Behind every powerful computer is an equally powerful PSU. Common buying sense tells IT admins to get a power supply that can provide slightly more power than the system needs. So what have organizations and system builders been buying for the first half of this year? We take a look at what buyers are choosing.
Trends to note include the number of modular and non-modular power supplies, 80 PLUS certification, the average wattage of the ten PSUs, and brand dominance by Corsair The number of modular and non-modular power supplies on the list split down the middle, with five for each side.
All power supplies on the list have 80 PLUS certification, which doesn’t come as a surprise as it has become almost expected. As for the levels of certification, six have Bronze-certified units, one Silver, two Gold, and one Titanium. Zero power supplies with Platinum certification surprisingly. So perhaps a slight majority of businesses view Bronze as good enough.
The average wattage with the ten power supply units comes out to 856 watts, with the lowest being 380 watts and the highest 1500 watts. Three of the supplies output more than 1000 watts while three output 500 watts, with a median of 750 watts.
| Wattage | 750 Watts |
| Number of +12V Rails | Single |
| Number of PCI Express Connectors | 4 |
| Number of SATA Connectors | 8 |
| 80 PLUS Certification | Bronze |
| Modular Cabling | Yes |
| Egg Rating | 4/5 |
| Price | $79.99 |
The top power supply on this list performs solidly with more than 52% of users rating it 5 out of 5 Eggs. It features modular cabling, which system builders will enjoy as it makes cable management much simpler. With four PCI-E connectors and a 750 watt rating, it should meet the minimum power requirements of many SLI and CrossFire systems.
| Wattage | 750 Watts |
| Number of +12V Rails | Single |
| Number of PCI Express Connectors | 4 |
| Number of SATA Connectors | 8 |
| 80 PLUS Certification | Bronze |
| Modular Cabling | No |
| Egg Rating | 4/5 |
| Price | $79.99 |
What’s the difference between the first and second on the list? It comes down to modular cabling. The CX750 lacks modularity but all other specs remain the same. It could mean that the Corsair CX series is popular enough that system builders don’t mind the lack of cable management.
| Wattage | 430 Watts |
| +12V Rails | Single |
| Number of PCI Express Connectors | 1 |
| Number of SATA Connectors | 4 |
| 80 PLUS Certification | Bronze |
| Modular Cabling | No |
| Egg Rating | 4/5 |
| Price | $39.99 |
The lowest cost option on this list, this power supply touts plenty of awards from various hardware review sites. At 430 watts and only a single PCI-E connector, it won’t be powering any multi-video card systems anytime soon. For a budget build however, it should suffice just fine.
| Wattage | 1500 Watts |
| Number of +12V Rails | Single |
| Number of PCI Express Connectors | 6 |
| Number of SATA Connectors | 5 |
| 80 PLUS Certification | Titanium |
| Modular Cabling | Yes |
| Egg Rating | 4/5 |
| Price | $409.99 |
Corsair continues to be popular with it taking the top four slots, though the AX1500i outputs double the wattage as the top-selling model however. It is the only power supply on the list with an 80 PLUS Titanium rating as well as being one of the most expensive.
| Wattage | 1300 Watts |
| Number of +12V Rails | Single |
| Number of PCI Express Connectors | 6 |
| Number of SATA Connectors | 12 |
| 80 PLUS Certification | Gold |
| Modular Cabling | Yes |
| Egg Rating | 4/5 |
| Price | $189.99 |
The first power supply on this list not a Corsair unit, the EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 G2 PSU features a very high wattage output. With 12 SATA outputs and EPS 12V compatibility, it may be popular for storage server builds.
| Wattage | 1500 Watts |
| Number of +12V Rails | Eight |
| Number of PCI Express Connectors | 8 |
| Number of SATA Connectors | 12 |
| 80 PLUS Certification | Silver |
| Modular Cabling | Yes |
| Egg Rating | 4/5 |
| Price | $279.99 |
For users that care about the number of rails a power supply features, the SilverStone Strider 1500 delivers with eight +12V rails. Many users rate SilverStone quality to be among the best, and the specs on this PSU show they can certainly deliver a high-end product. At 1500 watts output, it ties the Corsair AX1500i—though it does not have the 80 PLUS Platinum rating. However, it costs much less and has the most PCI-E connectors and ties the EVGA SuperNOVA for the highest number of SATA connectors.
| Wattage | 600 Watts |
| Number of +12V Rails | Single |
| Number of PCI Express Connectors | 2 |
| Number of SATA Connectors | 6 |
| 80 PLUS Certification | Bronze |
| Modular Cabling | No |
| Egg Rating | 4/5 |
| Price | $62.99 |
The third CX series power supply on this list, though it would make a poor choice for SLI systems at only 600 watts. The CX 600 is a good choice for middle-of-the-road system builds.
| Wattage | 850 Watts |
| Number of +12V Rails | Single |
| Number of PCI Express Connectors | 6 |
| Number of SATA Connectors | 12 |
| 80 PLUS Certification | Gold |
| Modular Cabling | Yes |
| Egg Rating | 4/5 |
| Price | N/A |
The HX850 puts out 850 watts, making it more for powerful systems with multiple expansion cards drawing power directly from the PSU. It features a zero RPM fan mode for those that care about silence when not taxing the system.
| Wattage | 380 Watts |
| Number of +12V Rails | Two |
| Number of PCI Express Connectors | 1 |
| Number of SATA Connectors | 5 |
| 80 PLUS Certification | Bronze |
| Modular Cabling | No |
| Egg Rating | 5/5 |
| Price | $44.99 |
The Antec EarthWatts power supply has the lowest output at 380 watts but the only one with a full five out of five rating. This line of power supplies from Antec has always prioritized efficiency and eco-friendliness. In fact, the power supply doesn’t come with a power cord and recommends you reuse your old one.
| Wattage | 500 Watts |
| Number of +12V Rails | Single |
| Number of PCI Express Connectors | 2 |
| Number of SATA Connectors | 5 |
| 80 PLUS Certification | Bronze |
| Modular Cabling | No |
| Egg Rating | 4/5 |
| Price | N/A |
It wouldn’t be right if this list wasn’t bookended by a Corsair CX series power supply. This is the 500 watt version of the power supply with no cable management. The CX500 PSU has the PCI-E connectors to support multiple GPUs but at 500 watts, it likely won’t provide enough power.
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