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The Radeon RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT, AMD’s answer to NVidia’s RTX 3070 and 3080, respectively, are pretty powerful graphic cards. They chug out lots of frames but also demand lots of power. While the situation isn’t as grave as with the RTX 3080, the RX 6800 XT has a power limit set at 300W. The non-XT model is set at 250W. Not as high but still, a lot for a graphics card. In other words, you’ll need a pretty solid PSU in order to run either of those without issues. Getting the best PSU for the RX 6800 XT is a bit pricier since the card has higher TDP but also because it can go way over its power limit when overclocked.
Below you’ll find an assorted list of the best PSUs for these two cards, divided into multiple categories. You have the (not so) bare minimum wattage needed for running the cards, followed by sweet spot PSUs that can handle overclocked GPUs combined with power-hungry and OCed CPUs.
Quick word on RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT performance
Before diving deeper into our picks, let’s talk about the gaming performance of the said cards.
First, we have the RX 6800, which easily beats RTX 3070 at 1440p, the sweet spot resolution for most gamers. The card’s pricier than the RTX 3070 but offers just enough power to enable three-digit performance in most AAA titles while keeping on-screen action fast-as-lighting when playing esports titles. At 4K, results skew in RTX 3070’s favor, but not enough to launch it in front of the RX 6800. Aside from better performance, the RX 6800 XT features double the amount of memory than the RTX 3070. On the flip side, the AMD card trails far behind the RTX 3070 when it comes to ray tracing performance.
If you don’t care about ray tracing or DLSS and if the higher price isn’t an issue, get the RX 6800. The RTX 3070 also brings stuff like RTX Voice and its excellent NVENC streaming encoder but remember, you only get 8 gigabytes of memory. The RTX 3070 is also far better choice for gamers who also need those CUDA cores for work.
Now, to the RX 6800 XT. This one’s excellent at 1440p, but it trails behind the RTX 3080 at 4K. That said, this is the fastest 1440p GPU you can get that doesn’t cost as a solid used car. It also has six gigabytes, albeit slower, more memory than the RTX 3080. The 3080 is an excellent 4K graphics card but it’s also very fast at 1440p. It does have 10 gigs of memory, which could become too little for 4K in a year or so but, at the moment, this is all you need for flawless 4K@60fps performance in AAA games and over 100fps@4K in every esports title.
You also get DLSS, much better ray-tracing performance, and other Nvidia exclusive goodies. For users who stream games, the Ampere GPUs present a much better choice due to the excellent encoder and NVidia Voice, which is superb at blocking background noise when streaming. Finally, the RTX 3080 is a far better productivity choice. The catch is a higher price. And yeah, at the moment, all four cards are near impossible to get and, in many countries, sell for extremely inflated prices. Anyway, in short, both the RX 6800 and the RX 6800 XT are great gaming GPUs. They aren’t as good at ray tracing but if you don’t care about it, feel free and get one. And now, let’s talk about power supplies.
550W – a minimum for RX 6800 builds
| Award | Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Budget | Cooler Master MWE 550 |  |
| Best Mid-Range | Corsair RM550x |  |
| Best High-End | Seasonic Focus PX-550 |  |
Ok, by doing some simple math we’ve concluded that about 500W is a minimum for the RX 6800. The card is set at 250W, add a 65W (Ryzen 5 3600, R7 3700X, or the R5 5600X) CPU along with about 100 watts reserved for other components and you get about 420W of power needed. If you already have a quality 500W PSU and a 65W CPU you should be good running the RX 6800. But if you’re buying a new PSU get at least a 550W unit to have some headroom for overclocking the card. That said, if you want to get a high-end RX 6800 card that comes with a lot of OC headroom, think about getting a 600W or 650W PSU.
The Corsair CX 550 non-modular unit is a great budget choice. It’s an 80Plus Bronze rated and comes from a respectable brand. Further, newer editions of this PSU have incorporated some upgrades that make them quieter and more reliable. If you want a fully modular power supply, check out the Cooler Master MWE 550. It’s another pretty solid PSU that has a high user score for a reason. Finally, we have the Corsair CX 550M. This is another very good, semi-modular budget PSU but it costs considerably more than the other two choices. All three PSUs come with a five-year warranty period.
Moving into the mid-range segment there’s the tried and true Corsair RM550x. This is an excellent, fully modular and 80Plus Gold rated power supply that has a pretty good price. It’s quiet and should handle stock RX 6800 models without issues. Next up is the EVGA SuperNOVA 550 Ga, another fully modular and 80Plus Gold certified power supply that has pretty good performance. Both of our mid-range choices come with a 10-year warranty.
The high-end includes two Seasonic models. The first is the new Focus GX-550. It’s a fully modular, gold-certified PSU that’s a bit better than the Corsair and EVGA models. Finally, there’s the Seasonic Focus PX-550, an 80Plus Platinum PSU for those who want the highest quality and are ready to pay for it.
650W – a minimum for RX 6800 XT builds, sweet spot for 6800 builds
| Award | Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Budget | Corsair CX650m |  |
| Best Mid-Range | Corsair RM650 |  |
| Best High-End | EVGA SuperNOVA 650 P2 |  |
Moving on to the 650W bracket, which is a minimum for the RX 6800 XT. If you have a 600W unit, stock cards should probably run fine. Just don’t forget that high-end RX 6800 XT models need more than 350W of power when overclocked. A 650W PSU is for combinations that include a stock RX 6800 XT and a 65W or 105W CPU. Something like an overclocked 10900K or factory OC RX 6800 XT models require more powerful power supplies. On the other side, a 650W power supply should be a sweet spot for the RX 6800, even when paired with any modern CPU.
Starting with the budget market we have three semi-modular PSUs coming from Cooler Master, Corsair, and EVGA. The Master Watt 650, CX650M, and the 650 Bq are 80Plus bronze certified and come with a five-year warranty period. When it comes to price, the EVGA model is noticeably pricier than the other two. Since both the Master Watt 650 and the CX650M sell at virtually the same price our vote goes to the Corsair model.
The mid-range 650W PSU market has loads of great PSUs. The best bang for the buck is the Corsair RM650. It’s a fully modular power supply with a 10-year warranty period and 80Plus gold certification. The Corsair RM650x features the same specs but it performs a bit better. The EVGA SuperNOVA is an excellent alternative to the first two picks, featuring a fully modular design, 10-year warranty, and a price set just below the RM650x. If you want a Seasonic PSU with a fully modular design, get the GX-650. This is an excellent power supply that has excellent performance and a 10-year warranty period. That said, the GX-650 is pricier than the RM650x.
And if you want the best performance no matter the cost the Corsair’s got you covered with the Titanium certified SSR-650TR. If you do care about the price, the EVGA SuperNOVA 650 P2 is the best bang for the buck in this price tier. Needless to say, both models come with a 10-year warranty. Finally, we have another Platinum certified PSU, the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 650W, which has excellent performance but also features a semi-passive design.
750W – sweet spot For RX 6800 XT Builds, overkill For 6800 Builds
| Award | Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Budget | Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 750W | |
| Best Mid-Range | EVGA SuperNova 750 GA |  |
| Best High-End | Corsair HX750/750i |  |
Considering that high-end AIB RX 6800 XT models need more than 360W of power when overclocked, we recommend getting a 750W power supply in case you have both a high-end CPU (i9-10900K or the 10600K, as well the Ryzen 9 3900X or the 5900X) and plan to get an RX 6800 XT model with loads of OC headroom. Back in the RX 6800 territory, a 750W PSU is overkill for most builds. Now, if you own a high-end Intel CPU that’s already overclocked to its limits, a large AIO cooler, lots of storage, RGB strips and case fans, and plan to get a high-end RX 6800 model, a 750W power supply is a recommended option.
Great and affordable PSUs include the Cooler Master Watt 750, Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 750W, and the Corsair CX750M. Our vote goes to the Toughpower GF1 since it has a pretty good price, features a fully modular design, and comes with a 10-year warranty. The other two budget models are both semi-passive and come with only five years of warranty.
The mid-range market includes three excellent choices that have quite similar specs and sell at very similar prices. The RM750x from Corsair, the EVGA SuperNova 750 Ga, and the Seasonic GX-750 are very capable PSUs made from high-end components. All three have a fully modular design and come with a 10-year warranty period. Get the one that’s the cheapest in your region. If you want some RGB effects with your PSU, the Thermaltake Smart BX1 RGB is an interesting choice. Do note that this one costs about the same as other picks but comes with only five-year warranty and 80Plus Bronze certification.
High-end PSU picks include models from Corsair and Seasonic. Both the HX750/750i and the Focus PX-750 are fantastic, 80Plus Platinum power supplies that have superb performance and a 10-year warranty. If you have a particularly large bump in your wallet, you could get the Seasonic Prime TX-750.
850W – a peace of mind choice for systems running overclocked RX 6800 XT cards
| Award | Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Budget | Thermaltake Toughpower G1 850W |  |
| Best Mid-Range | Corsair RM850x |  |
| Best High-End | Seasonic Prime TX-850 |  |
An 850W PSU is too much for most RX 6800 XT builds. But if you have a 10900K, or an overclocked 5950X and a massively overclocked RX 6800 XT you could see power spikes higher than 750W. To be able to overclock your CPU and GPU in peace we recommend getting an 850W PSU. The RX 6800 doesn’t need 850W PSU in any use case but you can get such a powerful power supply if you want plenty of headroom for a future update or have the cash.
Here, we only have two budget choices. Our vote goes to the Thermaltake Toughpower G1 850W, a fully modular, 80Plus Gold certified model that comes with a 10-year warranty. The Super Flower Leadex III Gold 850W is another solid choice, but this one is pricier and much harder to find.
The best bang for the buck at the moment is the Corsair RM850x or the RM850. If you can find one of these at their regular price, get it. These two models offer excellent performance for the money along with ten years of warranty and fully modular design. The Seasonic Focus GX-850 is very similar in performance to the RM850x, presenting another excellent buy that comes with a ten-year warranty period.
The mid-range market includes lots of great alternatives to the Corsair and Seasonic models. The EVGA SuperNOVA 850 Ga is an excellent albeit pricey PSU. The same can be said about the Fractal Design Ion+ 860W, but this one at least comes with the 80Plus Platinum certification.
The high-end market has lots of excellent 80Plus Platinum and Titanium models, and every one of them costs a pretty penny. Differences at this price point are quite low and each of these models presents a superb solution for your rig. You have the choice between the Seasonic PX-850, the Corsair HX850/HX850i, and the EVGA SuperNOVA 850 P2. The best 80Plus Titanium models include Corsair AX850, EVGA SuperNOVA 850 T2, and the Seasonic Prime TX-850.
Best SFX and passive PSUs for RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT
| Award | Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Best SFX | Corsair SF600 |  |
| Corsair SF750 |  |
|
| Best Passive | Seasonic SSR-600TL |  |
| Seasonic SSR-700TL |  |
If you’re building an SFF rig inside a Mini-ITX case you’ll need an SFX power supply. By far the best SFX PSU series is Corsair’s SF line of power supplies. For the RX 6800 builds we recommend getting the SF600. It should be enough for virtually every build, even those including high-end CPUs. Now, if you plan to get the RX 6800 XT we wouldn’t go lower than the SF750. It has plenty of power to allow some GPU overclocking and a high-end CPU while keeping some headroom for power spikes.
As for the passive PSU market, the only two choices are the Seasonic SSR-600TL and the SSR-700TL. As you’ve probably guessed, the first one is recommended for RX 6800 builds while the latter is just right for builds based on the RX 6800 XT.
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