At full load, the graphics card and processor in a gaming PC are rated at roughly 210 W for an entry-level build to 695 W for a top-end one. That's about 5.5p to 18.3p an hour at 26.32p per kWh. A mid-range RTX 5070 build is rated at about 370 W, or 9.7p an hour. Consoles use less: an Xbox Series S averages about 74 W while gaming, around 1.9p an hour.
Those PC figures are rated maximums for the two biggest components, not measurements at the wall. Real draw depends on the game, settings, frame-rate caps and the rest of the PC.
Graphics cards: the biggest draw
NVIDIA publishes a Total Graphics Power for each card: the power the card is designed to draw under heavy load. It also gives a required system power, which is advice on power supply size, not what the PC actually uses.
| Graphics card | Total Graphics Power | Per hour at that power | Recommended power supply |
|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 5060 | 145 W | 3.8p | 550 W |
| GeForce RTX 5060 Ti | 180 W | 4.7p | 600 W |
| GeForce RTX 5070 | 250 W | 6.6p | 650 W |
| GeForce RTX 5070 Ti | 300 W | 7.9p | 750 W |
| GeForce RTX 5080 | 360 W | 9.5p | 850 W |
| GeForce RTX 5090 | 575 W | 15.1p | 1,000 W |
Processors
AMD lists a default TDP of 65 W for the Ryzen 5 9600X and 120 W for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. TDP is a thermal design figure, so it isn't an exact measure of power draw, but it gives a sensible scale. In many games, the processor works well below its limit while the graphics card does most of the work.
Build examples, idle vs gaming
Adding the two ratings together gives a rough figure for heavy gaming. It leaves out the motherboard, memory, drives, fans, power supply losses and the monitor, which all add some power. On the other hand, few games hold both parts at full power all the time.
| Build | GPU + CPU rating | Per hour | 2 hours a day | 4 hours a day | Per year (2–4 hours a day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry: RTX 5060 + Ryzen 5 9600X | 210 W | 5.5p | 11.1p | 22.1p | £40.35 – £80.70 |
| Mid: RTX 5070 + Ryzen 7 9800X3D | 370 W | 9.7p | 19.5p | 39.0p | £71.09 – £142.18 |
| Top: RTX 5090 + Ryzen 7 9800X3D | 695 W | 18.3p | 36.6p | 73.2p | £133.53 – £267.07 |
Idle and desktop use: we couldn't find an authoritative published figure for a whole gaming PC sitting idle. For general desktop computers, Energy Savers gives 80–200 W and the Centre for Sustainable Energy uses 140 W as typical Typical (published). A modern gaming PC browsing the web or sitting at the desktop is likely to draw far less than its gaming figure. The most reliable way to know is a plug-in energy monitor.
Consoles compared
Sony and Microsoft both publish power figures. Sony's come from its ecodesign information page. Microsoft's are lab baselines measured at the wall across more than 200 games, up to March 2023.
| Console | Gaming power | Per hour | Per year (3 hours a day) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PlayStation 5 (CFI-21, digital) | 215.7 W | 5.7p | £62.17 | PlayStation, average of three PS5 games |
| PlayStation 5 Pro (CFI-7021) | 215.2 W | 5.7p | £62.02 | PlayStation, gaming |
| Xbox Series X | 154 W | 4.1p | £44.38 | Microsoft lab baseline, active gameplay |
| Xbox Series S | 74 W | 1.9p | £21.33 | Microsoft lab baseline, active gameplay |
Menus cost money too. Microsoft's baselines put the Series X at about 123 W and the Series S at about 63 W on the main menu, close to their gaming figures. PlayStation lists the PS5 home menu at 43.4 W and rest mode at 0.3 W by default. Rest mode rises to about 4.7 W with USB charging and network features on. By default, the PS5 drops into rest mode after 20 minutes without use, or 240 minutes during media playback.
Worked examples
1. Three hours a night on a mid-range PC
A 370 W RTX 5070 build for three hours a day uses 0.37 × 3 × 365 = 405 kWh a year, about £106.64. That's the heavy-gaming figure. Lighter games will cost less.
2. PC vs Xbox Series S
At three hours a day, the Series S (74 W) comes to about £21.33 a year, around £85.31 less than the mid-range PC example.
3. Leaving a console in rest mode
A PS5 in rest mode at 0.3 W for 21 hours a day uses about 2.3 kWh a year, roughly £0.61. With USB charging and network features on (4.71 W), that rises to about £9.50.
Ways to cut the cost
- Cap your frame rate to what your monitor can show. The graphics card does less work.
- Use sleep or auto power-down so the PC or console doesn't sit on a menu for hours.
- Don't worry about the power supply's size. A bigger power supply doesn't use more electricity by itself. What matters is what the components draw.
The monitor or TV adds to the total, see our TV running cost guide.
How we worked this out
PC figures add NVIDIA's Total Graphics Power to AMD's default TDP, then × hours × 26.32p. They exclude the rest of the system and power supply losses, and assume full load. They're our illustration, not a measurement.
Console figures are the manufacturers' published numbers. Per hour = watts ÷ 1,000 × 26.32p. Per year = 3 hours a day × 365. We haven't measured any PC or console.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a gaming PC cost to run per hour?
Roughly 5.5p to 18.3p an hour at 26.32p per kWh, based on the rated power of entry-level to top-end graphics cards and processors under heavy load.
Does a bigger power supply cost more to run?
No. The power supply rating is the most it can deliver. Your PC only draws what its components need.
Is a console cheaper to run than a gaming PC?
Usually. An Xbox Series S uses about 74 W while gaming and a PS5 about 216 W, against about 370 W for a mid-range RTX 5070 PC's main parts.
How much does a PS5 cost to run a year?
At about 216 W for three hours a day, roughly £62.17 a year at 26.32p per kWh.
What does a gaming PC use when idle?
There isn't one reliable published figure, because builds vary so much. Energy Savers gives 80–200 W for desktop computers in general. A plug-in energy monitor will tell you exactly.
Sources
All checked on 29 October 2026. Figures are restated in our own words; follow the links for the originals.
- NVIDIA – GeForce RTX 5060 family specifications: https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce/graphics-cards/50-series/rtx-5060-family/
- NVIDIA – GeForce RTX 5070 family specifications: https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce/graphics-cards/50-series/rtx-5070-family/
- NVIDIA – GeForce RTX 5080 specifications: https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce/graphics-cards/50-series/rtx-5080/
- NVIDIA – GeForce RTX 5090 specifications: https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce/graphics-cards/50-series/rtx-5090/
- AMD – Ryzen 5 9600X specifications: https://www.amd.com/en/products/processors/desktops/ryzen/9000-series/amd-ryzen-5-9600x.html
- AMD – Ryzen 7 9800X3D specifications: https://www.amd.com/en/products/processors/desktops/ryzen/9000-series/amd-ryzen-7-9800x3d.html
- PlayStation – Ecodesign information for PS5 consoles: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/legal/ecodesign/
- Microsoft Learn – Xbox lab platform baselines: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/xbox/sustainability/lab-platform-baselines
- Energy Savers (Centre for Sustainable Energy) – How much electricity am I using?: https://www.energysavers.org.uk/advice/electricity-usage/
- Centre for Sustainable Energy – How much electricity am I using? (26p/kWh, July 2026): https://www.cse.org.uk/advice/how-much-electricity-am-i-using/
- National Energy Action – Electricity: what it costs to run appliances (A5 leaflet, April 2025 prices, PDF): https://www.nea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Electricity-_A5-June-2025.pdf
- Ofgem – Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/your-energy-supply/your-energy-bill/energy-price-cap-unit-rates-and-standing-charges