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The RX 6900 XT is finally here, it being AMD’s answer to the RTX 3090. Top of the line card like this one is expected to have a high board power and the RX 6900 XT doesn’t disappoint. On average, its power consumption hovers around the 300W mark. If you have a power-hungry CPU you’ll need a powerful PSU for your system to run stable. Our list of best power supplies for RX 6900 XT builds is here to allow anyone planning to build a PC around the latest flagship GPU from AMD (good luck finding one though) find a suitable PSU that covers their needs.
We have a number of budget, mid-range, and high-end PSUs ranging from 650W to 1000W. Now, since the card has power spikes north of 400W, be careful not to buy a PSU that’s not powerful enough for your system. The general rule would be that for a 65W CPU (something like the new R5 5600X) and a system that doesn’t have too many fans, RGB strips and such, or storage, a quality 650W PSU should be fine.
If you’re rocking a 65W CPU and plan to get a factory OC card with the intention of overclocking it even further, get a 750W PSU for peace of mind. 105W CPUs and stuff like an overclocked 10600K or the 5900X in combination with a factory OC RX 6900 XT, should be paired with an 850W PSU. Finally, if you have an overclocked 10900K along with a large AIO or plan to build something like that along with an OCed 6900XT you should think about getting a 1000W PSU due to the massive power requirements of both the CPU and GPU.
When it comes to performance, the RX 6900 XT rocks a full, 80 compute-unit die. This is an 11 percent increase in compute units compared to the RX 6800 XT. This, along with higher boost clocks and higher power spikes, are the only differences between the two. Well, there’s also the 50 percent higher price. And average gaming performance reflects the spec sheet. The card is up to 10 percent faster than the RX 6800 XT. And while the RX 6900 XT is the fastest 1440p card, the price difference between it and the 6800 XT or the RTX 3080 makes the 6900 XT an illogical buy.
Yes, the RTX 3090 is 50 percent more expensive than the 6900 XT but at least the Nvidia card comes with 24GB of GDDR6X instead of 16GB of good old GDDR6. The RTX 3090 also blows the AMD flagship out of the water when it comes to productivity tests. In fact, if you don’t need 25 gigs of memory the RTX 3080 is the best bang for the buck pick for productivity or combined gaming and productivity usage. The ray-tracing performance or the 6900 XT is abysmal in most titles so if you care about ray tracing get an Nvidia Ampere card. Also, with the Radeon card, you don’t get stuff like DLSS and RTX Voice.
In other words, the 6900 XT isn’t a good buy. If you want great 1440p performance and don’t care about ray tracing and extra features get the RX 6800 XT. for 4K there’s the 6800 XT or the RTX 3080. For productivity, NVidia Ampere cards are much better deals. And finally, when it comes to high-end products, the RTX 3090 offers more than the 6900 XT while its higher price isn’t as important in this price segment. Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about the best PSUs for RX 6900 XT builds.
650W – minimum for any RX 6900 XT Build
| Award | Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Budget | Corsair CX650m |  |
| Best Mid-Range | Corsair RM650 |  |
| Best High-End | EVGA SuperNOVA 650 P2 |  |
Okay, now, the minimum we would go with is 600W, but only if you already have a 600W PSU. For the sake of having a bit of room for adding a couple more case fans, maybe an AIO, or perhaps more storage, we recommend getting at least a 650W power supply. And that’s in case you plan on getting a stock model. If you currently have a 600W PSU don’t go out and immediately buy a new one. First, check out if your RX 6900 XT can run fine with it. It should work without issues if paired with a non-OC 65W processor but your mileage may vary, especially if the PSU is older. Also, since the RX 6900 XT has 400W and higher power spikes, even a high-quality 650W PSU might be too weak for your system. We recommend spending a bit more and getting at least a 750W PSU. But if you really want to try a 650W unit, get it from a store that accepts free returns.
The market isn’t in great shape right now but there are a couple of solid budget choices out there. The Cooler Master Watt 650 and the Corsair CX650m look like the best buys. They cost the same, come with a five year warranty period, have 80Plus Bronze certification, and semi-modular ATX design. The performance of both is pretty solid for budget PSUs but our final vote goes to the Corsair model. The EVGA SuperNova 650 BQ is a solid alternative if you manage to find it at its regular price. Finally, sitting between the budget and mid-range market is the Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 650W that has a fully modular design, 80Plus Gold certification, and comes with ten years of warranty.
Going up a notch we find the Corsair RM650x, the best mid-range bang for the buck PSU you can get. Excellent performance, silent operation, 10 years of warranty, and a fully modular design are the selling points here. The price is a bit higher but the quality is definitely there. EVGA has the SuperNova GA, another 80Plus Gold PSU with a pretty solid performance that costs about the same as the RM650x. Seasonic is also here with the Focus GX-650. It has all the goodies of the other two but costs only a fraction more than those.
The high-end market always has a nice selection of great power supplies, if you’re ready to pay the price. If you ask us, it’s better to get a more powerful but still quality mid-range PSU (like the RMx or the GX series from Corsair and Seasonic, respectively) than to spend more on a less powerful Platinum or Titanium-branded power supply.
If you still want a high-end 650W PSU Seasonic’s got you covered with the SSR-650TR, an 80Plus Titanium model. This is a near-flawless PSU with the only downside being its high price. The EVGA SuperNova 650 P2 is another great choice that costs less. And if you don’t care about having a fully modular PSU get the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 650W, which is expensive but has superb performance. Needless to say, each of the high-end choices comes with a 10-year warranty period.
750W – sweet spot for most RX 6900 XT Builds
| Award | Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Budget | Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 750W | |
| Best Mid-Range | EVGA SuperNova 750 GA |  |
| Best High-End | Corsair HX750/750i |  |
750W PSU should be a sweet spot for most RX 6900 XT builds, similar to what we have with the RX 6800 XT. Now, while the reference card stays within the specified power limit, you can bet high-end AIB models will come with considerably higher power limits. Since AMD touts the RX 6900 XT as the Big Navi OC champion it wouldn’t be surprising if AMD allowed AIB partners to push the card north of 400W. This is, after all, an RTX 3090 competitor and it should offer the most OC headroom and the highest power limit of all AMD cards.
Even if you do build a PC around a factory OC RX 6900 XT that needs 400W to run at its max clocks, you should be fine with a 750W PSU. As long as you don’t pair the card with an overclocked 11th gen Intel K series CPU, such as the 10900K. Starting, as always, with the budget market, we recommend getting the Cooler Master Watt 750 or, even better, the Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 750W. Thermaltake PSU has the 80Plus Gold Certificate, fully modular design, and 10 years of warranty while costing less than $10 more than the CM model. At this price, we would always get the GF1. There’s also the Corsair CX750m but that one is pricier while being just an 80Plus Bronze and semi-modular design, not to mention it comes with only five years of warranty, like the CM model.
Up on the mid-range shelves, you have three excellent choices that are all very fine PSUs. The Corsair RM750x, EVGA SuperNova 750 GA, and the Seasonic GX-750 all have excellent build quality, great performance, fully modular design, and 10-year warranty. Get the one that’s cheapest in your region. And if you desire an RGB 750W PSU, the Thermaltake Smart BX1 RGB is pretty solid and comes without a ridiculous RGB tax but still, it’s higher priced than the other three mid-range picks.
Finally, the high-end 750W PSUs we can recommend include the Corsair HX750/750i and the Seasonic Focus PX-750. Both perform superbly, are extremely efficient, come with a 10-year warranty, but are also quite expensive. Finally, if you don’t care about the price and want the absolute best, get the Seasonic Prime TX-750, an 80Plus Titanium power supply with near-flawless performance.
850W – recommended choice for OC RX 6900 XT paired with a high-end CPU
| Award | Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Budget | Thermaltake Toughpower G1 850W |  |
| Best Mid-Range | Fractal Design Ion+ 860W |  |
| Best High-End | Seasonic Prime TX-850 |  |
850W might sound too much, even for the RX 6900 XT, but in case you have a high-end CPU (let’s say overclocked Intel 10xxxK, or an overclocked Ryzen 9 5900X) cooled with a large AIO along with a bunch of other stuff inside the case, 850W might be the best choice, but only if you plan on getting a factory OC version of the RX 6900 XT with an increased board power limit.
The only budget 850W PSU in this list is the Thermaltake Toughpower G1 850W, a fully modular, 80Plus Gold certified model that comes with a 10-year warranty. It also features pretty good performance and a very attractive price, at least compared to other quality 850W power supplies.
850W PSU market has some amazing picks in the mid-range segment. At current prices, the EVGA SuperNova 850 GA is an excellent bang for the buck. This is an 80Plus Gold model with excellent performance, fully modular design, high-grade internal components, and a 10-year warranty. The Corsair RM850/RM850x and the Seasonic Focus GX-850 offer similar specs and performance but are, at the moment, priced way higher than the EVGA model. Your mileage may vary but in the end, it all comes down to which one is the lowest priced in your region.
If you get to pick between the RM850 and the RM850x get the x variant unless the price difference is in the favor of the non-x model. The Fractal Design Ion+ 860W is the best bang for the buck mid-range 850W PSU. It features the 80Plus Platinum certification along with performance in line with high-end 850W PSUs but it’s also the hardest to find out of the four. If you do find it at its regular price, get this one over the other three.
Finally, the high-end 850W PSU market includes models such as the Corsair HX850/HX850i, the EVGA SuperNova 850 P2, and the Seasonic PX-850. These are all Platinum-rated power supplies with superb performance, fully modular design, and a 10-year warranty. They should be good enough for virtually any user but if you want the best of the best either get the Corsair AX850, EVGA SuperNova 850 T2, or the Seasonic Prime TX-850, whichever is the most affordable in your region.
1000W – peace of mind choice for OC RX 6900 XT builds
| Award | Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Best 80+ Gold | EVGA SuperNova 1000 G3 |  |
| Best 80+ Titanium | Corsair AX1000 |  |
| Seasonic Prime TX-1000 |  |
|
| Best 80+ Platinum | Corsair HX1000/HX1000i |  |
Now, if you have an overclocked 10900K or an OCed R9 5950X along with a ton of smaller spenders, such as case fans, lots of RGB on your motherboard and case, as well as lots of storage, it wouldn’t hurt getting a 1000W power supply, especially if you plan on getting a factory overclocked RX 6900 XT. With the reference card reaching north of 400W at moments, AIB models would probably have a higher power limit, but also even higher power spikes.
Every PSU listed below is a great pick. They all have excellent performance, 10 years of warranty, and are made of premium components. Depending on the price and availability, you can get the EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G3, EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G+, Corsair RM1000X, Corsair AX1000, or the Seasonic Focus GX-1000 and Prime GX-1000. Now, if you want even better performance get the Corsair HX1000/HX1000i, or the Seasonic Prime PX-1000/Prime TX-1000.
Best SFX and passive PSUs for RX 6900 XT builds
| Award | Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Best SFX | Corsair SF750 |  |
| Best Passive | Seasonic SSR-700TL |  |
If you plan on building a Mini-ITX PC revolving around the RX 6900 XT you’ll probably need a larger Mini-ITX case since this card’s massive. Next, you’ll need to either undervolt the RX 6900 XT or equip it with liquid cooling since it runs pretty damn hot.
When it comes to the PSU power, you could probably get by with the Corsair SF 600 but if you have a non-stock card and a power-hungry CPU, we would go with the SF 750 variant. Other SFX power supplies that we’d recommend include Cooler Master’s V line of SFX power supplies. They are available in 650W, 750W, and 850W variants and should have pretty solid performance. There are reports of these being quite loud under heavy loads so make sure you can return the unit you buy in case you stumble upon the same issue.
Since the RX 6900 XT definitely is a chonker, we reckon that many users will place it inside a bulkier Mini-ITX enclosure. Now, many larger ITX cases have support for the longer, SFX-L variant of SFF power supplies and if your case can fit an SFX-L PSU you could get the Fractal Design Ion SFX-L 650W or the Seasonic Focus SGX-650.
Last but not least are the passive PSUs. If you need absolute silence and are ready to pay the price for that, get the Seasonic SSR-700TL. It’s one of the best PSUs ever. It has the best internals you’re ever seen in a non-industrial power supply but it also carries an immense price premium.
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