Cost to run a gaming PC
What a gaming PC costs
At 17 cents a kilowatt hour, a gaming PC costs 6.8 cents an hour while it is drawing power. 3 hours a day with 70 percent average draw is 0.84 kWh a day, $4.28 a month and $52.12 a year. Change any of those three numbers in the calculator and the answer moves with them, because there is nothing else in the sum.
The label figure is 400 watts. That is what the device draws while it is working, not what it draws around the clock.
| Hours of use a day | Energy a day | Cost a month | Cost a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 h | 0.28 kWh | $1.43 | $17.37 |
| 2 h | 0.56 kWh | $2.86 | $34.75 |
| 3 h | 0.84 kWh | $4.28 | $52.12 |
| 4 h | 1.12 kWh | $5.71 | $69.50 |
| 8 h | 2.24 kWh | $11.42 | $138.99 |
What changes the number
- The swing is the graphics card. Idle and desktop work sit near 70 W, a demanding game pulls 300 to 500 W at the wall, and the difference is the whole bill.
- The power supply rating is a ceiling, not a consumption figure. A 750 W supply in a system that draws 400 W still draws 400 W.
- Sleep settings matter more than any component choice. A machine left awake overnight at idle spends more than an hour of gaming.
Find your own wattage
A wall meter gives the honest number in a minute. Failing that, add the graphics card board power to 100 W for the rest of the system.
What this does not include
It does not count the monitor, which adds 20 to 60 W, or the speakers and desk lighting.
Check it against your own numbers
The [running cost calculator](../index.html?device=gaming-pc) opens with this device already selected and its wattage filled in. Replace the wattage with your own reading, set the hours you actually use, and the monthly and yearly figures update in place.
Related: [A 1,500 W space heater](../space-heater/index.html), [An electric blanket](../electric-blanket/index.html), [A dehumidifier](../dehumidifier/index.html).