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Roundup: 12 Gaming Power Supplies Compared

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Gamers demand a lot from their computers, starting with the PSU. Therefore, almost every PSU manufacturer sells products optimized for gaming PCs. We introduce ripple and noise testing in this roundup to further improve our power supply evaluations.

be quiet! Straight Power E8: Results

Efficiency meets 80 PLUS specifications:

Efficiency under different load profiles:

When it comes to energy efficiency, the be quiet! PSU performs very well. Although it is 80 PLUS Silver-certified, it reaches values just short of the Gold mark. Besides, the PSU can keep its efficiency really high even during heavy loads over extended periods of time.

The ripple and noise tests confirm the very positive impression of the PSU’s electrical quality, with results far below the limits established by the ATX specification. The be quiet! Straight Power E8 passes all other tests without any major anomalies.

The smallest rise in temperatures in the roundup deserves special mention. As the nominally-weakest PSU, it has a small advantage from the beginning, though.

For anyone looking for a very quiet PSU with high electrical quality, at a reasonable price, the be quiet! Straight Power E8 is a reasonable choice.

103 Comments Comment from the forums
  • FLanighan 30 December 2010 11:29
    Why not Corsair? I jizz at my tx850w :)
    Reply
  • xxsk8er101xx 30 December 2010 11:38
    Because it failed a few of the tests.

    FLanighanWhy not Corsair? I jizz at my tx850w
    Reply
  • p1n3apqlexpr3ss 30 December 2010 11:40
    Corsair has a gamer series... whyd they test one of the units from the top line aimed more at enthusiasts?
    Reply
  • V8VENOM 30 December 2010 11:45
    Odd, why isn't Silverstone reviewed at all? Most of the power supplies they looked at are junk for anyone with more than one GPU and overclocking. I dumped my PC Power & Cooling 1000 Watt PSU because it couldn't handle two ATI 5870's and overclocked CPU to 4Ghz with 1600 FSB. I put in a Silverstone 1500Watt PSU and my system has been rock solid ever since.

    The article doesn't appear to measure noise from during switching and how much noise is introduced to the CPU and bus.

    Anyway, it will be a cold day in hell before anyone gets me to switch out my Silverstone 1500 Watt PSU.
    Reply
  • scook9 30 December 2010 11:48
    V8VENOMOdd, why isn't Silverstone reviewed at all? Most of the power supplies they looked at are junk for anyone with more than one GPU and overclocking. I dumped my PC Power & Cooling 1000 Watt PSU because it couldn't handle two ATI 5870's and overclocked CPU to 4Ghz with 1600 FSB. I put in a Silverstone 1500Watt PSU and my system has been rock solid ever since.The article doesn't appear to measure noise from during switching and how much noise is introduced to the CPU and bus.Anyway, it will be a cold day in hell before anyone gets me to switch out my Silverstone 1500 Watt PSU.You are either lying or very unlucky (got a bad PSU)......I have crossfire 5870s and an i7 965 and all stock cannot exceed 650W at the wall (about 550W actually used) no matter what I try.
    Reply
  • JamesSneed 30 December 2010 11:50
    Nice tests but I came to a different conclusion. The seasonic X-750 is close to the most effiecent in the bunch and did you see that voltage ripple it looked like it was flat lining.
    Reply
  • boiler1990 30 December 2010 11:53
    For the ~$20 price difference between the Corsair 850HX and the AX850, I think I'll get the AX. It never hurts to invest in a great PSU :)
    Reply
  • juuh 30 December 2010 12:59
    V8VENOMOdd, why isn't Silverstone reviewed at all? Most of the power supplies they looked at are junk for anyone with more than one GPU and overclocking. I dumped my PC Power & Cooling 1000 Watt PSU because it couldn't handle two ATI 5870's and overclocked CPU to 4Ghz with 1600 FSB. I put in a Silverstone 1500Watt PSU and my system has been rock solid ever since.The article doesn't appear to measure noise from during switching and how much noise is introduced to the CPU and bus.Anyway, it will be a cold day in hell before anyone gets me to switch out my Silverstone 1500 Watt PSU.
    I call BS. I could run your setup with my PC power & cooling 750w unit.
    http://www.techspot.com/review/289-geforce-gtx-480-sli-versus-radeon-5870-crossfire/page9.html
    Reply
  • vanhalen 30 December 2010 13:12
    No recommendation for the Seasonic? Am I missing something?
    Reply
  • random1283 30 December 2010 13:49
    agreed no reccomendation for an x series seasonic, you guys must be mssing something, every other review of the x series said that they are simply amazing much better then any nxzt or anything.
    Reply