PSU Tier List rev. 17.0g
https://cultists.network/140/psu-tier-list/
PSU Tier List rev. 17.0g
Revision 17.0g
Last Update: 2023-04-11
Legend
Gold highlight - Best units in the tier, proven by professional reviews. Does not require quiet operation for tiers B/C.
Blue highlight - Quiet operation under moderate load
Hyphen / Dash - Series / lineups separator
Slash - Models (inside one series) separator
Underlined - Opens an card with detailed information and links to Amazon
Parenthesis / Round brackets - Model variations (which belong to the same position)
Square brackets - Additional description (wattage range, part of SKU code, label / casing color, release year)
Numbers in red colored square brackets - Footnotes, see descriptions at the end of respective tiers
Low priority subtiers - Units with minor issues (see footnotes). Not recommended for purchase over any normal priority units.
Speculative position subtiers - For units positioned based on very limited info, without proper reviews. Not recommended for purchase over any normal priority units or even some of the better units from a lower tier.
Multi-rail units - Offer better protection against inadvertent cable overload (which is especially relevant for high-capacity units) but can be problematic when used with very high transient power draw GPUs. Pay attention to rails configuration in the PSU manual to balance out the load.
Tiering Methodology
Tier requirements:
Tier A - OTP should be tested (if not tested - detier to SP subtier), working and set below 200°C (if it's set higher - detier to LP subtier), required to be based on ZVS primary topology (LLC or phase shift resonant), have ripple below 50mV under all load situations up-to 110% overload, <=3% transient response on 12V rail, <=3% 12v voltage deviation from nominal. Fan with =>30k hours MTBF at 40°C (generally non-plain-sleeve bearing) or be fanless. All capacitors rated for 105°C. Minimum 18AWG gauge wires for hot 12V leads on GPU/EPS/ATX cables, on pig-tail cables - at least to the first connector, 20AWG to the second or for ground leads. ATX 3.0 subsection requires an Intel DB entry or third party power excustion tests.
Tier B and above - required to have OTP (just claimed is enough, but if it's tested and the unit did not survive - detier to LP subtier), to have OPP tested (detier to tier C if failed), be based on ACRF or ZVS primary, DC-DC secondary topology, and have APFC with full VAC input range (100-230V); voltage regulation and ripple should be in spec under 110% overload; 12V ripple below 100mV under 110% overload; should be rated for continuous operation at minimum 40°C ambient (not just 'operating conditions' but unless proven to not qualify by testing, only claimed operating conditions without continous operation remark is enough)
Tier C and above - required to have independent regulation on all rails and/or <5% min to max voltage regulation on all rails under extreme crossloads and high combined load; ripple on 12V rail should be below 100mV under extreme crossload and high combined load situations and up-to 100% load.
Tier D and above - required to have OPP claimed; requires OCP on minor rails tested, SCP on all rails tested, UVP, OVP on all rails claimed (or a teardown showing that supervisor IC supports that), ripple within specs, voltage regulation in specs on all rails under moderate crossloads and 100% load.
Tier E - units expected to be qualifying for no higher than tier D but without reviews or reliable information on, or otherwise having characteristics or issues keeping them from being placed on the same tier as better tier D units, or otherwise, units there are too little information on to be reliably tiered
Tier F - heavily malfunctioning protections, QC issues or design flaws leading to widespread malfunctions / DoAs
There's one allowed test point out of tier requirements for ripple, load regulation or transient response without detiering.
Normal priority subtier - direct reviews with transient response and protection tests (OCP, OPP, plus OTP for tier A), and sufficient for tier B and lower - only a teardown confirming highly similiar component choices
Low priority subtiers - direct reviews without protection tests (for tier B and lower) or due to minor issues with the tests
Speculative position subtiers - units with barely sufficient info on. Meaning at least primary and secondary topology is known. But tier A requries either a full teardown to confirm high similiarity with the unit from normal priority or a Cybenetics report available.
Highlight colors definition:
Gold - Best units in the tier, requirements (in addition to the requirements for tiers themselves) :
for tier A : <=1.5% 12V peak to peak, <=2% transient response on 12V rail, <=3% deviation from nominal 5V rail, <=30mV max ripple on the 12v rail(s) including 110% load tests, transient response within ATX spec on 5V rail. One exclusion allowed for test data point outside of required range. Minimum 18AWG cable gauge for hot 12V leads. Includes requirements for blue color (quiet operation).
Includes requirements for blue color (quiet operation).
for tiers C & B : mostly based on review availability, objective quality and performance compared to competition in the same tier to highlight the most important models in respective price ranges
Blue - Quiet operation, meaning sub 30 dBa (35 dBa for SFX units) under moderate load i.e :
- 300W at 12V rail for <=500W units
- 400W for 550-700W units
- 500W for =>750W units (30-50W load on minor rails).
Additionally, for tier A units, sub 35 dBa (45 dBa for SFX units) under 70% load for =>850W units (30-50W load on minor rails), and sub 20 dBa under low load (idle), i.e 100W at 12V rail and 15-20W load on minor rails. Stock or after manual configuration using software or fan mode switch button.
Colors priority : Gold > Blue
See spreadsheet for changelog, methodology, detailed description of colors, review sources and other info.
Check ‘Units index’ and ‘Changelog’ tabs in the spreadsheet or ask in our Discord if you don’t see some model here.
– Tier A • High-end
( ATX 3.0 compatible ) [15][16]
- ASUS | ROG Loki Platinum [SFX-L]
- be quiet! | Dark Power 13 [5]
- Corsair | RMe 1000W [3] – RMx SHIFT
- FSP | Hydro Ti Pro
- NZXT | C Gold 1200W
- Montech | Titan Gold
- MSI | MEG Ai-P
- Silverstone | HELA-R [HA-R] 1200W
- Super Flower | Leadex VII Gold
- Thermaltake | Toughpower : GF3 <=1200W & 1350W / SFX 1000W [SFX-L]
( multi/single-rail switchable )
- be quiet! | Dark Power 12 [non-Pro] – Dark Power Pro 11 / Pro 12
- Cooler Master | V Platinum 2019 [MPZ] [11]
- Corsair | AX1600i [9] – HX Platinum – HXi 2022 [14]
( multi-rail only ) [13]
- be quiet! | Straight Power 11 Gold / Platinum – Pure Power 11 FM 850W
- Bitfenix | Formula Gold [7] – Whisper M [7]
- Enermax | Revolution D.F [non-2]
( single-rail )
- ADATA / XPG | Core Reactor [11] – Cybercore [11]
- Antec | Earthwatts [EA] Gold Pro [7y warranty] [4] / Gold Pro White – High Current Gamer [HCG] Gold / Extreme
- ASUS | ROG Strix [non-Aura] [11] – ROG THOR 850W [non-II] [11]
- Chieftec / Chieftronic | Powerplay Gold [11] / Platinum
- Cooler Master | V Gold V2 – XG Platinum – XG Plus Platinum – M2000
- Corsair | RMx 2018 – RMx 2021 – RM 2019 – RM 2021 – RMe 750/850W [14] – SF Gold / Platinum [SFX] – SF-L [SFX-L][14] – TXm Gold 2017 [circular grille] / 2021 [triangular grille]
- Cougar | Polar
- Deepcool | PQ-M
- EVGA | Supernova : G2(L) [11] / G3 / G6 (<=750W/\=>850W) / G7 / P2 [11] / P6 (<=750W/\=>850W) / T2 [11]
- Fractal Design | ION Gold / SFX Gold [SFX-L] – ION+ Platinum / ION+ 2 Platinum
- FSP / Fortron / Quanhan | Hydro G Pro / PT / PTM / PTM Pro =>850W
- Kolink / Casecom | Continuum C-PL 1500w [v1, C-PL]
- MSI | MPG : A1000G [non-PCIE5] / A-GF [5][11]
- Phanteks | AMP (V2) (White) – Revolt Pro
- Seasonic / Haiyun | Focus : GM / GX (White) / PX / SGX 2019 [SFX-L] – Prime [8] : GX <=750W / PX <=750W & 1000/1300W – TX 1300/1600W– Connect
- Silverstone | DA Gold 1650W – Nightjar SXL [SFX-L] – HELA-R [HA-R] 850W / HELA 2050W
- Super Flower / Zhenhua | Leadex : Gold III (ARGB / Pro) / Platinum SE [11] <=1600W / Titanium [11]
- Thermaltake | Toughpower : GF1 [AH3FCG] / GF1 Snow / GF1 ARGB / PF1 ARGB / TF1 – Toughpower Grand RGB Platinum – Toughpower iRGB Plus Platinum – Toughpower DPS G RGB Titanium <=1250W
( low priority units )
- Aerocool | Project 7 / P7 [1]
- ASUS | ROG THOR 1200W [non-II] [1][8][11]
- Antec | Signature Platinum [1][8]/ Titanium [1][8]
- Cooler Master | V SFX Gold [SFX]
- Corsair | HXi 2013 [10] – RMi [10]
- Cougar | GX-F
- Enermax | MaxTytan [12] – Platimax [non-D.F] [10] (1200/1350W)
- NZXT | C Gold V1 [10] [2020, 120mm fan] – E [10]
- Phanteks | Revolt X [1][8]
- Seasonic / Haiyun | Prime [1][8] : GX =>850W / PX 850/1000W / TX <=1000W / Fanless (PX/TX)
- Silverstone | SX-LPT 1000W [2] – Nightjar ATX Titanium [1][8]
- Super Flower | Leadex : Platinum [non-SE] [10] / V (Pro) Platinum [6]
( speculative position )
- ADATA / XPG | Core Shift 1000W – Cybercore II [14]
- ASUS | ROG Strix AURA [14] – ROG THOR II Platinum / Titanium
- be quiet! | Pure Power 12M [13][14]
- Cougar | LLC – Polar X2 [14]
- Deepcool | PX-G [14] / PX-P [14]
- Great Wall / Hunters | Titan TF Platinum [SFX]
- FSP | Hydro : G Pro ATX 3.0 [14] / GT Pro / GT Pro ATX 3.0 [14] / PTM X Pro / PTM Pro ATX 3.0 [14]
- LDLC / Fox Spirit | US-G / GT-P
- MSI | MPG A-G PCIE5 [14]
- NZXT | C Gold V2 <=1000W [2022, 140mm fan] – H1 V1 early revision case PSU [SFX-L] [NP-S-M]
- Seasonic / Haiyun | Prime SYNCRO – Vertex [14]
- Silverstone | Extreme-R Platinum 850W [SFX][14] – HELA-R [HA-R] 1300W [14] – SX-PT 750 – SX-R 1000W [SFX-L][14]
- Super Flower | Leadex : V (Pro) Gold [6]
- Thermaltake | Toughpower : iRGB Plus (Gold/Titanium)
[1] Units experiencing tripping issues with high transient power draw GPUs like AMD Vega, 6900 XT and Nvidia RTX3080/3090. Generally fixed in newer batches.
[2] OTP is set too high or potentially non-functioning, unit survived the test, source : Aris (HWBusters / TPU / THW) reviews.
[3] An ATX 3.0 PSU which doesn’t include a 12VHPWR cable out of the box (yet). Buy separately as needed.
[4] Antec EA Pro Gold has versions for Chinese market made by FSP on completely different, worse, group-regulated platform (tier E). Source #1, #2.
[5] Non-functioning multi-rail OCP essentially making it a single-rail PSU.
[6] Leadex V series has 1) OCP set to 100.8% of nominal capacity, i.e lacking the headroom for transients when most high-end PSUs have it set in the range of 120-140%. So for example a 1kW version of it more like 750-850W in comparison with competition. 2) 20AWG cables past the first PCIe connector, which is against ATX spec.
[7] Bitfenix Whisper M and Formula Gold 450/550W units have just one ‘GPU’ rail with 30A OCP limit, but it is possible to plug PCIe cable into the same socket as for EPS rail, thus using two rails if the unit shuts down with high power draw GPUs.
[8] Seasonic PRIME based units experience shutdowns with RTX3080/3090 (and possibly RX6900 XT) GPUs. The cause is not the OCP tripping but a PSU design flaw as evident by the PSU not latching off on shutdown and 1000W+ models being affected too. Doesn’t manifest in 100% cases as it’s also dependent on motherboard model and GPU OC. Seasonic provides a replacement 24-pin ATX cable to fix this via support. Appears to be fixed post 2021 although there’s no official confirmation from Seasonic.
[9] Due to regional regulations (China and Australia) there’s version of AX1600i with C14 receptacle instead of C20, with no mention of sub 200V input voltage operation on the label. The PSU itself is still identical to the worldwide version otherwise, and as such can be used under full 100-240V input voltage range but maximum operating wattage under low input mains voltage is limited by the lower current and temperature rating of C14 socket. It’s not recommended to use such units at higher than 1.3kW load under 120V input voltage or lower due to the risk of melting the receptacle.
[10] Out of production, any listings you would encounter today would be either used, refurbished or at the very least being long in storage. Buy at your discretion.
[11] Ball bearing fan, possibly not silent even at very low RPMs.
[12] PCIe and EPS modular sockets aren’t electrically compatible despite they are mechanically, pay attention, misconnecting might result in the damage to PC.
[13] Be aware that strictly multi-rail units (without a possibility to switch to single-rail mode) can trip with very high power draw GPUs (>400W) and/or CPUs (unlocked Intel i7/i9) due to lower OCP tripping point. Read the manual and balance out the load if that happens.
[14] Potential ATX 3.0 units either not tested for compatibility (no Aris review), not received the certification (no entry in Intel’s DB), having problems with passing ATX 3.0 tests (failed Aris review), or without proper reviews in the first place to put them in the normal priority subtier.
[15] Most good 1-1.2kW+ non-ATX 3.0 PSUs would work with GPUs utilizing ATX 3.0 transient power draw spec due to enough headroom for transients.
[16] The PSU-side 12VHPWR receptacle is not a requirement for an ATX 3.0 PSU. The additional 4-pin part of it is passive, with no ‘communication’, they’re simply shorted to ground which can be made in-cable. And since a single 8-pin PCIe cable can withstand ~342W the worst case scenario (per-pin current capacity is the same as with 12VHPWR), such cable with 2×8-pin connectors PSU-side is even safer than one with 12VHPWR on both ends due to more thermal headroom. Sources : [1], [2].
– Tier B • Mid-range
- 1st Player | Steampunk Gold [SP] – SFX Platinum 750W [SFX]
- Abkoncore | CR Platinum – Tenergy Gold X50W
- Andyson | PX – TX
- Antec | Neo Eco Gold [semi-modular, yellow-label, circular fan grille] [1]
- be quiet! | Pure Power : 11 (CM) =>400W [1] / 11 FM <=750W – SFX-L Power [SFX-L]
- Chieftec | Polaris [non-Pro] – Powerup GPX-FC <=650W [5] – SFX-GD-C – Compact CSN-C [SFX]
- Cooler Master | MWE Gold V2 [MPE-ACAAG / MPE-AFAAG] – MWE Bronze V2 full-range input [MPE-ACAAB] – MWE V2 White full-range input [MPE-ACAAW] – V SFX Platinum [SFX-L] 1100W
- Corsair | CX-F RGB
- Cougar | GEX
- Deepcool | DQ-M-V2L <=750W [5]
- Enermax | Platimax DF <=600W
- EVGA | Supernova : B5 / G+ / G5 / GD 2017 / GM [SFX] / GT <=1000W / =>GQ 850W / GA [1]
- FSP / Fortron / Quanhan | Aurum : PT / Pro – Hydro : G / X
- Gamdias | Cyclops X1
- Gigabyte | Aorus AP-GM – AP-PM – UD-GM
- Great Wall / Hunters | Gaming GX – E Gold (Frozen)
- High Power | Astro GD-F V2 HPM – Performance GD [HP1-J-GD-F12S] – Super GD+
- InWin | P – Premium Basic / PB
- Kolink / Casecom | Continuum C-PL 850W [v1, C-PL] – Enclave G-FM
- LC Power | GP4 V2.4 – LC Platinum v2.31 550/750W / v2.4 1000/1200W
- Lian Li | PE [SFX-L] – SP 750 [SFX]
- Micronics | Astro GD
- Montech | Century ATX <=650W [5] / Century Mini [SFX]
- Raidmax | Monster RX-AT
- Rosewill | Photon <=750W & 1350W
- Segotep / Inaza / Colorful | GP-P <=700w – GP-T <=700w – ZP500P-SG
- Sharkoon | Silentstorm Cool Zero / SFX Gold [SFX-L]
- Silverstone | DA Gold 550/650W [5] – Strider : Gold S (V1/V2) / Titanium <=800W / Platinum PTS – SX-G 500/650/700W [SFX] – SX-PT 700W [SFX] – Essential Gold ET-G / ET-HG – SX-LG [SFX] – SX-LTI [SFX-L] – VIVA Gold
- Thermaltake | Toughpower : GF3 1650W / GF2 / PF1 [non-ARGB] – Toughpower Grand RGB Gold (Sync edition)
- Zalman | Acrux Platinum
( low priority units )
- Cooler Master | V SFX Platinum 1300W [SFX-L][3]
- Enermax | Platimax [non-D.F] [4] (<=1000W/=>1500W)
- Lian Li | SP850 [SFX][7]
- Seasonic | Focus SPX 2021 [SFX][7]
( speculative position )
- 1st Player | Armour [AR] – SFX Gold 650W [SFX]
- ADATA / XPG | Core Reactor II – Core Shift 650/750W [5] – Fusion
- Antec | Neo Eco Gold green-label [non-‘Zen’] / ‘Modular’ [fully-modular, NE-G M] / Platinum
- ASUS | TUF Bronze / Gold
- Chieftec | Polaris Pro
- Cooler Master | G Gold – GX Gold – GX Gold ATX 3.0 (White) – GX Bronze 2020 [MPX] – GX III – MWE Gold V2 ATX 3.0 (White) – V Gold i-multi
- Cougar | Auric – GEC – GES – GEM
- Deepcool | PM-D – DQ-M-V3L
- Enermax | Revolution : ATX 3.0 / DF 2 / Revolution SFX [SFX]
- EVGA | Supernova P3 / P5 / PQ / GD R3 / GD V / GE / GT 1300W
- FSP / Fortron / Quanhan | Cannon – Dagger Pro (PCIe 5) – Hydro S / GSM Pro / PTM Pro <=750W / PTM Plus
- Galaxy | HOF GH 1300
- Gigabyte | UD-GM PG5
- Great Wall / Hunters | G-series Gold – Titan TF Bronze [SFX]
- Green | High Performance Plus [HP PLUS] / EVO – Overclocking DG [OCDG] / EVO [OCPT] – UK Plus
- High Power | Astro GD-F v2 [HPJ] =>1050W / PT [HPV] 1200W – Super GD [non-plus]
- Kolink / Casecom | Continuum V2 1000/1200W [C-PL-B]
- KRUX | Generator 650/750W [5]
- InWin | Classic Basic CB – PF – P II
- LC Power | Super Silent Modular V2.31
- Maingear | Ignition
- Micronics | Compact SFX-L PT [SFX-L] – Classic II Gold
- NZXT / Enjie | H1 V1 late revision case PSU [SFX-L] [NP-S-M-HP, SFX-L] – H1 V2 case PSU [SFX]
- Phanteks | AMP GH – Revolt SFX Gold & Platinum
- Raidmax | Genesis
- Razer | Katana Chroma
- Rosewill | SMG
- SAMA | Black Diamond – XF
- Seasonic / Haiyun | Core GC / GM / GX – B12 BC – Focus SGX 2021 [SFX] – G12 GC
- Segotep / Inaza Colorful | KL Gold / Platinum – GM / SG-G PCIE5 – GP-G v2 [6]
- Silverstone | DA Gold 1000W – DA-R Gold 1000W – ET-MG – Strider Gold S [F-GS] v3 – SFX SX-G 750W [SFX]
- Super Flower | Leadex III (Super) Bronze PRO / VI Platinum PRO – Legion HX / GX Pro
- Thermaltake | Toughpower GF1 OEM [AH3VSG-V] – GF3 ARGB – GF (Plus) [5] 750W – GF A3 – PF3
- Vetroo | GV1000
- Vinga | VPS-GV2
- Xigmatek | Minotaur – Hera Gold – XFP
- Xilence | SQ
- Zalman | Watttera [EBTII]
[1] Units experiencing tripping issues with high transient power draw GPUs like AMD Vega, 6900 XT and NVidia RTX3080 / 3080 Ti / 3090. Generally fixed in newer batches.
[2] OEM oriented unit under a similar name, was accidentally sent out by Amazon to some consumers. Made by Highpower instead of CWT.
[3] Units with 230V only input voltage range or full-range units not reaching full capacity under low input voltage.
[4] Out of production, any listings you would encounter today would either be used, refurbished or at the very least being long in storage. Buy at your discretion.
[5] High wattage (=>750W) CWT GPX based units have problems with failing burn-in test under sub 100VAC input, don’t use in countries with sub 115VAC mains (JonnyGURU).
[6] Two versions of Segotep GP-G exist, older v1 version is non-LLC resonant.
[7] OTP is set too high or potentially non-functioning, unit did not survive the test, source : Aris (HWBusters / TPU / THW) reviews.
– Tier C • Low-end
- Abkoncore | Tenergy Bronze
- ADATA | XPG Pylon
- Andyson | H6 / GX – BX
- Antec | Earthwatts [EA] Gold EVO
- be quiet! | System Power : U9 =>400W / B9 =>400W / 10 Gold [850W]
- Bitfenix | Formula Bronze
- Chieftec | Core BBS – PowerUp GPX-FC =>750W [2] – Proton BDF-S / BDF-C
- Cooler Master | MWE V1 Bronze [MPX] =>600W – Masterwatt (TUF)
- Corsair | CX-M 2021 – CV 650/750W
- Cougar | CMD – CMX v3 – GX v3 – GX-S – LX
- Deepcool | DQ-ST – PK-D
- Enermax | Revobron
- EVGA | Supernova B2 – GD 2019 -V* – GQ <=750W – BQ – B 700W
- FSP / Fortron / Quanhan | Hydro GE / Hydro Pro
- Gamdias | Astrape P1 – Kratos P1 [non-A]
- Gigabyte | G750H – P650B
- G.Skill | MB-G [2]
- InWin | A1 Plus – Classic C
- Kolink / Casecom | Continuum 1050/1200W [v1, C-PL] – Classic KL-v2
- Montech | Gamma (II) – Alpha (X)
- MSI | MAG A-BN
- NZXT | C Bronze
- PC Power & Cooling | Silencer MK III =>750W / Platinum 1050/1200W [FPS-A5M00]
- PC Cooler | GI-P
- Powerspec | PS-GSM / PS-GFM – PSX-GFM
- Rosewill | Capstone
- Sharkoon | WPM Gold Zero – Silentstorm Icewind
- SilentiumPC / Endorfy | Vero L3 / M3
- Silverstone | Strider Bronze ST-SF [SFX] / Gold ST-SF-G [SFX] – SX-LPT 700 [SFX]
- Super Flower | Leadex Silver [5]
- Thermaltake | Smart BM2 / DPS G Gold X50W / G / Gold X00W / Pro RGB / M =>750W / SP-P 750W – Toughpower DPS G RGB Gold / GX1 (RGB)
- Vinga | VPS Gold / Platinum
- Xigmatek | Cerberus (III) S =>550W – Centauro
( low priority units )
- be quiet! | System Power : 9 =>400W [5] / CM [5] / 10 Bronze [<=750W]
- Cooler Master | MWE V2 White 230V Only [MPE-ACABW] / V2 Bronze 230V Only [MPE-ACABW-B]
- Deepcool | DQ-M-V2L 850W [2]
- Gigabyte | P-GM 1000W [7]
- Montech | Century ATX 850W [2]
- Seasonic / Haiyun | M12II (EVO) 650/750/850W [6]
- Thermaltake | Toughpower GF [no numbers] =>750W [2] / SFX 750/850 [SFX][8]
( speculative position )
- 1st Player | DK Premium
- ADATA / XPG | Core Shift 850W [2]
- ADX / Curry | Power W Gold
- Aerocool | Aero Bronze – KCAS M 850 / Plus / G(M)
- Antec | Atom G [purple-label] – High Current Gamer [HCG] Bronze 2018 – Neo Eco Gold Zen
- Apevia | Prestige
- Apexgaming | SFX-M Gold
- AZZA / QBOX | PSAZ Gold
- Chieftec | SteelPower
- Cougar | BXM – VTE X2 – GEC [5]
- Deepcool | DA-N 500/600 – PF =>750W
- Enermax | Marblebron
- EVGA | BA – BR – BP – GD R1 – Supernova M1 1300W
- Fractal Design | Anode Bronze SFX [SFX] / ATX
- FSP / Fortron / Quanhan | HEXA Plus Pro / 85+ – Hydro : GD / GSM Lite PRO / MX / K (Pro) / (M) Pro Bronze – Hyper M85+ / 80+ Pro – HV Pro – MS 600W [SFX] – Raider II – SFX Pro [SFX]
- Gamdias | Kratos P1A
- Great Wall / Hunters | Fire
- Green | ESD – EUD – HED – UK
- High Power | Performance Pro
- Hyte | Revolt 3 case PSU [SFX-L] [iBuyPower SFXL-A700GD-IBP]
- iForGame | GX Panda / Kirin
- InWin | Compact [CS] [SFX] – F1
- Kolink / Casecom | Modular KL-M
- KRUX | Generator 850W [2]
- Micronics | Astro G – Compact SFX GD [SFX] – Classic II Bronze / II Full Change – Cyclone III – Performance II PV – Zero
- nFortec | Vanth [2]
- PC Cooler | GI-K
- Powerspec | PS-BSM 750W
- Raidmax | Cobra AE Gold =>850 / AE-B / AE-M – Hive S FM – Vortex Gold AE-V – Vampire GH
- Rosewill | Glacier 850/1000W – Photon 850/1000/1200W – PMG – RBR-MS – Tachyon =>850W – Lepton – Valens
- Segotep / Inaza / Colorful | GF-SFX [SFX] – GP-G v1 [4]
- Silverstone | DA Gold 750/850W [2] – Extreme Bronze [SFX] – SFX SX-B [SFX] / SX-G 600W [SFX] – VIVA Bronze
- Thermaltake | Toughpower GX2 / GF (Plus)
- Xigmatek | Hydra M – Shogun G
- Xilence | Performance A+ X30w [5] / A+ III X50W [5] / X [5]
- Zalman | GigaMax – WattGiga – GVM =>850W – TX – LX 700W
[2] High wattage (=>750W) CWT GPX based units have problems with failing burn-in test under sub 100VAC input, don’t use in countries with sub 115VAC mains (JonnyGURU).
[4] Two versions of Segotep GP-G exist, older v1 version is non-LLC resonant.
[5] Units with 230V only input voltage range
[6] Out of production, any listings you would encounter today would either be used, refurbished or at the very least being long in storage. Buy at your discretion.
[7] Early models\wattages of Gigabyte P-GM had massive QC issues, see footnote for tier F entry. 1000W SKU is more recent and assumed to be fixed from the start, although there are no reviews to confirm that so buy at your discretion.
[8] Malfunctioning protections, source.
– Tier D • Only for iGPU builds
- Corsair | CV <=550W
- Gigabyte | P450/550B
( low priority units )
- be quiet! | Pure Power 11 <=350W – SFX Power [SFX] / SFX Power 2 [SFX]
- EVGA | BT
– Tier E • Avoid
- 1st Player | Black Sir [BS] – Black Widow – DK (non-modular / fully-modular) [non-‘Premium’] – FK – PRO
- Abko / Suitmaster | Mighty
- ADATA / XPG | Probe [XPG Starker case PSU]
- AZZA / QBOX | PSAZ Bronze (ARGB)
- Aerocool | Aero White – KCAS (M) Bronze (<=800W,1000W) – Strike-X <=600W
- Antec | Ares AP – Atom / B [yellow label] / B [lime label] – VP Plus / VP-P (Plus) – Cuprum Strike [CSK] – Earthwatts [EA] Gold Pro China-only [3/4y warranty] [3] – Neo Eco Classic NE-C (X50W/X20W) / Modular NE-M / NE-M v2 – NX
- Apevia | Jupiter
- Apexgaming | AI – AG – AN – AJ – AX – STG
- Bitfenix | BPA
- Chieftec | Photon Bronze CTG-C-RGB – Task TPS-S – Force CPS-S – APB-8B – APS-C <=650W – APS-CB <=650W – APS-S – APS-SB – GPA-S8 – GPB-S – GPC-S – GPE-S – GPS-A8 – ELP-S – SFX-BS – PSF-B
- Cooler Master | Elite [v2/3/4] / Elite NEX 230V (White/Peak Power) – Hyper White
- Cougar | A – STE – STX – VTC – VTE – VTK – VTX – XTC
- Deepcool | DA / DA-M / DA-N 700W – DN – PF <=700W
- EVGA | B <=600W – BV – W2 / W2 / W3
- Enermax | Cyberbron – MaxPro / MaxPro II
- FSP / Fortron / Quanhan | Hexa 80+ – HEXA+ (II) – Hyper / S / M / K – Hammer – Hydro / K – 60GHS / 60GHS(85) – 60HHN
- Gamdias | Astrape E1 / M1 (Bronze/White) – Helios E1 White – Kratos E1 – M1 (White / Bronze)
- Gigabyte | BH – “PB500” [not P550B] – PW
- Great Wall / Hunters | B – Gaming G-series Bronze
- Green | ECO / ECO rev 3.1
- InWin | A
- Jetek | All units [4]
- Kolink / Casecom | Core – SFX [SFX]
- LC Power | GP3 Silver – Super Silent [non-modular]
- LDLC / Fox Spirit | EC [1] – BG [1] – FP [1]
- Montech | AP – Beta
- nFortec | Scutum / Scutum X / Scutum X SM
- PC Power & Cooling | Silencer MK III <=600W
- Powerspec | PS-BF – PS BGM <=650w
- Raidmax | Thunder V2 RX-AP / RGB RX-AP-R – Cobra AC-B / AF-B – Vortex Bronze / White
- Redragon | All units
- Rosewill | Arc – Glacier <=700W – RD-Z – TFX Bronze [TFX] – TFX Gold [TFX]
- Seasonic / Haiyun | S12II Bronze [1] / EVO [2] – S12III [2] – M12II (EVO) [1] 520/620W – ECO [1] SSP-ST / SS-BT / SS-ES / SS-ET
- Sharkoon | Silentstorm SFX Bronze [SFX] / SHP Bronze / SHP V2 – WPC Bronze
- SilentiumPC / Endorfy | Elementum E2 – Vero L2 / M2 – Supremo M1 Platinum / L2 / M2/ FM2
- Silverstone | Essential ET-ARGB – Strider Gold Evolution [ST-G] – Strider Essential ET-B / F-ES / F-ES230 / F-ESB / F-ESG – Strider Titanium =>1100W / Plus F-PB / Plus 230V ST-600p
- Thermaltake | Smart SE / SE2 / BM1 / BX1 (RGB) / DPS G Bronze X00W / M <=650W / SP-P (X30W/650W) – TR2 Bronze – Toughpower DPS G RGB Titanium 1500W
- Xigmatek | Centauro S – Cerberus (III) S450 – Spectrum – X-Power I / II / III
- Xilence | Gaming – Performance C / A
- Zalman | GLX – GS – GT – GV – GVM <=700W – LE – LE II – LX – LX II – Megamax [TX II] – Wattbit 83+ [XE] / II [XE II]
- Any units which were unused for, were in storage for, or discontinued for longer than 3 years due to capacitors aging very fast when unused
- Any units not specifically mentioned in the list or spreadsheet until further information would be available
- Any units without state safety certifications (only ‘CE’ on the label), or ’80 Plus’ \ Cybenetics efficiency certification, due to intent to save money and thus, dubious quality of components and design unless proven to the contrary by proper professional reviews
[1] Seasonic S12II Bronze and related units have or had UVP issues, source.
[2] Seasonic S12III, S12II EVO and A12 – OCP (on any rails) not claimed, nor present in supervisor IC. No reviews with protection tests to prove otherwise.
[3] Antec EA Pro Gold has versions for Chinese market made by FSP on completely different, worse, group-regulated platform (tier E). Source #1, #2.
[4] Issues around a non-functional OTP and OCP reported by Poiu @ TweakPC
– Tier F • Replace immediately
- Aerocool | Cylon – Lux RGB Bronze – VX (Plus) (RGB) – Integrator
- Andyson | E5 / E5+
- Antec | Atom V [teal label]
- Aresgame / Pystar | All Units [6]
- Armageddon / Powerlogic | All units [5]
- Cooler Master | Masterwatt Lite
- Corsair | VS 2012 [orange-label]
- EVGA | N1 [4] / N2 – W1 [4]
- Gamemax / Gamepower | All units [6]
- Gigabyte | P-GM [non-Aorus] <=850W [1]
- LEPA | MaxBron
- NOX | All units [6]
- Seasonic / Haiyun | A12 [2]
- Thermaltake | Smart 80+ (RGB) – TR2 non-certified / 80+ White – Litepower (RGB)
- Xigmatek | Z-Power
- Any units released more than 12 years ago, bought more than 10 years ago, or made for ATX spec v2.2 or earlier due to the age of design and components
- Any units without APFC (with a voltage selection switch)
[1] Very high DOA rate and underrated FETs that explode under high stress. Sources : #1, #2, #3, #4. There’s a claimed fix, and some units made after early 2021 seem to be good but it’s not clear to which extent the issue was fixed and past what manufacturing date non-fixed revision wouldn’t be encountered anymore.
[2] Downgraded 230V-only version of S12III platform.
[3] OCP either not present on any rails or faulty/unreliable. No reviews with protection tests to prove otherwise.
[4] Sources : EVGA W1, N1
[5] Source : Armageddon Voltron, other offerings are assumed to perform on the same level until proven otherwise
[6] Review sample manipulation / post review design downgrades / frequent component changes without significant differences in branding / paid reviews
This work by Luke Savenije et al. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
