Conclusions
We've covered a lot of ground today, stressing eight power supply units to—and in some cases beyond—their limits. With only a couple of exceptions, the PSUs worked as advertised. Each maintained DC voltages and AC ripple content within manufacturer-specified tolerances, and overall efficiencies were pretty close.

That said, each PSU offers a unique blend of performance, wattage, features, and price. The sum of those factors elevate some models above others if you're looking to power an enthusiast PC. Below, we've summarized our thoughts on each PSU.

Antec TruePower Quattro 1000W — With the highest wattage rating of the lot by 120W, you might expect the TruePower Quattro to be the most expensive. But it's not. In fact, with a street price of just $186, it's among the cheapest. Getting a kilowatt for under two bills is impressive in its own right, but when you throw in Antec's five-year warranty, modular cables, and good all-around performance, the Quattro really hits its stride. Sure, this isn't the most efficient PSU at lower loads, and it's not the quietest, either. Instead, it's the best compromise of the lot, making it our Editor's Choice.

Corsair TX 750W — The TX is a value model for Corsair, so you don't get a lot of frills: no modular cables, no fancy features, just solid power delivery and a five-year warranty. With street prices hovering around $150 for a 750W model, that's not a bad deal, especially since the TX is pretty quiet at idle. But it's rather loud under load—too loud, we think, given its relatively modest wattage.

Gigabyte Odin GT 800W — I like what Gigabyte had done with the Odin GT, even if our sample's 12V line wasn't quite up to snuff. Power Tuner's monitoring and tuning capabilities are very robust, and their inclusion is a daring move for a newcomer to the market. However, I can't help but think that Power Tuner's unique appeal will be short-lived as ESA-compliant PSUs with similar capabilities hit the market. Otherwise the Odin is a good design, with modular cables, low noise levels, and better than 80% efficiency across the board. We'd like to see better warranty coverage given the $200 asking price, especially considering the unit's 800W output rating.

Hiper Type R Mk II 880W — Integrating a USB hub into a power supply is a little gimmicky—case integration seems more appropriate—but I really like the idea of having a USB port at the back that can charge devices even when a system is powered off. Couple that with the Type R's high efficiency and the lowest noise levels of the lot, and you have a very unique and capable PSU. The Type R's $200 street price is a little steep for a unit with only a three-year warranty and no modular cables, but Hiper makes it up with thoughtful little touches, earning this PSU a TR Recommended award.

PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 860W — We love PC Power & Cooling's Silencer 750W and were expecting a lot from the Turbo-Cool. For the most part, we weren't disappointed. The Turbo-Cool delivered the cleanest power we've ever seen from a PSU, with extremely high efficiency, especially in our real-world test system. The $270 price tag is a bit of a concern, though, even when you consider the seven-year warranty. What really sours the deal is the Turbo-Cool's obnoxiously high noise levels. The Turbo-Cool idles a whopping six decibels louder than its closest competitor and more than 16dB louder than the quietest PSU in the round-up. That's simply unacceptable for a desktop system. If you're deaf, or if you want beautifully pristine power for a noisy server room, the Turbo-Cool's a great option. Otherwise, we'll pass.

Super Talent Atomic Juice 700W — Although relatively standard fare, the Atomic Juice is a good first effort from Super Talent. They've managed to hit the basics, delivering clean power at a low price while keeping noise levels reasonable. This PSU's efficiency is also quite high under light loads, but as soon as you crank things up, efficiency quickly drops below 80%. There's room for improvement on that front, and with the connector payload, which we wish included more than two PCIe connectors. We'd be more inclined to recommend the Atomic Juice if it were cheaper, but spotty availability may be keeping its street prices artificially high.

Tagan BZ 800W — Although they're not always easy to connect, I've yet to see nicer modular cables than those included with the Tagan BZ. However, those cables may also be responsible for the BZ's slightly higher AC ripple content, which (while within tolerances) was higher than the other PSUs in this round-up. The BZ's performance was otherwise decent, with consistent DC voltages and acceptable if unremarkable efficiency. But with a $220 street price and only three years of warranty coverage, there just isn't enough here for us to recommend the BZ over the others. Not unless you're building a PC purely for looks, that is.

Ultra X2 750W — This is the least expensive PSU of the bunch, which is fitting, because it's also the cheapest. Not only did the X2 fall well short of its rated 12V capacity, but it also produced the highest CPU temperatures in our real-world test system. Throw in a little DC voltage sagging and a striking increase in AC ripple under heavier loads, and it's hard to find a silver lining. There is one, in the form of a lifetime warranty, but only because you'll probably have to use it. Steer clear of this one.

The last time we rounded up power supply units, we had a couple of Editor's Choice award winners and two units that earned TR Recommended distinction. This time, only the TruePower Quattro and Type R Mk II really separated themselves from the rest of the pack. Among the others, we wouldn't necessarily recommend one over another—well, apart from the Ultra X2, which we recommend avoiding at all costs.