Are you stuck between picking an 850W or a 1000W power supply?
It’s understandable as picking power supplies can be difficult for all users.
First you have to ensure that the Power Supply Unit(PSU) can power your system sufficiently, and then you have to ensure that it doesn’t blow up when using it, but we’re here to help.Buy Now
For the majority of users, 850W power supplies are the better choice as 850W PSUs are perfect for high-end PC builds. But 1000W power supplies PSUs definitely have an edge when it comes to future-proofing.
850W Vs 1000W – Gaming
For gaming, an 850W power supply is definitely better suited, this is because the majority of high-end builds only require an 850W power supply.
If we take a look at the RTX 3090’s power requirements, it only really needs an 850W power supply to run effectively which means the 1000W power supply just offers extra headroom.
The 1000W power supply does have an added bonus of allowing more upgradability, say you want to install additional PCIe cards.
Also, the 1000W power supply would make better sense if you plan on overclocking with extremely high-end components such as the i9 13900K + RTX 3090Ti.
Pretty much, there’s no reason to go for a 1000W PSU because you can save more money going with an 850W unit, and save the rest for a better CPU, GPU, or
RAM.850W Vs 1000W – SLI/Crossfire
As for SLI and Crossfire, both the 850W PSU and the 1000W PSU lose, this is because SLI is reserved for high-end cards. Buy Now
High-end cards like the RTX 3090 TI and the 3090 only have SLI/NVLINK, and to perform SLI on these cards, you’d need at least a 1200W PSU.
Furthermore, SLI/NVLINK is discontinued and won’t be present in the RTX 40 series cards, so there’s no longer a realistic scenario for the 850W or a 1000W PSU to be viable in SLI.
Gaming Winner – 850W Power Supply
850W Vs 1000W – Crypto Mining
Crypto mining is notorious for using an absurd amount of graphics cards to mine the currency, this means you’ll often need a huge power supply.
The bigger the power supply is, the more graphics cards you can run simultaneously which will obviously make you more money.
So for crypto mining, the 1000W power supply obviously has the edge here being able to run at least 1-2 more graphics cards.
You can find crypto mining builds using up to 8 GPUs at a single time, so to have a better chance at doing that, you’d need at least a 1000W PSU.
Crypto Mining Winner- 1000W Power Supply
850W Vs 1000W – Cost
Cost-wise, the 850W is definitely cheaper, but not as much as you’d think. 850W power supplies usually hang around $130 to $150 if you’re looking for a quality unit.
1000W power supplies hang around $150 to $220, so in terms of price, there’s some overlap, and in some scenarios, you could pick a 1000W PSU for a cheaper price.
But most of the time, you’d save around $50 on average which could be invested into getting more RAM or a better processor.
Cost Winner – 850W Power Supply
Is 850W PSU Worth It?
Yes, 850W power supplies are worth it only if you’re going to be building a PC that uses a high-end graphics card.
Such PCs are high-end gaming machines where you’d want to max out every setting in-game without the GPU’s power fluctuating.
Otherwise, if you’re going to build a low-mid range gaming setup, there’s no need to go for an 850W power supply, you can do fine with a 650W PSU.
So for the majority of PC builds and gamers, an 850W power supply is overkill, but they do have viable and realistic uses.
Is 1000W PSU Worth It?
Having a 1000W power supply over an 850W power supply has its advantages, they’re better suited for overclocking, and extreme levels of gaming.
But a 1000W power supply is definitely overkill for the majority of PC builds, but if you’re down for future-proofing, or upgrading in the future, then it can be advantageous.
For crypto mining, a 1000W power supply is definitely a better option as you’ll be able to run more graphics cards simultaneously, but again, crypto mining is a niche activity.
Also, if you’re running a cutting-edge gaming PC with custom water cooling loops, then a 1000W PSU can help in powering all the additional components.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it’ll make more sense to go for an 850W power supply over a 1000W PSU due to it costing less, and running higher-end gaming builds better.
But 1000W power supplies can be better for really high-end builds with custom water cooling loops, and with extreme overclocks.