RTX 3050 Power Consumption: How Much Power Does The RTX 3050 Use?
Last updated on February 25th, 2023 at 12:51 pm
The RTX 3050 is a great choice when it comes to a budget GPU. This graphics card is targeted towards more low-end builds that still want to see good gaming performance.
It is important to know how much power you are using and how much power you will need to support your GPU.
So, I have made a power consumption guide to help you figure out the requirements and what PSU you need to support the RTX 3050.
How Many Watts Does an RTX 3050 Use?
The RTX 3050 has a TGP or Total Graphics Power of 130 Watts, which is the typical wattage it produces. When gaming you should also hit around 115 Watts. However, when idle the GPU should only produce around 7 Watts of power.
The wattage that this card uses can change depending on how powerful your gaming setup is, as well as the types of games and tasks you are doing.
For example, if you use more than one monitor expect your graphics card to have a higher idle power consumption.
Typically, with an extra monitor the idle power consumption will be under double what you would see with just one monitor.
In this instance, the Geforce RTX 3050 graphics card will produce around 13 Watts of power when idle in a dual monitor setup.
When looking at a GPU’s power consumption, you want to look at the TGP (Total Graphics Power) because this shows the maximum power draw you will usually get when using your GPU for intensive tasks such as gaming.
You might also hear the phrase “TDP” which can be used interchangeably with TGP. The difference is essential in that TDP is the total power consumption of a component, and TGP is the total power consumption of a GPU specifically.
However, it is not actually the true maximum of the graphics card. The true maximum of the RTX 3050 is around 148 Watts. This is still not very high compared to other graphics cards, and you will only hit this amount of power consumption when the GPU is overclocked, or you see a spike in your performance. (which only lasts a few seconds.)
RTX 3050 Power Consumption Compared to Other GPUs
The GPUs power consumption is compared using TGP. It is essential to know and compare your graphics cards to other similar models because it will help you get a grasp on the amount of power your system is going to use.
Here is a comparison of a few graphics cards that are around the performance range of the RTX 3050.
| GPU | TGP |
| RTX 3050 | 130 Watts |
| RTX 3060 | 170 Watts |
| RTX 3060 Ti | 200 Watts |
As you can see from this table, the RTX 3050 has a very low power consumption. This is expected because this graphics card, is targeted toward more budget builds.
If you want to compare more graphics cards on their power consumption and TGP I have provided a database where you can look at dozens of different GPUs and their power consumption, that way you don’t have to do the research yourself.
Check out the Database.
I have also provided the average power consumption when gaming, as well as the average power consumption when idle, that way you can get a better understanding.
What Power Supply Do I Need to Use For an RTX 3050?
I would recommend that you try to get a power supply unit that is 600 watts. If you go on Nvidia’s page you can see that they say that the 3050 would be able to run on a 550-watt power supply, however, that is the bare minimum.
When purchasing a power supply for your computer you want to keep in mind that every piece of hardware in your system also has a certain level of power consumption, not just your graphics card.
Although not as powerful as a graphics card, all of these little components add up and can exceed the wattage of your PSU very quickly.
That’s why you want to be safe and grab a PSU that has around a 20% increase in extra wattage than you planned for your system.
By doing this you will not only know for sure that your PSU will be able to support powering your whole system but it will also be safe from any power spikes that happen when you are gaming.
If you also want to save on your electricity bill, then you should purchase a power supply that is at least 80 plus Bronze certified, with the best rating being 80 plus Gold certified.
You should read: “How Do Power Supply Ratings Work?”
RTX 3050 FAQ
How Much Power Does The RTX 3050 Draw Idle?
When idle the RTX 3050 will draw around 7 watts of power. However, every GPU is different, this is just the base average.
Can The RTX 3050 Run on 450 Watts?
It is possible for the RTX 3050 to run on a 450-watt power supply. However, in order to do this you would need other low-end components that have very low power consumption to do so.
Nvidia recommends having at least a 550-watt PSU, which in my opinion is the bare minimum.
RTX 3050 Good For Gaming?
The RTX 3050 is good for gaming if you are building a budget PC. Graphics cards like these, however, will require you to lower graphics in order to increase performance.
