs and it can easily support a strong gaming system. The only downside is the stiff price, but you get what you pay for, with this product.
This latest 600-watt unit has achieved 80 Plus Titanium levels – which is at 96+% efficiency level at 50% load. The benefits of improving efficiency help the company increase the power delivery as there is less wasted power and heat to contend with.
The PRIME 600 Titanium Fanless utilizes fanless technology, which eliminates the fan noise completely, ensuring truly quiet operation. The unit not only is rated to be 80PLUS Titanium efficient, but it also has the highest power output on the fanless power supply market at the moment. The power supply is ideal for any situation that demands silence from the equipment.
The high-quality components inside and the innovative circuit design result in clean and stable power output. The fully modular cables allow for better cable management in the computer case.
Features
- 80 Plus Titanium: The PRIME Titanium Series achieves the highest level of 80 PLUS Titanium certification on the market with its 94 % efficiency at 50 % system load.
- Passive Cooling: Cooling fans inside the power supply are replaced by passive cooling based on heat dissipation.
- Less Power Consumption: Silent operation does not only provide a more pleasant working environment but also results in less power consumption and lower utility bills.
- Micro Tolerance Load Regulations: Seasonic’s latest design keeps the output voltage within a very tight range, achieving under 0.5 % load regulation. This impressive electrical performance and stability make this power supply an ideal choice for high-performance systems.
- 12 Year Warranty: They provide you a 12-year warranty for superior quality.
- Fully Modular: It uses only the cables you need to reduce clutter and improve airflow for a better-ventilated system.
- 600 Watt: Seasonic’s updated power supply lineup now includes the new PRIME Titanium Fanless model that can deliver up to 600W.
- High-Quality Components: The high-quality components inside and the innovative circuit design result in clean and stable power output.
2. Be quiet! Straight Power 11 550W Power Supply
The Straight Power 11 Platinum model with 550W max power is silent, achieves satisfactory overall performance, and uses quality parts. The performance difference with the previous model is small, though.
The Straight Power 11 series has 80 PLUS Gold certification, is equipped with the firm’s SilentWings 3 135mm fan, runs with all-Japanese capacitors rated to 105°C, has the usual DC-to-DC voltage topology, and, according to be quiet!, an ‘innovative, wire-free design on the DC side inside the PSU body for better cooling airflow, less signal disturbance and enhanced longevity of components.
The unassuming exterior is a hallmark of being quiet! supplies. As usual, the build quality is really solid. There’s plenty of ventilation opportunity around the chassis that measures the standard 150mm wide, 86mm high and 160mm deep, going up in capacity to 750W and above, pushes the depth out by only another 10mm, so it will likely fit into all mid-tower chassis.
Only the best components are used in Straight Power 11 450W. That is why they have built only high-quality Japanese capacitors into the PSU chassis. They are rated to 105°C, ensuring stability, reliability, and a long operating life
Features
- Silent Wings 3 Fan: The high-end Silent Wings 3 fan delivers best-of-class airflow yet produces very little noise. This is thanks to its unique, optimized fan blade design along with an advanced fluid-dynamic bearing and 6-pole fan motor that largely eliminates operational noise, has a super-long life, and minimal power consumption.
- Funnel Shaped Fan Opening: The fan inlet of the Straight Power 11 is funnel-shaped. It causes an increased throughput of air which benefits to higher cooling performance.
- Wire-Free Design Inside The PSU: The Straight Power 11 is wire-free on the DC side inside the PSU body. This results in improved cooling airflow and less signal disturbance, simply because of a lack of wiring, and ultimately pushes the lifetimes of the components to a maximum.
- Fully modular cable management: Thanks to fully modular cable management, cables that serve no purpose in the system are left out. For this reason, systems always appear very tidy. At the same time installation is performed much more conveniently.
- 80 Plus Gold Certified: Straight Power 11 is certified with 80 PLUS Gold efficiency, reaching up to 93%. This gives less power consumption and a cooler and quieter operation. Truly a benefit for any system.
- High-class Technologies: The use of LLC and Synchronous Rectifier (SR) provides very stable operation and enhanced voltage regulation. The PSU is equipped with DC-to-DC conversion for tight voltage regulation even under heavy cross-loading conditions. This ensures reliable operation with the next generation of processors and graphics cards.
3. EVGA Supernova 850 T2 Power Supply
The EVGA SuperNOVA 850 T2 is a super high-performance PSU with a price to match, which means its performance per dollar ratio is low. Nonetheless, this is the most efficient PSU we have tested so far and probably the best in the 850W category.
EVGA’s T2 series consists of Titanium-rated PSUs with capacities ranging from 750 to 1600W. Today, we’re looking at the 850W model, which tries to prove it is worth a premium compared to the company’s Platinum-rated 850W offering.
EVGA is constantly expanding its already over-populated PSU portfolio with new products. Its manufacturing partner, Super Flower, recently released some lower-capacity Titanium-rated models, and EVGA grasped the opportunity to quickly add three new units to its T2 family. They hit 750W, 850W, and 1kW capacity points; the company is also planning to introduce a 1.2kW model. In addition to the flagship 1600 T2 unit, this line-up will consist of five members once the 1.2kW version arrives, and we strongly believe it should include one or two more implementations under 750W.
In addition to 80 PLUS Titanium efficiency (which is currently the highest and toughest 80 PLUS certification), EVGA’s T2 units feature fully modular cabling, semi-passive operation, and a single +12V rail. The chassis design is shared between all of EVGA’s high-end power supplies; its fan grille is the most notable feature.
Features
- Graphic Cards: The SuperNOVA 850 T2 outputs enough power to feed two or even three high-end graphics cards, depending on your vendor of choice, and a potent host processor.
- Double Ball Bearing Fans: EVGA insists on using double-ball bearing fans instead of the fluid-dynamic bearing (FDB) fans, which offer a long lifetime and lower noise output.
- Cables: There are enough cables to efficiently deliver this unit’s maximum power. In total, you get two EPS connectors and six PCIe ones, all of which are made available at the same time.
- Single +12V Rail: A single +12V rail offers the best power output, rail stability, and compatibility with the latest hardware. EVGA SuperNOVA 850 T2 provides up to 70.8A respectively on a single rail.
- Fully Modular: A fully modular design allows every single cable to be removed from the power supply for ease of installation and removal. You can also leave out unnecessary cables to reduce case clutter and maximize case airflow.
- NVIDIA SLI Ready: Run multiple NVIDIA graphics cards for the ultimate gaming experience. The SuperNOVA T2 series gives you the power you need to drive these demanding systems and achieve the best overclocks.
- Titanium Rated Efficiency: 80 Plus Titanium certification ensures your power supply isn’t wasting power and turning said power into excess heat. Under a typical load, this power supply is 94% more efficient or higher.
- Whisper Silent: The EVGA ECO-mode feature ensures that each power supply stays completely silent during low to medium loads. The fan does not spin until necessary, allowing for completely silent operation!
4. Corsair RMX Series (2021), RM650x, 650 Watt
The RM650x is a high-performance PSU featuring great build quality and a very silent operation. It is offered at a fair price and the ten-year warranty is the cherry on top. Its major problem seems to be the harsh competition from EVGA’s similar priced offerings, especially the 650 P2 models.
Like all RMx models, the RM650x is 80 PLUS Gold-certified, features fully modular cabling, and is equipped with a medium-speed rifle bearing fan. Its platform is shared with the RMi family; Corsair simply leaves off the digital interface that allows the PSU to communicate through its Link application. On top of that, the RMi units use a higher-quality FDB fan.
The price difference between the RM650x and RM650i is $20 bucks, and we think that delta is justified given the higher-end unit’s extras. But if you’re on a tight budget and don’t care much about the digital interface, you should be fine with the RM650x.
The XPG Core Reactor with 650W max power can achieve higher overall performance than the two hottest picks in this category, the Corsair RM650x, and the Seasonic Focus Plus Gold, with similar capacity. It also has a silent operation, thanks to the relaxed fan profile, despite its compact dimensions. The build quality is high, and the provided warranty meets the competition’s offerings. Finally, the two EPS connectors provide compatibility with the high-end mainboard, but they should be installed on dedicated cables—all in all, an excellent power supply.
Features
- Heat Tolerant Components: This PSU delivers its full power continuously at up to 50 °C. That fact alone means the platform is equipped with heat-tolerant components, which is important since thermal energy is a major threat to stable power.
- Protection Features: Corsair provides a full set of protection features, including OCP for minor rails and over-temperature protection.
- 10 Year Warranty: Corsair is confident enough in the RM650x to arm it with a 10-year warranty.
- Fan: The medium-speed rifle bearing fan is controlled by a conservative profile, and a semi-passive mode keeps the fan inactive under light and moderate loads.
- Zero RPM Fan Mode: The superior energy efficiency of the RMx Series allows for the fan to remain off at low to medium loads for virtually silent operation. And when you’re pushing it hard, the thermally controlled fan adjusts its speed to provide optimal cooling with minimal noise.
- Fully modular cable set: Installation is faster since you can mount the power supply in the case first, and then attach only the cables you need.
What Makes a Good Power Supply?
Wattage
Wattage is obviously the most important part of a power supply, and the first decision you need to make is: how much do you need?
There are huge leaps in price the stronger you go, so you don’t want to get more than necessary. Plus, higher wattage PSUs will mean a higher electricity bill and tend to generate more heat and noise.
As a rough guide, 750W or less will definitely be enough for most people. For gamers, 850W should do just fine. Only the most extreme gamers and 3D renderers will need to go beyond this.
Ratings and protection
PSUs come with some great certifications, such as efficiency ratings (e.g. 80 Plus Gold) and noise ratings (e.g. LAMBDA-A+).
These instantly tell you the quality of the PSU.
Decent PSUs should also have decent protection features, such as OCP (Over-Current Protection) and SCP (Short Circuit Protection) to ensure everything runs safe and smooth.
The warranty is another big one. Because PSUs are so important and should last for the long term, they often come with long warranties. A long warranty also shows you the confidence the manufacturer has in its own product. They wouldn’t give out 10-year warranties if they weren’t sure of a quality, long-lasting build.
Compatibility
Finally, you’re going to want to make sure the PSU is actually compatible with your system, or you’re going to have major buyer’s remorse once you’ve unboxed it.
Check what connectors the PSU has, and make sure you’ve got the cables to match, with the right power supply.
Size is another big one to watch. Check the physical dimensions of the PSU to make sure it will fit inside your case. Just because you’ve got an ATX case doesn’t mean an ATX PSU is guaranteed to fit.
Which Power Supply Is Right For You?
It would be silly to say that this is an end-all-be-all list of power supplies. There are simply too many great options on the market to list and provide a brief overview for every single one.
However, by taking price-to-performance into consideration, this list gives you very solid options for each wattage range to help you make choosing a quality power supply for your next build that much easier.
Ultimately, you will need a quality power supply if you are planning on building a new gaming computer. Skimping on your power supply is never a good idea. Fortunately, if you stick to this list, you can’t go wrong.
To Sum Up
Without a strong PC power supply, your machine could lose power output or worse, turn into a burning hell. You‘re just going to end up trying to remove it, if not the rest of the internal components. So if you’re investing in the latest Desktop power source, you can get one with enough electricity for the whole city, but also RGB lighting to brighten up your gaming Machine.
Some of the PSU reviewed are pricey and more suitable for high-end rigs and there are also some cost-efficient options that will also treat you well and meet all your needs.
Having a quiet PC is everyone’s dream and with most quiet power supplies, you can achieve that as well.
FAQ’s