Finding the best MSI PSU for Your Needs: A Buyer’s Guide

A couple of months ago, I built The Technovore’s PC review rig. MSI sponsored us with some hardware (specifically the motherboard and GPU), but apart from that, I was on my own. Now, I’ve built a PC before (in 1997 to be exact) so I wasn’t exactly new to the whole thing. Yet, it still took me much longer than I’d like to settle on the optimum parts…especially when it came to the PSU, whether it was an MSI PSU or otherwise.

Even with knowledge of tech, it’s still a massive undertaking to find the perfect PSU that fits your needs. For a PSU, it’s always better to make sure that it provides more (a lot more if possible) power than your rig needs. Too much power comes at a cost though…some PSU can cost an arm and a leg!

Why you ask? Simple!

The buffer means there’s always a reserve stable output of power so that your hardware gets as much as they need without issue. Fluctuating power delivery can damage your gear, which will happen if you get a PSU that’s not capable of delivering enough power for your gaming rig. How to make sure that never happens? You check out MSI’s recommended PSU table, mosey over to the MSI PC Power Supply Calculator and then head on down the list to see which of the MSI PSU best fit your needs.            

MAG A850GL PCIE5 – The Best MSI PSU For Most Gamers

For most gamers, the MAG A850GL PCIE5, should tick off all the boxes that one’s looking for in a great PSU. It’s packing 850W of power, enough to power the top tier NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 or the AMD RX 7900 XTX GPUs (provided you don’t have a high draw CPU). It’s also PCIE5 (it’s right there in the name) and ATX 3.0 compatible, which means that high end motherboard you just bought can be unleashed to its full potential.

Not only that, the PSU is also 80 PLUS Gold certified, so it’s pretty efficient too! After all, you don’t want to spend more money on your electric bills than you need to, right?

The icing on the cake for me personally, are the small form factor of the unit (140mm x 86mm) and the Dual-colour 16-pin cables. Those combine to makes cable management so much easier, especially since the modular design of the PSU means you only need to plug in cables that you need.

You don’t know how useful the Dual-colour cables are until you actually use them! The yellow pops out easily so you can see if the cables are connected properly. I’m ashamed to admit it, but this happened to me when I was building The Technovore review rig. The PSU cable to the GPU wasn’t inserted all the way (I really thought I’d pushed them in flush) and it took me nearly 10 minutes to troubleshoot why the PC wasn’t turning on.

Now you don’t need to worry about the issue at all! On top of that, the cable is specially designed just for the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40series GPUs, which allows them carry up to 600W of power! The cables are also flat, meaning you can neatly organize everything in your rig’s innards easier than ever.

Other plus points for the MAG A850GL PCIE5 include a 120mm fluid dynamic bearing fan (for quieter operation), industrial level protection with OVP, OCP, OPP, OTP, SCP,UVP, active PFC and LLC Full Bridge Topology with DC-DC module design.

Don’t worry if you don’t know the nitty gritty, the bottom line is those things make this MSI PSU a very stable, solid piece of equipment. I don’t know about you, but I play better knowing my PSU isn’t at risk of blowing up and nuking my room with it.

If you’re wondering what to pair with the MAG A850GL PCIE5, here are some recommended Power by MSI PC gear that would go great with the PSU:

Motherboard: MSI MAG B760 Tomahawk Wifi / MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk Wifi
CPU: Intel Core i7/ i9, AMD Ryzen 7/ 9
Graphics Card: MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Gaming X Trio 12G/ MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Ventus 3X 12G OC
Liquid Cooling: MSI Coreliquid C360
PC Case: MSI MAG Forge 112R

MPG A1000G PCIE5 – For The Hardcore Gamer

If you need more power to run your rig, then the MPG A1000G PCIE5 is the PSU you want. A premium unit that’s meant for hardcore gaming rigs, the PSU packs a massive 1000W output. Forget about just powering your rig, with that amount of juice you can deck out everything in RGB lighting and still have power to spare!

Since you’re investing in other premium parts for your rig, it makes zero sense not to get this bad boy. 1000W might not be needed now, but if you upgrade to a more energy hungry GPU (you know NVIDIA’s GPUs will only keep getting greedier and greedier with their power draw) in the future, you’re all set too!

The MPG A1000G PCIE5 packs all the nifty tech found in the MAG A850GL PCIE5 like ATX 3.0 and PCIE5 compatibility, 80 PLUS Gold certification is included. So too are the flat cables, industrial level protection with OVP, OCP, OPP, OTP, SCP, UVP, and active PFC design.

On top of that, the PSU also has exclusive functions like a 0% RPM mode, which can be engaged whenever the TDP in under 40% to save power and LLC Half Bridge Topology with DC-DC module design. It’s also pretty compact, with its length (150mm x 86mm) just a teeny 10mm longer than the spectacular MAG A850GL PCIE5.

Now, a powerhouse PSU like this deserves only the very best in hardware to go along with it. So, here’s our recommendation of Powered by MSI PC gear that will take full advantage of that brand spanking new PSU:

Motherboard: MSI MPG Z790 Carbon Wifi / MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk Wifi
CPU: Intel Core i7/ i9, AMD Ryzen 7/ 9
Graphics Card: MSI GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Suprim X / MSI GeForce RTX 4090 Suprim 24G
Liquid Cooling: MSI Coreliquid C360
PC Case: MSI MEG Prospect 700R

MAG A650BN – The Entry Level PSU

For those just starting out on their builder’s journey (or building a rig that doesn’t demand a ton of power), the MAG A650BN is perfect. It doesn’t come with PCIE5 or ATX 3.0, but chances are your rig doesn’t need them. This PSU is for those running a capable enough rig, but don’t need the fancy tech.

You know…if you’re building a media server or an emulation station or something? You don’t need all the fancy bells and whistles of the other PSUs in the guide because the features (while great) aren’t needed on the machine you’re building. It’s cool, we got you man.

That’s where the MAG A650BN fits right in.

Don’t let its 650W fool you. This PSU still packs some features that punch above its weight class. These include an 80 PLUS Bronze certification, a sleeve bearing 120mm fan, industrial level protection with OVP, OCP, OPP, OTP, SCP, an active PFC and DC-DC circuit design.

It also shares the compact profile of the MAG A850GL PCIE5 so it definitely won’t take up a ton of space in your build.

See? Told you that it’s impressive.

Don’t worry if you’re in need of help to find the best hardware to go with the MAG A650BN. We have your back. Take a peep at these primo gaming gear Powered by MSI PC that’ll fit right in with your build:

Motherboard: MSI PRO B760M-A Wifi DDR4 / MSI PRO B650-P Wifi
CPU: Intel Core i5, AMD Ryzen 5
Graphics Card: MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Ventus 3X 16G OC / MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Ventus 3X 8G OC
Liquid Cooling: MSI Coreliquid C240
PC Case: MSI MAG Forge 112R

Where to Buy?

Now that you’re educated on your choices of MSI PSU, you’d probably be wondering where you can get them.

Don’t sweat it, we have you covered on this too.

Head on over to the official MSI store on Shopee or click these links to head straight to the individual PSU’s page.

You can find the MAG A850GL PCIE5 here, the MPG A1000G PCIE5 here and of course, the MAG A650BN here.

While you’re shopping around in the official MSI store, why not take a looksee at what’s available? There are other great deals available there too!

To make things sweeter, MSI is running a promo right now (until September 30 2023) that rewards you with a $30 CapitaLand voucher if you buy 3 MSI products (motherboard, Coreliquid, PSU, PC case, GPU or SSD) in a single receipt.

Not a bad deal, considering you’ll need those parts anyway for your rig!