Planning a GPU upgrade? Power it with this high quality 700W PSU that is just $70

Planning a GPU upgrade? Power it with this high quality 700W PSU that is just $70
Save $20 on EVGA's 700W power supply unit with 80 Plus Gold certification. (Image credit: EVGA)

In case you missed it, Nvidia added another Ampere GPU to the pile, the GeForce RTX 3060. The plan is to launch the card next month for $329. Who knows what the stock situation will look like by then, but regardless, if you are planning to upgrade and also need a new power supply unit, you can score an EVGA 700W model for $69.99 at Amazon right now.

That's $20 below its list price, and very reasonable for a 700W model from a reliable manufacturer. If there is one thing I've about PSUs over the years, it's not to skimp—I learned that lesson when one of the connectors on a no-name PSU I bought years ago started to emit smoke.

EVGA 700W Power Supply Unit | 80 Plus Gold |$89.99$69.99 at Amazon (save $20)
Go for the gold

EVGA 700W Power Supply Unit | 80 Plus Gold | $89.99 $69.99 at Amazon (save $20)
This is a highly efficient PSU (less power is wasted as heat), with enough juice to handle up to a GeForce RTX 3070 or Radeon RX 6800 graphics card.

The model that's up for grabs here does offer modular cabling (drats!), but it does boast 80 Plus Gold certification. That basically means it runs efficiently, and wastes less power to heat.

As for the aforementioned GeForce RTX 3060, this PSU should not have any trouble powering it—Nvidia recommends a 550W PSU or higher. That rating bumps up to 600W for an Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti, and 650W for an Nvidia RTX 3070 (same for AMD's Radeon RX 6800).

Anything higher and you will want a beefier PSU, like Corsair's RM850x, one of the best PSUs for gaming. You might be able to get away with running an Nvidia RTX 3080 on EVGA's 700W unit, but Nvidia recommends at least a 750W PSU (as does AMD for its Radeon RX 6800 XT), and it's generally a good idea to stick with the company's guidelines.

For a mid-range build, however, this EVGA's 700W is an attractive bang-for-buck option.

TOPICS
Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).