Power requirements for graphics cards

Author Stu on 19 March, 2011 | Print | Bookmark
As so many people aren't sure how much power a modern graphics card requires MINIMUM, I've decided to write a list of various models with the sort of PSU they require. Obviously it would be better to get something better than what is stated. It is only a rough guide, as it also depends what other hardware you have in your system. I hope it is of some use to people.

The following are the minimum power requirements using a PSU with a single +12V rail. Also these requirements are for a system containing basic components (unless otherwise noted). The more add in cards and hard drives that a system has, the more amperage draw on the 12v rail.


nVidia

GeForce GTX 590 in SLi - 78A and a 1000W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 590 - 46A and a 700W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 580 - 40A and a 600W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 570 - 35A and a 550W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 560 Ti in SLi - 42A and a 700W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 31A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 550 Ti - 28A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 470 and 480 in SLi - 55-60A and a 850W PSU minimum 
GeForce GTX 480 - 42A and a 600W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 470 - 38A and a 550W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 465 in SLi - 46A and a 700W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 465 - 30A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 460 in SLi - 42A and a 650W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 460 - 26A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce GTS 450 in SLi - 35A and a 600W PSU minimum
GeForce GTS 450 - 24A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce GT 430 - 22A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 295 in Quad SLi - 70A and a 1000W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 295 - 50A and a 700W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 285 - 46A and a 550W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 280 in SLi - 55A and a 800W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 280 - 40A and a 550W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 275 in SLi - 50A and a 800W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 275 - 40A and a 550-600W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 260 OC in SLi - 50A and a 700W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 260 OC - 40A and a 550W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 260 in SLi - 50A and a 700W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 260 - 38A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce GTS 250 - 32A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce GT 240 - 35A and a 400W PSU minimum
GeForce GT 220 - 30A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 9800 GX2 - 35A and a 550W PSU minimum
GeForce 9800 GTX+ - 32A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce 9800 GTX - 25-30A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce 9600 GT - 26A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce 9600 GSO - 26A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce 8800 Ultra - 35A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce 8800 GTX – 30A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB - 28A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce 8800 GTS 320/640MB – 26A and a 400W PSU minimum
GeForce 8800 GT in SLi - 36A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce 8800 GT - 26A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce 8600 GT/GTS - 24A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 8500 GT - 22A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 7950 GX2 – 27A and a 400W PSU minimum
GeForce 7950 GT – 22A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 7900 GTX – 22-26A and a 350-400W PSU minimum
GeForce 7900 GTO – 22-26A and a 350-400W PSU minimum
GeForce 7900 GT – 22-26A and a 350-400W PSU minimum
GeForce 7900 GS – 22-23A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 7800 All - 26A and a 400W PSU minimum
GeForce 7800 GS AGP - 20A and a 400W PSU minimum
GeForce 7600 GT – 22-26A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 7600 GS – 15-17A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 7300 GT – 15A and a 300W PSU minimum
GeForce 7300 GS – 15A and a 300W PSU minimum

ATI/AMD

Radeon HD7970 - 40A and a 650W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6990 - 45A and a 750W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6970 - 34A and a 550W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6950 - 30A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6870 X2 - 40A and a 600W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6870 CrossfireX - 38A and a 650W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6870 - 28A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6850 CrossfireX - 35A and a 600W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6850 - 25A and a 450W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6790 - 25A and a 450W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6770 CrossfireX - 33A and a 600W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6770 - 25A and a 450W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5970 CrossfireX - 70A and a 900W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5970 - 50A and a 600W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5870 CrossfireX - 55-60A and a 700W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5870 - 40A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5850 CrossfireX - 55-60A and a 650W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5850 - 35-40A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5830 - 35-40A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5770 - 34A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5750 - 30A and a 450W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5670 - 26A and a 400W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5570 - 24A and a 350W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5450 - 22A and a 300W PSU minimum
Radeon 4890 - 32A and a 550W PSU minimum
Radeon 4870 X2 CrossfireX - 67A and a 1000W PSU minimum
Radeon 4870 X2 - 43A and a 600W PSU minimum
Radeon 4870 - 32A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon 4850 - 30A and a 450W PSU minimum
Radeon 4830 - 26A and a 400W PSU minimum
Radeon 4770 Crossfire - 34A and a 750W PSU minimum
Radeon 4770 - 26A and a 400-500W PSU minimum
Radeon 4670 - 26A and a 400W PSU minimum
Radeon 4650 - 24A and a 350-400W PSU minimum
Radeon 4550 - 20A and a 300W PSU minimum
Radeon X3870 X2 - 30A and a 550W PSU minimum
Radeon X38xx series - 28A and a 450W PSU minimum
Radeon X2900 XT Crossfire - 45A and a 800W PSU is recommended for high-end rigs
Radeon X2900 XT - 35A and a 500W PSU is recommended for high-end rigs
Radeon X2900 Pro - 35A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon X2600 XT - 25A and a 400W PSU minimum
Radeon X2400 XT - 20A and a 350-400W PSU minimum
Radeon X1950 XTX – 20A and a 420W PSU minimum
Radeon X1950 Pro – 20A and a 420W PSU minimum
Radeon X1900 XTX – 25A and a 520W PSU minimum
Radeon X1900 XT – 22-25A and a 520W PSU minimum
Radeon X1900 GT – 22A and a 400W PSU minimum
Radeon X1650 Pro – 18A and a 350W PSU minimum

I’ve missed out some in the range, as I couldn’t find the minimum +12V amp ratings. I don’t know why the X1950 range requires less power than the X1900 range; it’s just what was suggested in the Guru3D reviews.

Please feel free to add to the list in future posts.

Power supply recommendations:





Text version:

700W - 1000W

Enermax Revolution 85+ ERV1250EGT 1250W - 104A from 6 +12v rails
Enermax Revolution 85+ ERV1050EWT 1050W - 87A from 6 +12v rails
OCZ Z Series 1000W - 83A on a single +12V rail
Corsair TX 950W - 78A on a single +12V rail 
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 910W - 74A on a single +12V rail
Corsair HX 850W - 70A on a single +12V rail
Corsair TX 850W - 70A on a single +12V rail
OCZ Z Series 850W - 71A on a single +12V rail
XFX 850W Black Edition - 62A on a single +12V rail
Corsair TX 750W - 60A on a single +12V rail
XFX 750W Black Edition - 62A on a single +12V rail
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W Quad - 60A on a single +12V rail

300W - 650W

Corsair TX 650W - 52A on a single +12V rail
Seasonic X-Series 650W - 54A on a single +12V rail
XFX 650W XXX Edition - 52A on a single +12V rail
Rosewill Green Series 630W - 50A on a single +12V rail
Corsair CX 600W - 40A on a single +12V rail
Corsair VX 550W - 41A on a single +12V rail
Corsair CX 500W - 34A on a single +12V rail
Corsair VX 450W - 33A on a single +12V rail
Corsair CX 430W - 28A on a single +12V rail
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 420W ATX - 30A on a single +12V rail
Corsair CX 400W - 30A on a single +12V rail
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 370W ATX - 27A on a single +12V rail


Notes:

Please note for ATI's X1800/X1900/X1950 series AMD/ATI recommend a 450W PSU with 30A on the +12V rail for a single card and a 550W PSU with 38A on the +12V rail for dual cards.

Some may find this of interest:

How Much Power Does Your Graphics Card Need? : 3D Performance Requires The Most Electricity: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/geforce-radeon-power,review-31495.html


NOTE:

Although the Radeon HD 5830 is placed between the Radeon HD 5770 and Radeon HD 5850 in terms of performance, it actually uses slightly more power than the Radeon HD 5850 due to its higher operating frequency.


UPDATE:

AMD's new Radeon HD 6850 and 6870 have been added to the list. These two new cards are basically the next generation up from the 5750 and 5770, and offer performance close to the existing 5850 and 5870.

For a system under load the following power consumption figures are given:

1X 6850 = 278W /12 = 23.2A
2X 6850 = 393W /12 = 32.8A

1X 6870 = 295W /12 = 24.6A
2X 6870 = 421W /12 = 35.1A

That is based on a system with an X58 based motherboard, Core i7 965 @ 3750 MHz and 6144 MB (3x 2048 MB) Corsair DDR3 RAM  @ 1500 MHz.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6850-6870-crossfirex-review/4

Based on that I've given the following recommendations:

Radeon HD 6870 CrossfireX - 38A and a 650W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6870 - 28A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6850 CrossfireX - 35A and a 600W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6850 - 25A and a 450W PSU minimum

I'm trying to make the list more realistic for any future graphics cards. Updates will be given showing my research.

UPDATE:

The GeForce GTX 580 has been added to the list.

For a system under load the following power consumption figures are given:

1x 580 = 451W /12 = 37.6A

That is based on a system with an X58 based motherboard, Core i7 920 @ 3.70GHz and 6144 MB (3x 2048 MB) G.Skill DDR3 RAM.

It seems the GeForce GTX 580 uses slightly less power than the GeForce GTX 480, although there are reports on other sites it uses more power with the older VBIOS.

http://www.techspot.com/review/337-asus-geforce-gtx-580/page11.html

Based on that I've given the following recommendation:

GeForce GTX 580 - 40A and a 600W PSU minimum


UPDATE:

The GeForce GTX 570 has been added to the list.

Please note the following though as reviewers are changing their method of measuring power consumption:

"As of lately, there has been a lot of discussion using FurMark as stress test to measure power load. Furmark is so malicious on the GPU that it does not represent an objective power draw compared to really hefty gaming. If we take a very-harsh-on-the-GPU gaming title, then measure power consumption and then compare the very same with Furmark, the power consumption can be 50 to 100W higher on a high-end graphics card solely because of FurMark.

After long deliberation we decided to move away from Furmark and are now using a game like application which stresses the GPU 100% yet is much more representable of power consumption and heat levels coming from the GPU."

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-570-review/8

Techspot have also started to measure the power consumption differently and have given very similar results for the GTX 570's full system power consumption: http://www.techspot.com/review/346-gigabyte-geforce-gtx-570/page11.html

For a system under load the following power consumption figures are given:

1x 570 = 369W /12 = 30.8A

That is based on a system with an X58 based motherboard, Core i7 965 @ 3750 MHz and 6144 MB (3x 2048 MB) Corsair DDR3 RAM  @ 1500 MHz.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-570-review/8

Based on that I've given the following recommendation:

GeForce GTX 570 - 35A and a 550W PSU minimum


UPDATE:

AMD's new Radeon HD 6950 and 6970 have been added to the list.

For a system under load the following power consumption figures are given:

1X 6950 = 312W /12 = 26A

1X 6970 = 361W /12 = 30.1A

That is based on a system with an X58 based motherboard, Core i7 965 @ 3750 MHz and 6144 MB (3x 2048 MB) Corsair DDR3 RAM  @ 1500 MHz.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-6950-6970-review/11

Based on that I've given the following recommendations:

Radeon HD 6970 - 34A and a 550W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6950 - 30A and a 500W PSU minimum


UPDATE:

The GeForce GTX 560 Ti has been added to the list.

For a system under load the following power consumption figures are given:

1X 560 = 319W /12 = 26.6A

That is based on a system with an X58 based motherboard, Core i7 965 @ 3750 MHz and 6144 MB (3x 2048 MB) Corsair DDR3 RAM  @ 1500 MHz.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-review/7

2X 560 = 449W /12 = 37.4A

That is based on a system with an X58 based motherboard, Core i7 965 @ 3750 MHz and 6144 MB (3x 2048 MB) Corsair DDR3 RAM  @ 1600 MHz.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-sli-review/14

Based on that I've given the following recommendations:

GeForce GTX 560 Ti in SLi - 42A and a 700W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 31A and a 500W PSU minimum


UPDATE:

The Radeon HD 6990 has been added to the list.

For a system under load the following power consumption figures are given:

1X 6990 = 489W /12 = 40.8A

That is based on a system with an X58 based motherboard, Core i7 965 @ 3750 MHz and 6144 MB (3x 2048 MB) Corsair DDR3 RAM  @ 1500 MHz.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6990-review/10

Based on that I've given the following recommendations:

Radeon HD 6990 - 45A and a 750W PSU minimum


UPDATE:

The GeForce GTX 550 Ti has been added to the list.

For a system under load the following power consumption figures are given:

1X 550 = 289W /12 = 24.1A

That is based on a system with an X58 based motherboard, Core i7 965 @ 3750 MHz and 6144 MB (3x 2048 MB) Corsair DDR3 RAM  @ 1500 MHz.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-550-ti-review-msi-cyclone-ii-oc/6

Based on that I've given the following recommendation:

GeForce GTX 550 Ti - 28A and a 450W PSU minimum


UPDATE:

The GeForce GTX 590 has been added to the list.

For a system under load the following power consumption figures are given:

1X 590 = 503W /12 = 42A
2X 590 = 890W /12 = 74.2A

That is based on a system with an X58 based motherboard, Core i7 965 @ 3750 MHz and 6144 MB (3x 2048 MB) Corsair DDR3 RAM  @ 1500 MHz.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-590-review/7
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-590-sli-review/3

Based on that I've given the following recommendations:

GeForce GTX 590 in SLi - 78A and a 1000W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 590 - 46A and a 700W PSU minimum

UPDATE:

The Radeon HD 6790 has been added to the list.

For a system under load the following power consumption figures are given:

1X 6790 = 245W /12 = 20.4A

That is based on a system with an X58 based motherboard, Core i7 965 @ 3750 MHz and 6144 MB (3x 2048 MB) Corsair DDR3 RAM  @ 1500 MHz.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6790-review/6

Based on that I've given the following recommendation:

Radeon HD 6790 - 25A and a 450W PSU minimum

UPDATE:

The Radeon HD 6870 X2 has been added to the list.

For a system under load the following power consumption figures are given:

1x 6870 X2 = 424W /12 = 35.3A

That is based on a system with an X58 based motherboard, Core i7 965 @ 3750 MHz and 6144 MB (3x 2048 MB) Corsair DDR3 RAM  @ 1500 MHz.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/club3d-radeon-hd-6870-x2-review/8

Based on that I've given the following recommendation:

Radeon HD 6870 X2 - 40A and a 600W PSU minimum

UPDATE:

The Radeon HD 6770 has been added to the list.

For a system under load the following power consumption figures are given:

1x 6770 = 242W /12 = 20.2A
2x 6770 = 341W /12 = 28.4A

That is based on a system with an X58 based motherboard, Core i7 965 @ 3750 MHz and 6144 MB (3x 2048 MB) Corsair DDR3 RAM  @ 1500 MHz.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/his-radeon-6770-iceqx-turbo-crossfire-review/5

Based on that I've given the following recommendations:

Radeon HD 6770 CrossfireX - 33A and a 600W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6770 - 25A and a 450W PSU minimum

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