A basic office rig? You’re looking at 50-150 watts, tops. A gaming PC? That’s a whole different story—300 to 600 watts or more when you’re running heavy games. Add some overclocking, and that number climbs fast.
Here’s a quick table to show you the range:
| Usage Type | Watts |
| Basic Office PC | 50-150 W (e.g., Intel i3, integrated graphics) |
| Mid-Range Gaming PC | 300-500 W (e.g., Intel i5, GTX 1660, SSD) |
| High-end Gaming/Workstation | 500-750 W (e.g., Ryzen 9, RTX 3080, liquid cooling) |
| Crypto Mining/AI ML | 800-1500+ W (e.g., multiple GPUs, high-end CPU) |
Average Power Consumption
Let’s break down what you can expect for different setups:
Basic Office PC:
These builds barely sip power—50-150 watts, tops.
We’re talking Intel i3, integrated graphics, and maybe an SSD if you’re feeling fancy. No GPUs, no stress—just simple and efficient. It’s perfect for stuff like emails, browsing, or tweaking Excel sheets. You’re not gaming on this thing (unless Solitaire counts).
So a 300W PSU is more than enough here—probably overkill, but it leaves a little headroom.
Mid-Range Gaming PC
A mid-range gaming rig pulls 300-500 watts, depending on the load.
I’m talking Intel i5 paired with a GTX 1660—solid for 1080p or even some 1440p gaming. Power usage spikes when you’re gaming on higher settings or streaming on the side. Cranking up textures or shadow details? Your system’s gonna of course need more power.
So a 600W PSU gives you room to breathe. This way you have plenty of bandwidth for future upgrades like adding an extra SSD or bumping up the GPU.
High-End Gaming/Workstation
If you’re running a power-hungry setup, expect it to pull 500-750 watts (or more if you’re going wild).
(I’m taking a Ryzen 9, RTX 3080, and an AIO cooler while pushing out 4K renders or gaming at max settings for reference here.)
Note that when you’re cranking out high-FPS gameplay or rendering those massive video files, your system chugs power. Every extra RGB strip and SSD adds up too.
For builds like this, don’t mess around—grab at least a 750W PSU.
Go for 850W if you’re thinking about upgrades down the line or plan to dabble in overclocking. Because the last thing you want is to skimp and see your rig throw a tantrum mid-session.
Crypto Mining and AI/ML
These rigs are power-hungry monsters. Expect 800-1500+ watts, especially if they’re running 24/7.
You’re looking at a Ryzen Threadripper, multiple NVIDIA RTX 3090s, liquid cooling everywhere, and a stack of SSDs or storage arrays.
Note that tasks like training AI models or mining crypto push your system to its limits. GPUs run at full tilt. CPUs never get a break. Your electricity bill? Not going to love this.
Run these setups 24/7, and you’ll see higher energy costs and extra strain on cooling.
For builds like this, go big on the PSU.
1200W or higher is the norm here, and you’ll want platinum efficiency to avoid wasting power. Otherwise, you’re risking thermal throttling or even hardware strain over time.
Understanding Power Usage Over Time
Your PC doesn’t pull full power 24/7.
When it’s doing light tasks, like downloading files or sitting in sleep mode, it uses way less power compared to when it’s gaming or working hard.
Idle vs. Active Usage:
Got your PC on all the time? Idle power draw is usually around 10-15% of its max usage. So, if your rig pulls 500 watts while gaming, it’s probably using just 50-75 watts when idle. (Not bad for keeping it on overnight.)
Fun Fact:
Most people think gaming PCs are power hogs. But guess what? High-end workstations doing 3D rendering or machine learning eat 2-3 times more power than a standard gaming rig running flat out.
Cost Analysis:
Wondering what your rig is costing you? It’s easy to figure out. Just a bit of math—don’t worry, no spreadsheets needed.
Multiply your average hourly power draw by 24 hours, then by 30 days.
Example: Let’s say your gaming rig pulls 300 watts on average. That’s around 216 kWh per month. At a typical electricity rate, you’re looking at about $25-30 a month to keep it running 24/7. Not bad, but those numbers climb quickly with beefier setups or higher rates.
How to Calculate PC Power Consumption
Wondering exactly how much power your setup needs? Here are some easy ways to find out:
- Power supply calculators
Online tools like OuterVision and PCPartPicker are popular for estimating power needs.
These calculators often overestimate, which is actually helpful—it gives you a margin of safety. By planning for a slightly higher power requirement, you avoid overloading your PSU.
This extends its lifespan and improves system stability (especially when running high-demand applications)
- Manual calculation
For a hands-on approach:
- add up the wattage of each component in your setup (CPU, GPU, storage, etc.) based on their peak usage.
- multiply this by the hours you expect to use each component daily.
It’s worth noting that the TDP values give only a maximum usage snapshot, so they don’t always reflect real-world power needs accurately. Consider adding a 10-20% buffer to account for fluctuations and peak loads.
- Real-time monitoring tools
This is the most accurate way to track power draw.
Software options like HWMonitor and HWiNFO provide component-specific data, letting you see how much power your CPU or GPU uses during various tasks.
However, these tools rely on your system’s built-in sensors, which means they don’t capture total power draw. For the complete picture, plug-in wattmeters like Kill A Watt to measure the power directly from the wall, covering everything in your setup.
Here’s a quick look at the pros and cons of each method:
Software Monitoring
Pros
- Easy to set up
- Detailed component data
- Track usage patterns
Cons
- Limited to the sensors in your PC
- Doesn’t measure total system power
Hardware Meters
Pros
- Accurate total Power Draw from the wall
- Covers all components and peripherals
Cons
- Requires a separate device that doesn’t provide component-specific data