RX 6900 XT Power Consumption: How Much Power Does The RX 6900 XT Use?
The RX 6900 XT is one of AMDs most powerful GPUs. However, with great power comes great power consumption am I right?
Although this GPU is very powerful and sits next to some of the top GPUs on the market such as the RTX 3090 Ti and RTX 4070 Ti, the amount of power this graphics card uses is also a lot.
That’s why I wrote this article.
In this article, we will go through the power consumption of the RX 6900 XT, what power supply to use, and recommended wattages. We will also compare this GPU TGP to that of similar GPUs in the same performance range.
How Many Watts Does The RX 6900 XT Use?
The RX 6900 XT has a TGP or Total Graphics Power of 300 Watts, which is the typical wattage it produces. This is also the average power consumption it uses when gaming. However, when idle The RX 6800 XT only uses 20 Watts of Power.
As you can see this GPU has a very high power consumption.
Obviously, depending on the types of applications, you are using your computer for and the types of games you play will change the amount of power your GPU uses at a given time.
Another thing to consider is the number of monitors you use in your setup will determine the idle power consumption of this GPU.
With a single monitor setup, you should expect an idle TGP of 20 watts, but for every monitor, you add you should double the original wattage to get around how much wattage your GPU will be using.
So, if you added a second monitor then your power consumption will go up to around 40 watts when idle, but you can see numbers like 38, or 39 watts while idle as well.
When we talk about the power consumption of a GPU you will hear terms like TGP (Total Graphics Power), or TDP (Total Design Power). You will often hear these two phrases being used interchangeably with each other when talking about power consumption.
These terms are essentially the same thing, with TDP talking about the power consumption for all computer hardware, and TGP talking about the power consumption for a GPU specifically.
This leads us to another point.
The TGP of a GPU is not actually the maximum amount of power it can produce because whether you are gaming, or working, your graphics card will have ups and downs with the amount of power it is producing throughout the session.
With the RX 6900 XT, you should expect to see a max power output of around 325 watts.
However, a power spike this big will only happen under extreme loads, and possibly when overclocking.
This is why it is essential to have a power supply that is reliable with extra wattage for the type of GPU you are using.
What Power Supply Do I Need For My RX 6900 XT?
The Manufacturers of The RX 6900 XT AMD recommend using an 850-watt Power supply with this GPU. A power supply this big will give you the flexibility to upgrade and overclock in the future.
Although there are many power supply brands and different qualifications out there I would recommend you go for something that is at least 80 Plus certified that comes from a trusted brand such as EVGA, or Corsair.
This will provide you with power supply hardware that is very reliable and can save you on your energy bill as well.
The reason for this is that a power supply unit that is not certified can take a significant amount of electricity out of your wall that doesn’t do anything. Not only that, but power supplies from a brand that isn’t trusted can damage other parts of your computer, or have underlying issues that you will experience sooner or later.
RX 6900 XT 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 RX 6800 XT.
| GPU | TGP |
| RTX 3090 | 350 Watts |
| RTX 3090 Ti | 450 Watts |
| RX 6900 XT | 300 Watts |
| RX 6800 XT | 280 Watts |
From this table, you can see that the RX 6900 XT is very power efficient compared to Nvidia GPUs on the same performance level.
The RTX 3090 has a 50-watt difference, and the RTX 3090 Ti has a 100-watt power consumption difference when compared to the RX 6900 XT, which is crazy if you think about it.
While these GPUs offer similar performance, their power output is vastly different, and this is one category that I will give straight to AMD, for making very power-efficient GPUs.
Now, when we compare the TGP of the RX 6800 XT and the RX 6900 XT, you can see that there is only a 20-watt difference, which is to be expected with the extra performance and power the RX 6900 XT needs to use.
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.
RX 6900 XT FAQ
Is a 750 Watt PSU Enough For The RX 6900 XT?
Yes, a 750-watt PSU will be enough to run the 6900 XT. Even though AMD recommends an 850-watt PSU with the 6900 XT, this doesn’t make much sense because the RX 6800 XT has a recommended PSU wattage of 650 watts, and these two GPUs only have a 20-wattage difference.
So, the answer is a 750-watt PSU will be plenty for the RX 6900 XT.
What Happens When a GPU Draws Too Much Power?
If your GPU draws too much power then you start to experience system failures. Hardware, such as your motherboard, CPU, or RAM could stop functioning, and you will most likely experience a black screen or system shutdowns.
What Happens When Your PSU Wattage is Too High?
Nothing will happen when your PSU wattage is too high, the only negative effect it will have is on your bank account. If you buy a PSU that has a lot more wattage than your computer uses, then you are just wasting your money because a PSU will only use the wattage it needs for your computer.
