How Much Power Does Your Graphics Card Need?

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Graphic Chip Comparison And Test Configuration

This overview shows the graphics cards and the standard frequencies of their graphics processors (GPUs), shaders, and graphics memory (with AMD, shader and GPU frequencies are identical). If you use an overclocked graphics card (OC), it will differ from the values listed, and will have a somewhat higher power consumption. You should include this increased power consumption in assessing the necessary power supply wattage, and can add half the percentage of overclocking to the power consumption as “insurance.” For example, if the graphics card (GPU) is overclocked by 10%, then you should add 5% to the maximum power consumption of the graphics card. If you don’t know the clock rates of your video card, you can use the tool GPU-Z to read the values.

Nvidia Graphic Cards

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Card Manufacturer and Chip Code Name Memory GPU Frequency Shader Memory Clock Speed SPs
GeForce GTX 280 SLI GT200 1024 GDDR3 602 MHz 4.0, 1296 MHz 2214 MHZ 240
GeForce GTX 280 GT200 1024 GDDR3 602 MHz 4.0, 1296 MHz 2214 MHz 240
GeForce GTX 260 GT200 896 GDDR3 576 MHz 4.0, 1242 MHz 1998 MHz 192
GeForce GTX 260 GT200 896  GDDR3 576 MHz 4.0, 1242 MHz 1998 MHz 192
GeForce 9800 GX2 2XG92 2X 512 MB GDDR3 600 MHz 4.0, 1500 MHz 2000 MHz 2X 128
GeForce 9800 GTX + G92b 512 MB GDDR3 738 MHz 4.0, 1836 MHz 2200 MHz 128
GeForce 9800 GTX SLI G92 512 MB GDDR3 675 MHz 4.0, 1688 MHz 2200 MHz 128
GeForce 9800 GTX G92 512 MB GDDR3 675 MHz 4.0, 1688 MHz 2200 MHz 128
GeForce 9600 GTX G94 1024 MB GDDR3 650 MHz 4.0, 1625 MHz 1800 MHz 64
GeForce 9600 GT SLI G94 1024 MB GDDR3 650 MHz 4.0, 1625 MHz 1800 MHz 64
GeForce 9600 GT G94 512 MB GDDR3 650 MHz 4.0, 1625 MHz 1800 MHz 64
GeForce 9600 GT G92 512 MB GDDR3 730 MHz 4.0, 1825 MHz 1944 MHz 128
GeForce 8800 GTS OC G92 512 MB GDDR3 650 MHz 4.0, 1625 MHz 1944 MHz 128
GeForce 8800 GTS SLI G92 512 MB GDDR3 650 MHz 4.0, 1625 MHz 1944 MHz 128
GeForce 8800 GT SLI G92 1024 MB GDDR3 600 MHz 4.0, 1500 MHz 1800 MHz 112
GeForce 8800 GT G92 1024 MB GDDR3 600 MHz 4.0, 1500 MHz 1800 MHz 112
GeForce 8800 GT SLI G92 512 MB GDDR3 600 MHz 4.0, 1500 MHz 1800 MHz 112
GeForce 8800 GT G92 512 MB GDDR3 600 MHz 4.0, 1500 MHz 1800 MHz 112
GeForce 8800  ULTRA 3SLI G80 768 MB GDDR3 612 MHz 4.0, 1512 MHz 2160 MHz 128
GeForce 8800 ULTRA SLI G80 768 MB GDDR3 612 MHz 4.0, 1512 MHz 2160 MHz 128
GeForce 8800 ULTRA G80 768 MB GDDR3 612 MHz 4.0, 1512 MHz 2160 MHz 128
GeForce 8800 GTX G80 768 MB GDDR3 576 MHz 4.0, 1350 MHz 1800 MHz 128
GeForce 8800 GTS G80 640 MB GDDR3 500 MHz 4.0, 1188 MHz 1600 MHz 96
GeForce 8800 GTS SLI G80 320 MB GDDR3 500 MHz 4.0, 1188 MHz 1600 MHz 96
GeForce 8800 GTS G80 320 MB GDDR3 500 MHz 4.0, 1188 MHz 1600 MHz 96
GeForce 8600 GTS G84 512 MB GDDR3 675 MHz 4.0, 1450 MHz 2016 MHz 32
GeForce 8600 GTS SLI G84 256 MB GDDR3 675 MHz 4.0, 1450 MHz 2016 MHz 32
GeForce 8600 GTS G84 256 MB GDDR3 675 MHz 4.0, 1450 MHz 2016 MHz 32
GeForce 8600 GT SLI G84 256 MB GDDR3 540 MHz 4.0, 1180 MHz 1400 MHz 32
GeForce 8600 GT G84 256 MB GDDR3 540 MHz 4.0, 1180 MHz 1400 MHz 32
GeForce 8500 GT G86 256 MB DDR2 459 MHz 4.0, 918 MHz 800 MHz 16
GeForce 8400 GS G86 256 MB DDR2 459 MHz 4.0, 918 MHz 800 MHz 16
GeForce 7950 GX2 4xG71 4x512 MB GDDR3 500 MHz 3.0 1200 MHz 4x 24P 8V
GeForce 7950 GX2 2xG71 2x512 MB GDDR3 500 MHz 3.0 1200 MHz 2x 24P 8V
GeForce 7950 GT G71 512 MB GDDR3 550 MHz 3.0 1400 MHz 24P 8V
GeForce 7950 GT G71 512 MB GDDR3 550 MHz 3.0 1400 MHz 24P 8V
GeForce 7900 GTX G71 512 MB GDDR3 650 MHz 3.0 1600 MHz 24P 8V
GeForce 7900 GTO G71 512 MB GDDR3 650 MHz 3.0 1320 MHz 24P 8V
GeForce 7900 GT SLI G71 256 MB GDDR3 450 MHz 3.0 1320 MHz 24P 8V
GeForce 7900 GT G71 256 MB GDDR3 450 MHz 3.0 1320 MHz 24P 8V
GeForce 7900 GS SLI G71 256 MB GDDR3 450 MHz 3.0 1320 MHz 20P 7V
GeForce 7900 GS G71 256 MB GDDR3 450 MHz 3.0 1320 MHz 20P 7V
GeForce 7800 GTX G70 512 MB GDDR3 550 MHz 3.0 1700 MHz 24P 8V
GeForce 7800 GTX SLI G70 256 MB GDDR3 430 MHz 3.0 1200 MHz 24P 8V
GeForce 7800 GTX G70 256 MB GDDR3 430 MHz 3.0 1200 MHz 24P 8V
GeForce 7800 GT SLI G70 256 MB GDDR3 400 MHz 3.0 1000 MHz 20P 7V
GeForce 7800 GT G70 256 MB GDDR3 400 MHz 3.0 1000 MHz 20P 7V
GeForce 7600 GT SLI G73 256 MB GDDR3 560 MHz 3.0 1400 MHz 12P 5V
GeForce 7600 GT G73 256 MB GDDR3 560 MHz 3.0 1400 MHz 12P 5V
GeForce 7600 GS SLI G73 256 MB DDR2 400 MHz 3.0 800 MHz 12P 5V
GeForce 7600 GS G73 256 MB DDR2 400 MHz 3.0 800 MHz 12P 5V
GeForce 7300 GT G73 256 MB DDR2 350 MHz 3.0 666 MHz 8P 4V
GeForce 7300 GS G72 128 MB DDR2 550 MHz 3.0 810 MHz 4P 3V
GeForce 6800 ULTRA NV40 256 MB GDDR3 425 MHz 3.0 1100 MHz 16P 6V
GeForce 6800 GT NV40 256 MB GDDR3 350 MHz 3.0 1000 MHz 16P 6V
GeForce 6600 GT NV43 128 MB GDDR3 500 MHz 3.0 1000 MHz 8P 3V
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Card Manufacturer and Chip Memory Bus Production Process Transistors Port
GeForce GTX 280 SLI 512-bit 65 nm 1400 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce GTX 280 512-bit 65 nm 1400 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce GTX 260 SLI 448-bit 65 nm 1400 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce GTX 260 448-bit 65 nm 1400 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 9800 GTS OC 2x 256-bit 65 nm 2x 754 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 9800 GTS SLI 256-bit 65 nm 754 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 9800 GTS 256-bit 65 nm 754 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 9800 GT SLI 256-bit 65 nm 754 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 9600 GT 256-bit 65 nm 505 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 9600 GT SLI 256-bit 65 nm 505 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 9600 GT 256-bit 65 nm 505 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 8800 GTS OC 256-bit 65 nm 754 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 8800 GTS SLI 256-bit 65 nm 754 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 8800 GTS 256-bit 65 nm 754 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 8800 GT SLI 256-bit 65 nm 754 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 8800 GT 256-bit 65 nm 754 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 8800 GT SLI 256-bit 65 nm 754 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 8800 GT 256-bit 65 nm 754 Million PCIe 2.0
GeForce 8800 ULTRA 3SLI 384-bit 90 nm 681 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8800 ULTRA SLI 384-bit 90 nm 681 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8800 ULTRA 384-bit 90 nm 681 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8800 GTX 384-bit 90 nm 681 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8800 GTS 320-bit 90 nm 681 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8800 GTS SLI 320-bit 90 nm 681 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8800 GTS 320-bit 90 nm 681 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8600 GTS 128-bit 80 nm 289 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8600 GTS SLI 128-bit 80 nm 289 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8600 GTS 128-bit 80 nm 289 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8600 GT SLI 128-bit 80 nm 289 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8600 GT 128-bit 80 nm 289 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8500 GT 128-bit 80 nm 210 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 8400 GS 64-bit 80 nm 210 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 7950 GX2 SLI 4x 256-bit 90 nm 4x 278 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 7950 GX2 2x 256-bit 90 nm 2x 278 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 7950 GT SLI 256-bit 90 nm 278 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 7950 GT 256-bit 90 nm 278 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 7900 GTX 256-bit 90 nm 278 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 7900 GTO 256-bit 90 nm 278 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 7900 GT SLI 256-bit 90 nm 278 Million PCIe 1
GeForce 7900 GT 256-bit 90 nm 278 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7900 GS SLI 256-bit 90 nm 278 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7900 GS 256-bit 90 nm 278 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7800 GTX 256-bit 110 nm 303 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7800 GTX SLI 256-bit 110 nm 303 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7800 GTX 256-bit 110 nm 303 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7800 GT SLI 256-bit 110 nm 303 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7800 GT 256-bit 110 nm 303 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7600 GT SLI 128-bit 90 nm 178 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7600 GT 128-bit 90 nm 178 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7600 GS SLI 128-bit 90 nm 178 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7600 GS 128-bit 90 nm 178 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7300 GT 128-bit 90 nm 178 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 7300 GS 64-bit 90 nm 112 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 6800 Ultra 256-bit 130 nm 222 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 6800 GT 256-bit 130 nm 222 Millions PCIe 1
GeForce 6600 GT 128-bit 110 nm 146 Millions PCIe 1

AMD Graphics Cards

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Card Manufacturer and Chip Codename Memory GPU Frequency Shader Memory Clock Speed SPs
Radeon HD 4870 X2 R700 2x 1024 MB GDDR5 750 MHz 4.1 3600 MHz 2x 800
Radeon HD 4870 CF RV770 512 MB GDDR5 750 MHz 4.1 3600 MHz 800
Radeon HD 4870 RV770 512 MB GDDR5 750 MHz 4.1 3600 MHz 800
Radeon HD 4850 CF RV770 512 MB GDDR3 625 MHz 4.1 1986 MHz 800
Radeon HD 4850 RV770 512 MB GDDR3 625 MHz 4.1 1986 MHz 800
Radeon HD 4670 RV730 512 MB GDDR3 750 MHz 4.1 2000 MHz 320
Radeon HD 4550 RV710 512 MB GDDR3 600 MHz 4.1 1600 MHz 80
Radeon HD 3870 X2 CF 2xR680 4x512 MB GDDR3 825 MHz 4.1 1802 MHz 4x320
Radeon HD 3870 3CF R680 3x512 MB GDDR3/4 825/800 MHz 4.1 1802/2252 MHz 3x320
Radeon HD  3870 X2 R680 2x512 MB GDDR3 825 MHz 4.1 1802 MHz 2x320
Radeon HD 3870 CF RV670 512 MB GDDR4 775 MHz 4.1 2252 MHz 320
Radeon HD 3870 RV670 512 MB GDDR4 775 MHz 4.1 2252 MHz 320
Radeon HD 3850 CF RV670 256 MB GDDR3 670 MHz 4.1 1658 MHz 320
Radeon HD 3850 RV670 256 MB GDDR3 670 MHz 4.1 1658 MHz 320
Radeon HD 3650 CF RV635 512 MB GDDR3 725 MHz 4.1 1602 MHz 120
Radeon HD 3650 RV635 512 MB GDDR3 725 MHz 4.1 1602 MHz 120
Radeon HD 3470 RV620 256 MB GDDR3 796 MHz 4.1 1886 MHz 40
Radeon HD 3450 RV620 256 MB GDDR2 594 MHz 4.1 990 MHz 40
Radeon HD 2900 XT R600 512 MB GDDR3 743 MHz 4.0 1656 MHz 320
Radeon HD 2900 XT R600 512 MB GDDR3 743 MHz 4.0 1656 MHz 320
Radeon HD 2600 XT RV630 512 MB GDDR3 800 MHz 4.0 1400 MHz 120
Radeon HD 2600 XT RV630 512 MB GDDR3 800 MHz 4.0 1400 MHz 120
Radeon HD 2600 XT RV630 256 MB GDDR4 800 MHz 4.0 2200 MHz 120
Radeon HD 2600 PRO CF RV630 256 MB GDDR3 600 MHz 4.0 1400 MHz 120
Radeon HD 2600 PRO RV630 256 MB GDDR3 600 MHz 4.0 1400 MHz 120
Radeon HD 2400 XT RV610 256 MB GDDR3 700 MHz 4.0 1400 MHz 40
Radeon HD 2400 PRO RV610 256 MB DDR2 525 MHz 4.0 800 MHz 40
Radeon X1950 XTX CF R580+ 512 MB GDDR4 650 MHz 3.0 2000 MHz 48P 8V
Radeon X1950 XTX R580+ 512 MB GDDR4 650 MHz 3.0 2000 MHz 48P 8V
Radeon X1950 XT R580+ 256 MB GDDR3 625 MHz 3.0 1800 MHz 48P 8V
Radeon X1950 PRO R570 256 MB GDDR3 575 MHz 3.0 1380 MHz 36P 8V
Radeon X1950 GT R570 256 MB GDDR3 500 MHz 3.0 1200 MHz 36P 8V
Radeon X1900 XT CF R580 512 MB GDDR33 625 MHz 3.0 1450 MHz 48P 8V
Radeon X1900 XT R580 512 MB GDDR3 625 MHz 3.0 1450 MHz 48P 8V
Radeon X1900 XT R580 512 MB GDDR3 625 MHz 3.0 1450 MHz 48P 8V
Radeon X1900 GT R580 256 MB GDDR3 575 MHz 3.0 1188 MHz 36P 8V
Radeon X1800 XT R520 256 MB GDDR3 631 MHz 3.0 1504 MHz 16P 8V
Radeon X1800 XT R520 512 MB GDDR3 621 MHz 3.0 1494 MHz 16P 8V
Radeon X1800 XL R520 256 MB GDDR3 500 MHz 3.0 990 MHz 16P 8V
Radeon X1800 GTO R520 256 MB GDDR3 500 MHz 3.0 990 MHz 16P 8V
Radeon X1650 XT R560 256 MB GDDR3 575 MHz 3.0 1350 MHz 24P 8V
Radeon X1650 Pro R530 256 MB GDDR3 594 MHz 3.0 1378 MHz 12P 5V
Radeon X1600 XT CF R530 256 MB GDDR3 581 MHz 3.0 1368 MHz 12P 5V
Radeon X1600 XT R530 256 MB GDDR3 581 MHz 3.0 1368 MHz 12P 5V
Radeon X1600 Pro CF R530 256 MB GDDR3 500 MHz 3.0 784 MHz 12P 5V
Radeon X1600 Pro R530 256 MB GDDR3 500 MHz 3.0 784 MHz 12P 5V
Radeon X1300 XT R530 256 MB GDDR3 587 MHz 3.0 1378 MHz 12P 5V
Radeon X1300 Pro R515 128 MB GDDR3 594 MHz 3.0 990 MHz 4P 2V
Radeon X1300 R5515 256 MB GDDR3 446 MHz 3.0 496 MHz 4P 2V
Radeon X800 XT R423 256 MB GDDR3 506 MHz 2.0 1000 MHz 16P 6V
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Card Manufacturer and Chip Memory Bus Production Process Transistors Port
Radeon HD 4870 X2 2x256-bit 55 nm 2x956 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 4870 CF 256-bit 55 nm 956 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 4870 256-bit 55 nm 956 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 4850 CF 256-bit 55 nm 956 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 4850 256-bit 55 nm 956 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 4670 128-bit 55 nm 514 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 4550 64-bit 55 nm 242 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 3870 X2 4CF 4x256-bit 55 nm 4x666 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 3870 3CF 3x256-bit 55 nm 3x666 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 3870 X2 2x256-bit 55 nm 2x666 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 3870 CF 256-bit 55 nm 666 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 3870 256-bit 55 nm 666 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 3850 CF 256-bit 55 nm 666 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 3850 256-bit 55 nm 666 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 3650 CF 128-bit 55 nm 378 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 3650 128-bit 55 nm 378 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 3470 64-bit 55 nm 181 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 3450 XT 64-bit 55 nm 181 Million PCIe 2.0
Radeon HD 2900 XT CF 512-bit 80 nm 720 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon HD 2900 XT 512-bit 80 nm 720 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon HD 2600 XT CF 128-bit 65 nm 390 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon HD 2600 XT 128-bit 65 nm 390 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon HD 2600 XT 128-bit 65 nm 390 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon HD 2600 Pro CF 128-bit 65 nm 390 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon HD 2600 Pro 128-bit 65 nm 390 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon HD 2400 XT 64-bit 65 nm 180 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon HD 2400 Pro 256-bit 65 nm 180 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1950 XTX CF 256-bit 90 nm 384 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1950 XTX 256-bit 90 nm 384 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1950 XT 256-bit 90 nm 384 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1950 Pro 256-bit 80 nm 330 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1950 GT 256-bit 80 nm 330 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1900 XT CF 256-bit 90 nm 384 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1900 XT 256-bit 90 nm 384 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1900 XT 256-bit 90 nm 384 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1900 GT 256-bit 90 nm 384 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1800 XT 256-bit 90 nm 321 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1800 XT 256-bit 90 nm 321 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1800 XL 256-bit 90 nm 321 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1800 GTO 256-bit 90 nm 321 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1650 XT 128-bit 80 nm 330 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1650 Pro 128-bit 90 nm 157 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1600 XT CF 128-bit 90 nm 157 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1600 XT 128-bit 90 nm 157 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1600 Pro CF 128-bit 90 nm 157 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1600 Pro 128-bit 90 nm 157 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1300 XT 128-bit 90 nm 157 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1300 Pro 64-bit 90 nm 105 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X1300 128-bit 90 nm 105 Million PCIe 1.0
Radeon X800 XT 256-bit 130 nm 120 Million PCIe 1.0

Memory clock speed=DDR-Clock rate doubled, physical frequency is cut in half

DDR5-clock rate quadrupled, physical frequency is one fourth

SPs=Stream-Processors; P and V=Pixel shader and Vertex shader

TC=Turbo Cache HM=Hyper Memory

OC=overclocked (clock frequency higher than standard) <br>

SLI=Parallel operation with 2 Nvidia cards

3SLI=Parallel operation with 3 Nvidia graphics chips

4SLI=Parallel operation with 4 Nvidia graphic chips

CF=CrossFire parallel operation with 2 ATI cards

3CF=CrossFire parallel operation with 3 ATI graphic chips

4CF=CrossFire parallel operation with 4 ATI graphic chips

R680=2xRV670

R700=2xRV770

Shader 2.0=DirectX 9.0; 3.0=DirectX 9.0c; 4.0=DirectX 10; Shader 4.1=DirectX 10.1

This is the standard configuration of the graphics card test system, and is the basis by which the power consumption of a complete system was determined.

Nvidia Single-Chip Graphics Cards, AMD Single-Chip And CrossFire Graphics Cards

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CPU Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 @ 2.93 GHz (11x266 MHz), Socket 775, 1.28 V, 65 nm, 4096 KB L2 cache
FSB 1066 MHz (4x266 MHz)
Motherboard Asus P5E3 Deluxe, PCIe 2.0 2x16, ICH9R
Chip Set Intel X38
Memory 2x1 GB, Ballistix (Crucial Technology) 1.5 V, DDR3 1066 7-7-7-20 (2x533 MHz)
Audio Intel High Definition Audio
LAN Intel 1000 Pro
Hard Drive Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500 GB, SATA, 16 MB cacheHitachi 120 GB, SATA, 8 MB cache
DVD Gigabyte GO-D1600C
Power Supply CoolerMaster RS-850-EMBA 850 W

Nvidia SLI Graphics Cards

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Motherboard Asus P5N-T Deluxe, PCIe 2.0 2x16
Chip Set Nvidia nforce 780i SLI
Memory 2x1 GB, A-Data Technology 1.8 V, DDR2 800 5-5-5-18 (2x400 MHz)
Audio ADI 1988B SoundMax
LAN Marvell 88E1116 Gigabit

Driver And Configuration 

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Graphic AMD Catalyst, Nvidia ForceWare, and GeForce
Operating System Windows Vista Enterprise SP1
DirectX 10 and 10.1
Chip Set Driver X38 Intel 8.3.1.1009, 780i Nvidia nforce 9.64

The power consumption is given in watts; 1,000 watts (1 kW) is used as a baseline for the electricity used. The cost of a kilowatt hour differs depending on the region and electricity supplier. We used 20 cents (the price at the Munich utility company Stadtwerke München) for the electricity calculation. PSU stands for the power supply unit.

129 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Inktfish
    Could you please add the Radeon 4830? :)
    Reply
  • sepuko
    Took the words right out of my mouth.
    Reply
  • since Core i7 920 has TDP = 130W, how can it consume 85W only?
    Reply
  • 1.21 Jigawatts !!!
    Reply
  • nukemaster
    This article was due. No more you need an 800 watt psu for the 4870 , core2 quad ad 1 hard drive anymore :p

    Guest11since Core i7 920 has TDP = 130W, how can it consume 85W only?The TDP is more of a design thing. Almost all of Intels initial Core2 line had a TDP of 65 watts yet many took much less power. Intel gives a worst case of that type number and does not measure every cpu.

    AMD does the same thing. They listed almost all the initial Athlon 64's at 89 watts yet many did not take that or give off that amount.

    zxv9511.21 Jigawatts !!!You act like you would need a small fusion reactor or maybe a bolt of lightning to get that?
    Reply
  • neiroatopelcc
    So my system actually has a too big power supply to be effective?
    I'm running a 3,4ghz c2d with 5x500gb sata drives, a dvdrw and a 4870 on a p35 board.
    According to the article that's not going to draw the ~400W needed to get within effective range of my corsair 620 ....
    Reply
  • cynewulf
    There's a mistake in the power under load for the 3870X2. It shows the same as the idle consumption. If only that were true! :D
    Reply
  • Inneandar
    The TDP (thermal design power) is meant to be a guideline for the cooling solution, not the power consumption. To qualify for a cpu with a TDP of 120W, a cooler must be able to dissipate 120W. Practically, of course, this means it is an upper bound to (sensible) power consumption.

    also small note: Is it just me or is it strange to see the 260 SLI consume more than the 280 SLI. maybe in need of a beefier test scene...
    Reply
  • zodiacfml
    nice collection of data. i hope many learn from this and avoid recommending too powerful supplies.
    Reply
  • roofus
    better off with too much power supply than not enough. at least if you over-spec the power supply you leave some breathing room for any additional components.
    Reply