Eight hundred and fifty watts is the power supply size that fits the widest range of gaming PCs: enough for a Ryzen 9 or Core i7 with an RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080 or RX 9070 XT and headroom for the next card, without paying for a 1000W unit that spends its life at 30 percent load. It is also the size where the new ATX 3.1 standard and the native 12V-2x6 graphics connector matter most, because the cards that need them live in this wattage band. We ranked the 850W units in our PC parts catalog by efficiency certification, ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 compliance, whether the 12V-2x6 cable is native, fan size and zero-RPM behaviour, physical depth, capacitor grade, warranty and what hundreds to thousands of owners report after running them for months.
We have not load-tested these supplies ourselves; the verdicts rest on the published spec sheets and on the owner review history, and we have been careful to note where a maker does not state a figure. Prices are not printed because they change daily; every button opens the live Amazon page. For other wattages and a wider survey, see our power supplies for gaming PCs guide; for the cards these feed, see graphics cards under 500; and for a case to mount them in, see PC cases for gaming builds.
How we picked
- 850W continuous, 80 Plus Gold. Every pick is Gold certified at about 90 percent efficiency; no Bronze units.
- Fully modular with flat cables on every pick, so unused leads stay in the box.
- ATX 3.1 and a native 12V-2x6 or 12VHPWR cable on five of six; the Cooler Master predates the standard and we say so.
- A quiet fan. Zero-RPM or smart fan modes noted where the maker states them, with fan size and bearing type where given.
- Owner ratings of 4.4 stars or better, with review counts from about 190 to 2,100.
The picks
Cooler Master MWE Gold 850 V2 Power Supply, Fully Modular
The MWE Gold 850 V2 is the conservative choice and the one with the deepest record: more than 2,100 owners have rated it, and at 4.4 stars the complaints are rare and ordinary. It is 80 Plus Gold, fully modular with flat black cables, carries two EPS connectors for motherboards with dual 8-pin CPU sockets, and is rated to deliver full output at 50 degrees C, a spec cheaper units quietly omit. What it does not have is ATX 3.1 or a native 12V-2x6 cable; it was designed before that standard, so a new Nvidia card will use the adapter supplied in the card’s box, which works but is less tidy than a single native lead. If your build uses an AMD card with 8-pin connectors, or a last-generation Nvidia card, none of that matters and this is the safe pick.
- 2,100 owner reviews at 4.4 stars, the largest sample here
- Two EPS connectors for boards with dual 8-pin CPU power
- Rated for full output at 50 degrees C
- Flat flexible cables and a known brand
- Pre-dates ATX 3.1; no native 12V-2x6 cable, so a new Nvidia card needs the adapter in its box
- Fan behaviour and warranty length not stated in the listing
- Plain design with no white option
Segotep GM850 850W Power Supply, 80 Plus Gold Certified, PCIe 5.1 & ATX 3.1
The Segotep GM850 is the value pick for a modern build: it is ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 compliant, which means it tolerates the 200 percent total and 300 percent GPU power spikes that new graphics cards produce without tripping, and it ships with a native 12VHPWR cable rated to 600W, so an RTX 50 or 40 series card connects with one lead. Internally it uses the DC-DC, full-bridge LLC topology that good modern supplies share, with 12V synchronous rectification for a stable rail. The cables are flat and white, which is unusual at this price. Segotep is less known than Cooler Master or Thermaltake and its listing is light on fan and warranty details, but 850 owners rate it 4.6 stars, the best score of the three large-sample units here.
- ATX 3.1 with a native 600W 12VHPWR cable at a budget price
- 4.6 stars from 850 owners
- Modern DC-DC and LLC design
- Flat white cables look clean in a windowed case
- Segotep is a less familiar brand in the West
- Fan size and zero-RPM behaviour not stated
- Warranty terms not listed
Redragon RGPS-850W 850 Watt 80+ Gold Fully Modular PSU, ATX 3.1 & PCIe 5.1
Redragon’s RGPS-850W is the pick for a compact case and for anyone who wants a lit fan: at 160mm deep it is shorter than most 850W units, which matters in mid-towers with a drive cage near the supply, and its fan has nine RGB modes that can be turned off entirely. The serious specs are good: 100 percent Japanese capacitors, a DC-DC and LLC resonant design, ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 compliance with a native 12V-2x6 cable for new Nvidia cards, and a zero-RPM mode that keeps the fan off below 60 degrees C so the unit is silent at idle and in light gaming. The full protection set is listed. Redragon is better known for keyboards, and the listing omits warranty length, but 1,050 owners rate it 4.4 stars, in line with the Cooler Master.
- Short 160mm depth fits compact cases
- Japanese capacitors and a native 12V-2x6 cable
- Fan stays off below 60 degrees C; RGB can be switched off
- 1,050 owners at 4.4 stars
- RGB fan is a gimmick for most builds
- Redragon is a peripherals brand first
- Full protection suite listed, but no efficiency curve or warranty length
The Toughpower GT is the 850W unit to buy when warranty matters: Thermaltake backs it for five years, which no other listing on this page states. It is ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 compliant with a native 12V-2x6 connector, fully modular with flat black cables, built on a single high-amperage 12V rail, and cooled by a 120mm hydraulic-bearing fan with Smart Zero Fan so it stays off at low load. The one spec to read carefully is the native GPU connector’s 450W rating, which is lower than the 600W leads on the Segotep and MSI; it is ample for an RTX 5070 Ti or RTX 5080, which draw well under 400W, and only matters for a card that pulls more. Owners rate it 4.5 stars from 535 reviews.
- Five-year warranty, the longest stated here
- Thermaltake brand with ATX 3.1 compliance
- Smart Zero Fan for silent idle
- 535 owners at 4.5 stars
- Native 12V-2x6 connector is rated 450W, not 600W
- Smaller 120mm fan than the MSI
- Not the cheapest ATX 3.1 unit here
MSI MPG A850GS PCIE5 Power Supply, 850W, 80 Plus Gold, ATX 3.1, PCIe 5.1 50 Series GPU Support, 12V-2x6, Cable with Two Tone 12V-2x6 Connectors, ATX Power Supply, Embossed Cable Sheath
MSI designed the MPG A850GS around the newest graphics cards: it has two native 12V-2x6 ports on the supply itself, each able to deliver 600W, with the connector ends coloured two-tone so you can see when the plug is fully seated, which is the failure mode that made headlines with early 12VHPWR cards. It meets ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 and is rated for 2x total and 3x GPU power excursions. The 135mm fluid dynamic bearing fan is the largest here and MSI pairs it with a zero fan mode, so at desktop loads it is silent, and the 150mm depth leaves room for cable management. Cables use copper alloy with an embossed sheath. It is the newest unit on this page with 210 reviews at 4.6 stars; buy it if an RTX 5080 or 5070 Ti is going in the case.
- Two native 12V-2x6 ports at 600W each
- Large 135mm FDB fan with zero fan mode for low noise
- Compact 150mm depth
- 4.6 stars from 210 owners
- Smaller review sample than the others
- Two-tone connector is cosmetic
- Costs more than the Segotep for similar compliance
darkFlash PMT850 850W 80 Plus Gold Fully Modular Power Supply, White
The darkFlash PMT850 is the white 850W supply for a white build, and it is more than a paint job: it meets ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 with the 200 percent and 300 percent excursion ratings, ships with a native 12V-2x6 cable good for 600W, and uses all-Japanese capacitors rated to 105 degrees C, the grade that distinguishes long-lived supplies from short-lived ones. The DC-DC and full-bridge LLC design with synchronous rectification matches the Segotep. darkFlash is known mainly for cases and fans, so the brand has less history in power supplies, and the listing leaves out fan size and warranty length. Against that, its 190 owners rate it 4.7 stars, the highest score on the page; just understand that it is a small sample for a part you want to last a decade.
- White finish for white builds
- 105 degrees C Japanese capacitors
- ATX 3.1 with a 600W native 12V-2x6 cable
- 4.7 stars from 190 owners, the best score here
- Smallest review sample on the page
- darkFlash is best known for cases and fans
- Fan size and warranty not stated
Compare the picks
| Product | Efficiency | ATX 3.1 / GPU cable | Fan | Notable | Owner rating | Our score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooler Master MWE Gold 850 V2Cooler Master | 80 Plus Gold | Not stated / adapter needed | Not stated | 2 EPS, 50 C rated | 4.4 (2,100+) | 8.8 | See price |
| Segotep GM850Segotep | 80 Plus Gold | Yes / native 600W 12VHPWR | Not stated | White flat cables | 4.6 (850+) | 9.2 | See price |
| Redragon RGPS-850WRedragon | 80 Plus Gold | Yes / native 12V-2x6 | Zero RPM below 60 C, RGB | 160mm deep, Japanese caps | 4.4 (1,050+) | 8.8 | See price |
| Thermaltake Toughpower GT 850WThermaltake | 80 Plus Gold | Yes / native 450W 12V-2x6 | 120mm hydraulic, Smart Zero | 5-year warranty | 4.5 (535+) | 9.0 | See price |
| MSI MPG A850GS PCIE5msi | 80 Plus Gold | Yes / two native 600W 12V-2x6 | 135mm FDB, zero fan mode | 150mm deep | 4.6 (210+) | 9.1 | See price |
| darkFlash PMT850darkFlash | 80 Plus Gold | Yes / native 600W 12V-2x6 | Not stated | White, 105 C Japanese caps | 4.7 (190+) | 9.2 | See price |
Is 850W the right size?
Add up the CPU and graphics card power ratings, then leave about 40 percent headroom so the supply runs near its most efficient and quietest range and can absorb the brief spikes new graphics cards produce. A Ryzen 7 or Core i7 at about 150W plus an RTX 5070 Ti or RX 9070 XT at about 300W comes to roughly 450W of sustained draw, which makes 850W comfortable and leaves room for a bigger card later. An RTX 5080 at 360W still fits with margin. Only an RTX 5090 or a heavily overclocked Core i9 pushes the arithmetic toward 1000W. Below this tier, a 650W or 750W unit from our power supplies for gaming PCs guide is enough for an RTX 5060 Ti or RX 9060 XT.
ATX 3.1 and the 12V-2x6 connector
ATX 3.0 and 3.1 are the standards written for graphics cards that spike to two or three times their rated power for milliseconds; a compliant supply rides through those spikes where an older unit might shut down. The 12V-2x6 connector (the revised 12VHPWR) is the single 16-pin lead that feeds RTX 40 and 50 series cards up to 600W, replacing two or three 8-pin cables and the octopus adapter in the card’s box. Five of the six picks here are ATX 3.1 with a native cable; the Cooler Master is the exception and relies on the adapter. Check the cable’s rating, too: the Thermaltake’s native connector is rated 450W, the others 600W. Seat the plug fully until it clicks, which is what the MSI’s two-tone connector is designed to show.
Noise, depth and warranty
A 850W unit at a 300W gaming load barely warms up, so the fan should be off or inaudible; the Redragon, Thermaltake and MSI all state a zero-RPM or smart mode, and the MSI’s 135mm fan moves the same air at a lower speed than a 120mm one. Depth matters in mid-towers with a bottom drive cage: the MSI at 150mm and the Redragon at 160mm are the compact choices, and the Cooler Master’s full output at 50 degrees C is the kind of spec that signals a unit will not derate in a warm case. Warranty is where the listings diverge most; Thermaltake states five years and the rest state nothing, so check the manufacturer’s site before buying a unit you expect to carry through two or three graphics cards.
Is 850W enough for an RTX 5080?
Yes. Nvidia recommends an 850W supply for the RTX 5080, which draws about 360W, and all six picks here meet that. For an RTX 5090 Nvidia recommends 1000W.
Do I need an ATX 3.1 power supply for a new graphics card?
It is strongly recommended. ATX 3.1 units handle the brief power spikes of RTX 40 and 50 series cards and include a native 12V-2x6 cable. An older Gold unit like the Cooler Master works with the adapter in the card box but has less margin for spikes.
What is the difference between 12VHPWR and 12V-2x6?
They are the same 16-pin connector; 12V-2x6 is the revised version with shorter sense pins so the card cannot draw full power unless the plug is fully seated. Cables are interchangeable, and the MSI colours the connector so you can see it is home.
Fully modular or semi-modular?
Fully modular means every cable detaches, so you install only the leads the build uses and swap in custom cables later. All six picks here are fully modular; semi-modular units leave the motherboard and CPU cables fixed.
Will a bigger power supply use more electricity?
No. A supply draws only what the components ask for plus its own conversion losses. An 850W Gold unit at a 300W load uses about the same power as a 650W Gold unit at the same load, and often runs quieter because its fan has less work to do.
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