Question about power consumption

[magnus_m6]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if I get a graphic card that needs, let's say, 750W PSU. The power consumption of my pc will always be 750W or it depends on what I'm doing, for example: hard gaming, watching movie or reading a pdf file.

I ask this because to be honest I was planning to get a graphic card to play games occasionally but I didn't think about the power bill.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Ecolouge]

Well, the amount of power a graphics card says it need is always overkill. You also need to consider the other components...mostly the CPU. But no, the power usage will always vary...I don't pay the electric bill so I have never thought of that!

What are the specs of your soon to be build?

 

[TJ Hooker]

Recommended PSUs are typically for worst case scenarios. E.g. they assume you're running a high end CPU (e.g. i7), and you're stressing both the CPU and GPU. And then you typically add a bit on to that total for margin of error and/or breathing room. So even during hard gaming, it shouldn't be that high, and light use like movie or pdf will be much lower.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

If you worry about the power bill, wait for upcoming GPUs which will be more efficient, and try to buy a Platinum or Titanium power supply, though it'll take a long time to make up for the cost of one. Gold is common.

 

[magnus_m6]

Thanks for answering.