It’s hard not to feel bad for whoever is tasked with drumming up hype for computer power supplies—a component that’s as unglamorous as it is essential. Fortunately for the marketing team at GameMax, they’re working with the RGB-Smart 1050 Pro—a power supply that’s not only well-built, competitively priced and slightly over-specced but also features programmable flashing lights.
On a practical level, the RGB-Smart 1050 Pro is both a literal and figurative powerhouse. It comes with features that meet and exceed those of comparative offerings from more recognizable brands like Corsair and EVGA but can be purchased without their premium price tags. Granted, this comes at the cost of readily available replacement cables and the peace of mind associated with investing in a trusted brand. However, when deciding between the Corsair RM1000X, Seasonic Vertex GX-1000 or the RGB-Smart 1050 Pro, the GameMax offers not only an extra 50 watts to work with but also saves you $50.
When unboxing the RGB-Smart 1050 Pro, my first thought was: “Yes, that is a power supply.” It’s a design without any flourishes—just a square box with standard honeycomb perforations for venting. Which is fine, as in most builds, the PSU will be hidden away at the bottom of a PC case, thanklessly doing its work in the dark. Other than changing the colour or adding lights, there’s just not much you can do to make a power brick more attractive. Corsair is one of the few brands to attempt making a more presentable unit, but their most radical design choice was to bevel the occasional edge.
“The RGB-Smart 1050 Pro is a power supply that’s not only well-built, competitively priced, and slightly over-specced but also features programmable flashing lights.”
It may not be a striking power supply, but it does look sleek and feel solid. The metal casing has a durable, slightly textured coating; the panels all fit together without gaps or play, and there are no rough edges. The honeycomb pattern of the fan vent carries over to the non-perforated areas of the top cover, where it continues with subtle embossing—a nice touch. The mounting hardware was also surprisingly high quality and, after two installs and a breakdown, showed no signs of marring or stripping.
What is odd, however, is that GameMax designed this power supply with display in mind but made it so that if it’s installed on its side and in the correct orientation, the GameMax lion head logo ends up upside down. At first, I thought this was just an assembly error, but after looking through other GameMax models, it seems to be how they’re made. It may be a design choice, but it looked like a mistake.
It’s generally not advisable to take apart your power supply, but for the review, I wanted to look inside. Luckily, the top cover is reversible, so I was able to fix the upside-down logo. However, had I purchased this unit, that process would have voided the warranty.
A PSU is the brick that both powers and protects your computer, and if that computer needs 1,000 watts of power, it’s probably a pretty expensive piece of equipment. A power supply doesn’t need to be flashy (even when it has RGB lighting), but it should inspire confidence.
Having builders question whether a company fully considered its logo does not inspire that confidence. Although the RGB-Smart 1050 Pro eventually won me over with its construction and performance, it left a rough first impression.
Under the hood, the RGB-Smart 1050 Pro is an 80 Plus Gold-certified power supply that runs at 90 per cent efficiency. It’s fully modular, PCIe 5.0/5.1 and ATX 3.0/3.1 ready, and supports newer 12V-2×6 GPUs like the RTX 40 series. It comes with a thin-gauge, low-profile set of wires for every module.
Inside, the power supply uses a wireless design to help with heat dispersion and is built with 105° Japanese capacitors. While I’ve never had an issue with Chinese capacitors, it’s the opinion of the internet that Japanese capacitors are more reliable—and if the internet says it, it must be true. Capping off the unit is an 11-blade, 140 mm ARGB temperature-control fan with 25 lighting modes that are both manually controllable and compatible with ASUS’s Aura Sync to ensure all your lights are in sync.
“The RGB-Smart 1050 Pro is an 80 Plus Gold-certified power supply running at 90 per cent efficiency, fully modular, and ready for PCIe 5.0/5.1 and ATX 3.0/3.1 standards.”
Without Aura, controlling the lights is simple, done through a single button on the back of the unit. Natively, there are breathing colour modes, colour cycles, single-colour selection, rainbow, and my personal favourite option—off. Even through the frosted diffuse filter that surrounds the LED strip, this power supply is bright. Initially, I didn’t know how to control the lighting effects, and without the help of any other RGB components, this PSU briefly transformed my office into the quietest little nightclub on the planet.
From part selection to soldering quality, this is a very impressive power supply. I liked it enough to finally retire my personal computer’s age-old Corsair CX750 and replace it with the RGB-Smart 1050 Pro. For most builds, the lights will either harmlessly bounce into the opaque confines of your PC or fruitlessly put on a light show for your carpet. However, for the rare builder who side-mounts this PSU in a transparent rig, you’ll get an extra lighting element to complement your hardware. Regardless of where this power supply is installed, or if lighting isn’t a concern, at $129.99 the RGB option is essentially a free extra.
The GameMax RGB-Smart 1050 Pro is an enthusiast-level power supply that’s affordable, reliable, well built and silent. It may not have left a great first impression, but after warming up to it, it did leave a lasting one. Aesthetic gripes aside, this is a PSU delivering what matters most—performance.
