The RTX 3060 Ti is a great choice for a high-performance budget GPU. With this card, you can easily play games with decent performance, and it is pretty power efficient.
The power consumption of the RTX 3060 Ti is relatively low compared to other high-performance cards in the same generation but is a lot higher than its predecessor the RTX 2060 Ti.
Overall, the GTX 3060 Ti is a great choice for those looking for a powerful graphics card with excellent power efficiency.
How Many Watts Does an RTX 3060 Ti Use?
The RTX 3060 Ti has a TGP or Total Graphics Power of 200 Watts, which is the typical wattage it produces. When gaming you should also hit around 200 Watts. However, when idle the GPU should only produce around 9 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 just under double what you would see with just one monitor.
In this instance, the Geforce RTX 3060 Ti graphics card will produce around 17 Watts of power when idle in a dual monitor setup.
When looking at the power consumption of a GPU 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.
However, it is not actually the true maximum of the graphics card. The true maximum of the RTX 3060 is around 215 Watts, but this only happens, when you see a spike in your performance. These power spikes only last a few seconds and will go back down to the max baseline level which in this case is only 200 watts.
RTX 3060 Ti Power Consumption Compared to Other GPUs
The GPUs power consumption is compared using TGP. It is very important 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 3060 Ti.
As you can see from this table the RTX 3060 Ti is a pretty power-efficient card.
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 3060 Ti?
I would recommend that you try to get a power supply unit that is 650 watts. If you go on Nvidia’s page you can see that they say that the 3060 Ti would be able to run on a 600-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 has a power consumption.
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 3060 Ti FAQ
Is a 500W Power Supply Enough For The RTX 3060 Ti?
Using a 500-watt power supply will not be enough to support a computer with a 3060 Ti unless the rest of your build is very budget. However, this is not a good thing because it can create a bottleneck in the performance of your computer. I recommend you use a 650-watt power supply
Does The RTX 3060 Ti Use More Power Than The RTX 3060?
Yes, the RTX 3060 Ti does use more power than the RTX 3060, that’s because it is a Ti graphics card, which means it is a more powerful version of the non-ti counterpart, which in this case is the 3060.
How Much Power Does The RTX 3060 Ti Consume?
The RTX 3060 consumes 200 watts of power which is pretty power efficient compared to other cards of the 30-series GPUs.
Does Overclocking The RTX 3060 Ti Increase Its Power Consumption?
Yes, overclocking the RTX 3060 Ti will increase its power consumption because it is being pushed to produce more performance, meaning it is working harder and faster. All these factors increase power consumption.
Is a 650 Watt Power Supply Enough For The RTX 3060 Ti?
Yes, a 650-watt power supply is in my opinion the exact amount of wattage you want for a computer built with an RTX 3060 Ti.
