The Nvidia RTX 3080 may not be the new kid on the block anymore, but it’s still a respectable high-end GPU that demands high-end power. And that’s precisely what the best power supply for a 3080 needs to offer: reliable power with headroom for overclocking, power spikes, and future upgrades.

To that end, we’ve picked out some of the best-performing power supplies in their class. From classic Corsair units to a cutting-edge ATX 3.0 unit from Montech, our list should have something for everyone. Let’s get started.

The Best Nvidia RTX 3080 PSUs

1. Corsair RM850x

Corsair’s RM850x is a great all-around performer, offering top-tier electrical performance and an acceptable noise profile at competitive prices. If you want a reliable, consistent PSU with a gold efficiency rating and reassuring 10-year warranty, this is the power supply to consider.

One of the most important criteria for an RTX 30-series PSU is its ability to handle transients. The RTX 3080 is well-known for big 400-watt power spikes, so a PSU needs to be capable of handling these without failing or shutting down.

Corsair’s RM850x performs well here, posting an average deviation of 1.18% on the 12-volt rail. It’s not the lowest ever measured by Tom’s Hardware, but it’s not too far off the very best. There are a bunch of great power supplies that measure ~1.1% deviation, so it’s in good company here.

The RM850x’s load regulation is excellent, with 0.5% deviation on the minor 5-volt and 3.3-volt rails. Its 12-volt regulation isn’t quite as strong, but it’s still brilliant at just 0.91% deviation. For context, the ATX standard dictates a maximum ±5% deviation on the 12-volt rail, so the RM850x is well within safe limits here.

Excellent load regulation and great transient handling go hand-in-hand with ripple suppression, another area where the RM850x impresses. Tom’s Hardware recorded 8.24 mV of ripple on the 12-volt rail, putting the RM850x at the top of the site’s charts. Ripple suppression on the 5- and 3.3-volt rails is also class-leading, with 5.44 and 11.21 mV respectively.

To give you an idea of how impressive these numbers are, the ATX 2.2 spec limits 12-volt ripple to 120 mV, while 5- and 3.3-volt rails have an upper ceiling of 50 mV.

One area where the updated 2021 RM850x stumbles very slightly is its noise output. Corsair’s decision to use a magnetic levitation fan and a more aggressive fan curve means that the RM850x outputs an average of 30 dB under load. It’s still competitive with similarly-specced power supplies but significantly trails the old 2018 RM850x’s 19 dB noise level.

That said, power supply noise will likely be drowned out by your case and GPU fans under load, so it’s not a huge deal. But those trying to build an ultra-silent rig may want to opt for a different power supply instead. Another minor downside is the presence of in-cable capacitors, which result in slightly thicker power cables. This can make cable management slightly tougher in cramped builds.

Despite those minor complaints, we think the Corsair RM850x is one of the best power supplies for an RTX 3080 (or even an RTX 3090). You can get slightly cheaper 850-watt PSUs, but we think it’s worth paying the extra $10-20 for this caliber of load regulation and ripple suppression.

2. XPG Core Reactor 850 W

XPG isn’t the first name that comes to mind when you think of PSUs, but the company’s Core Reactor 850 should change that. It’s a solid, high-quality product that competes with the big boys when it comes to electrical performance at a marginally lower price than some of its rivals.

Adata, XPG’s parent company, chose to contract the highly-regarded Channel Well Technology to manufacture its Core Reactor PSUs, a smart decision on the company’s part.The upshot is impressive transient handling and ripple suppression, two key criteria of a great power supply.

The Core Reactor 850 handles transients brilliantly, keeping deviation on the 12-volt rail well under 1%. This means it’ll handily absorb the power spikes Nvidia’s RTX 3080 cards are known for without tripping up.

Ripple is similarly remarkable: the XPG manages to keep ripple on the 12-volt rail at 16.87 mV, far below the 120 mV limit specified in the ATX 2.2 spec. Ripple on the 5-volt rail is also great at just 12.07 mV, while the less-important 3.3-volt rail is still reasonable at 26.47 mV of ripple.

However, one area where the Core Reactor 850 lags behind ever so slightly is in the load regulation. Don’t get us wrong, a 1.56% deviation on the 12-volt rail is still great, but it trails behind other high-quality PSUs that manage to keep it closer to (or even under) 1%. It’s still perfect for an RTX 3080 (or any graphics card), but it’s off the pace here.

Another potential drawback with the Core Reactor 850 is its lack of a zero-RPM fan mode. While we don’t feel it’s a requirement, those of you who demand near-silence at idle may want to look elsewhere. The XPG is also slightly louder than our top pick, topping out at just under 32 dBA of noise on average.

Overall, the XPG Core Reactor 850’s strong transient handling and ripple suppression make it a strong contender for an Nvidia RTX 3080 power supply. Add to that its slightly more affordable price and more compatible 140-mm length, and you have a worthwhile option in this power range.

3. Thermaltake Smart BM2 750 W

While we think 850-watt power supplies are ideal for the RTX 3080, you can get by with a 750-watt unit if you’re on a tighter budget (and don’t plan to overclock your components). Thermaltake’s Smart BM2 is the perfect budget-minded 750-watt option, offering reasonable performance and enough power for an RTX 3080, all at an excellent price.

Despite using an older PSU platform and lower-quality components, the Smart BM2 is a good power supply with solid load regulation and acceptable transient handling. While it can’t compete with the very best 750-watt power supplies, the BM2 still turns in a respectable 2.37% deviation in Tom’s Hardware’s transient testing.

This makes it one of the better performers in its price and efficiency class. If you’re not willing to pay the inflated prices for the Corsair CX750F at the top of this list, then this is as good an option as any as far as Bronze-rated power supplies go.

As long as you’re not hammering the Smart BM2 with a high-power-draw CPU or liquid cooler, its transient response should be good enough to handle an RTX 3080’s spikes. That said, we recommend sticking to a unit that runs at stock clocks if you want to be really safe here.

The Thermaltake Smart BM2 750 W’s load regulation is genuinely quite impressive for the price. It manages to keep voltage deviations on the all-important 12-volt rail at 1.25%, which is significantly under the ±5% that the ATX 2.2 spec allows for.

The biggest issue with the Thermaltake Smart BM2 is its ripple suppression. While 52.58 mV of ripple on the 12-volt rail is still under the 120 mV limit set out in the ATX spec, it’s still not great. But you have to make some sacrifices at this price point. Besides, it’s not too ruinous a sacrifice, even then, so we’re OK with it.

Another drawback for some users may be Smart BM2’s noise output. The BM2 has a restrictive fan grille, which means the fan needs to spin faster to overcome the grille’s resistance. This results in an average noise level of 35.56 dBA over the unit’s operating range. It’s not ideal, but it’s another one of those sacrifices you’ll have to live with at this price point.

And that price is what helps the Thermaltake Smart BM2 750 W earn a place on our list. In a market with inflated PSU prices, the fact that you can get the Smart BM2 for between $70 to $100 makes it a great buy for those with more limited budgets.

4. Montech Titan Gold 1000 W

Montech is a new name in power supplies, having previously made a name for itself with great value-minded mid-tower PC cases like the X3 Mesh. The 1000-watt Titan Gold is Montech’s entry into the high-end power supply space, ticking all the ATX 3.0 boxes and offering excellent performance at a fair price.

To be clear, you don’t need an ATX 3.0 compatible PSU for your RTX 3080. But suppose you’re treating your 3080 as a stopgap until you can afford an RTX 4090 (or even an upcoming RTX 50-series) card. In that case, you’ll want a power supply unit capable of handling the beast you plan to get. The Titan Gold is that PSU.

It starts with the Titan Gold’s transient handling. It keeps deviation at 1.09% in the standard ATX 2.2 tests and keeps up with its main rivals in the ATX 3.0 transient testing. The difference is that the latter hits the PSU with 120%, 160%, and 180% loads. These put the PSU under a lot more stress to simulate the 300% power spikes that Intel is trying to accommodate with ATX 3.0. The Titan Gold 1000 W passes all these extreme tests, so there’s no chance of the RTX 3080’s power spikes crippling this PSU.

As you may expect for a high-end PSU, the Titan Gold excels at load regulation. It keeps deviation on the 12-volt rail to 1.05%, which is more than adequate for a high-end graphics card. It’s an even better story with ripple suppression; the Montech power supply only registered 20.64 mV of ripple on the critical 12-volt rail. This puts it amongst the top performers at 115V AC.

The Montech Titan Gold 1000 W’s noise output is reasonable, hitting an average of 30.93 dBA in Hardware Busters’ testing at 115 V AC. It’s not the quietest 1000-watt power supply out there, but it’s plenty fine and shouldn’t be an issue for most of you.

Like many ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5.0-compatible power supplies, the Titan Gold comes with a 12VHPWR cable capable of supplying 600 watts in the box. But it’s still backward-compatible with traditional 6+2 pin PCIe power cables, so you’ll be fine to use this with an RTX 3080 in the meantime.

Overall, the Montech Titan Gold is an excellent future-ready ATX 3.0 power supply for your RTX 3080 and any future upgrades you may have in mind. It’s not the outright best performer in its class, but its combination of price—you can get it for around $170 if you’re lucky—and performance make it a solid choice.

5. Corsair SF750

If you’re a fan of squeezing powerful graphics cards into tiny cases, you’ll need an SFX PSU to match. Enter the Corsair SF750, a high-end SFX PSU with excellent electrical performance that rivals full-sized competitors.

The SF750 is often hailed as one of the best SFX power supplies available, and even a cursory glance at the electrical performance should tell you why. First up is the transient response. The SF750 manages to keep transient-related deviation on the 12-volt rail down to an admirable 0.96%, besting other high-quality SFX PSUs like the SilverStone SX700-G.

The SF750 pairs this impressive transient handling with excellent load regulation, measuring a measly 0.11% deviation on the 12-volt rail in Tom’s Hardware’s testing. For context, we consider a 1% deviation impressive enough; to have load regulation capable of keeping deviation at 0.1% is outstanding.

Ripple suppression isn’t quite as strong on the SF750, but it’s still a great performer. You can expect about 29.5 mV of ripple on the all-important 12-volt rail, which is still one of the top performers in the SFX space. It’s not as good as the SilverStone SX700-G, but it’s more than good enough to keep an RTX 3080 running at its best for years to come.

Corsair’s heritage of low-noise power supplies continues with the SF750. Despite the smaller form factor dictating a 92 mm fan and more tightly-cramped components, the SF750 manages an average noise output of only 26.2 dBA over its operating range. That’s an impressive result for an SFX power supply unit, ensuring you’ll likely not have any PSU-related noise issues.

Corsair ships the SF750 with an ATX adapter plate, allowing you to use this in a full-size system if desired. However, we don’t recommend that, as the default cables are short, SFF-length cables. This makes for easy cable management in compact cases, but they may be inadequate for an ATX case.

Overall, the Corsair SF750 is an excellent power supply perfect for an RTX 3080-powered small form factor rig. It’s on the expensive side for sure, but you’re definitely getting your money’s worth here.

What PSU Do I Need for an RTX 3080?

Nvidia recommends a 750-watt power supply at a minimum. So you could, on paper, get by with any reasonable-quality 750-watt PSU. However, we think you should go for an 850-watt power supply (or higher) to give you some leeway for power spikes and future upgrades.

It’s also worth noting that Nvidia’s 750-watt recommendation is based on its Founders Edition cards. Many add-in board (AIB) partners, such as Gigabyte or Asus, will have overclocked 3080s, often with increased power limits. These overclocked 3080s will draw more power than those running at stock clocks, so having a higher-wattage PSU than Nvidia suggests is a good idea here.

If you want to know your rig’s power requirements, you can always use a power supply calculator to give you a rough idea. OuterVision’s PSU calculator is our favorite, but any of the popular ones will do. Select your parts from the drop-down menus, and the calculator will give you a rough estimate of how much power your PC will use.

That said, we don’t recommend using a PSU of less than 750 watts, even if the calculator says your rig only consumes 700 watts or fewer. The RTX 3080 is well-known for power spikes of 400 watts or more, so having that extra headroom is essential. After all, you don’t want a PSU that trips its safety features and shuts down every time you game.

Good transient handling helps, of course, but even the best transient handling won’t be useful if power spikes draw more power than your PSU can supply. Thus, aim for 750 watts at a minimum, with 850 watts as the ideal sweet spot for most higher-end rigs.

Closing Thoughts

Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080 has been superseded by the RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4080, but it’s still an expensive (and powerful) graphics card. So, the last thing you want is to buy an unreliable power supply that may damage your precious investment.

If you’re purchasing a PSU for the here and now, Corsair’s RM850x is a perfect choice. Great electrical performance and a competitive price for what you get make it our favorite PSU for the RTX 3080. On the other hand, if you want a PSU that’ll serve you well when you upgrade to an RTX 40- or 50-series card, check out the Montech Titan 1000 W.

Not sure what to make of all this technical info and recommendations? Check out our guide to choosing a power supply for a run-down of the crucial terminology, features, and performance metrics.