At the U.S. average price of 18.16¢ per kWh. Your state's price changes these numbers; use the calculator.
Work out your cost
Change any number. The price per kWh is on your electric bill.
Starts at the U.S. average residential price, 18.16¢/kWh (August 2026, EIA, checked Oct 24, 2026). Month is 30 days; year is 12 such months.
The formula
cost = watts × hours ÷ 1,000 × price per kWh
Worked example: 410 W × 4 h ÷ 1,000 = 1.64 kWh a day. 1.64 kWh × $0.1816 = $0.30 a day, or about $8.93 over 30 days.
How many watts does a gaming pc use?
Most are rated 34 to 410 W. The exact figure is on the label on the back or bottom.
- The 34 W to 410 W range is average whole-system power during gameplay across the desktop PCs that Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) tested for the California Energy Commission. Across their 26 systems, laptops measured 21 W to 212 W and consoles 11 W to 158 W.
- The graphics card is usually the biggest load. LBNL found it was 45% to 77% of total system power while gaming. NVIDIA lists average gaming power of 110 W for the RTX 4060 and 315 W for the RTX 4090, against total graphics power ratings of 115 W and 450 W. The RTX 5070 is rated 250 W, the RTX 5070 Ti 300 W and the RTX 5090 575 W.
- Power supply size is not power use. NVIDIA's "required system power" (550 W for an RTX 4060 PC, 850 W for an RTX 4090 PC, 1,000 W for an RTX 5090 PC) is the minimum power supply rating, not what the PC draws. In LBNL's 2015 study, a test PC with an 810 W nameplate total peaked at 414 W in a gaming benchmark, about 49% lower.
- Game choice matters. LBNL found the same PC could use up to 3.5 times as much power in one game as in another, and 4K displays added 25% to 64% to PC gaming energy. The monitor is extra: the average computer display in the 2016 tests used 25 W.
Cost at different electricity prices
| Use | Nevada (lowest state)12.72¢/kWh | U.S. average18.16¢/kWh | New York28.65¢/kWh | California29.75¢/kWh | Hawaii (highest state)47.18¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical gaming PC with monitor, 212 W average while on, 4.4 h/day28 kWh a month | $3.56$42.71/yr | $5.08$60.98/yr | $8.02$96.21/yr | $8.33$99.90/yr | $13.20$158/yr |
| High-end desktop while gaming (410 W), 2 h/day25 kWh a month | $3.13$37.55/yr | $4.47$53.61/yr | $7.05$84.57/yr | $7.32$87.82/yr | $11.61$139/yr |
| High-end desktop while gaming (410 W), 4 h/day49 kWh a month | $6.26$75.10/yr | $8.93$107/yr | $14.10$169/yr | $14.64$176/yr | $23.21$279/yr |
| High-end desktop while gaming (410 W), 7 h/day86 kWh a month | $10.95$131/yr | $15.64$188/yr | $24.67$296/yr | $25.61$307/yr | $40.62$487/yr |
| RTX 5090 card alone at its 575 W rating, 4 h/day69 kWh a month | $8.78$105/yr | $12.53$150/yr | $19.77$237/yr | $20.53$246/yr | $32.55$391/yr |
Per month (30 days) and per year (12 such months). Real use is usually seasonal. Average residential prices for August 2026 from the same EIA table. Your utility's rate, including delivery charges, may differ. Check the price per kWh on your bill.
Ways to pay less
- Let it sleep when you're done DOE's Energy Saver Guide says to turn computers off when they aren't in use, use sleep settings on the PC and monitor, and make sure games that keep a computer awake aren't left running. A 212 W PC left on around the clock uses about 153 kWh a month, roughly $27.72 at the U.S. average price.
- Cap the frame rate LBNL found that frame rates don't track power, and that power on the same PC varied up to 3.5-fold from one game to another. A frame cap at your monitor's refresh rate, or a lower power limit in the graphics driver, stops the card working harder than the screen can show.
- Be careful with 4K and overclocking In LBNL tests, 4K displays raised PC gaming energy by 25% to 64%, and overclocking a CPU from 3.7 to 4.5 GHz raised its peak power by 23% for a 16% higher benchmark score.
- Pick efficient parts when you upgrade NVIDIA rates the RTX 4060 at 110 W average gaming power, 60 W less than the RTX 3060 it replaced. ENERGY STAR certified computers use about 30% to 40% less energy than standard models, mostly by managing idle power better.
Questions
How much does it cost to run a gaming PC for an hour?
Take the watts at the wall, divide by 1,000 and multiply by your price. A PC drawing 410 W uses 0.41 kWh an hour, about $0.07 at the U.S. average residential price of 18.16¢/kWh (EIA, August 2026). A mid-range PC averaging 212 W is about $0.04 an hour.
How much does gaming cost per month on electricity?
At 410 W, 2 hours a day is about $4.47 a month, 4 hours about $8.93 and 7 hours about $15.64 at 18.16¢/kWh. At Nevada's 12.72¢/kWh the 4-hour figure is about $6.26, and at Hawaii's 47.18¢/kWh about $23.21.
Does a 1,000 W power supply use 1,000 W?
No. A power supply only delivers what the parts ask for, and the rating is a ceiling. NVIDIA's 1,000 W figure for an RTX 5090 is the minimum power supply size, not a measured draw. In LBNL's measurements, a test system with 810 W of nameplate parts drew 414 W at peak while gaming.
Does a gaming PC use a lot of electricity?
More than most electronics, less than heating. LBNL estimated a typical 2014-era gaming PC with its display at about 1,400 kWh a year, equal to ten game consoles or three refrigerators. That's about $254 a year at 18.16¢/kWh, against the roughly 899 kWh a month EIA says the average U.S. home used in 2022.
Gaming PC vs console: which costs more to run?
Usually the PC. LBNL measured consoles at 11 W to 158 W while gaming. At the top of that range, 4 hours a day is about $3.44 a month, against about $8.93 for a 410 W PC.
Can I mine crypto on my gaming PC when I'm not playing?
You can, but the card then runs 24 hours a day, so price it like a mining rig. An RTX 4090 at its 450 W rating uses 10.8 kWh a day, about $1.96 at the U.S. average price, before the rest of the PC. Ethereum no longer uses GPU mining since The Merge in 2022. Our crypto mining rig page has the full cost table.
Sources
- U.S. EIA: Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average price of electricity by state, August 2026 (released Oct 23, 2026). Used for: U.S. average residential rate (18.16¢/kWh) and state rates
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the California Energy Commission: A Plug-Loads Game Changer: Computer Gaming Energy Efficiency without Performance Compromise (CEC-500-2019-042). Used for: Measured gameplay power for 26 systems (desktops 34 to 410 W, laptops 21 to 212 W, consoles 11 to 158 W), GPU share of power, game-to-game variation, 4K display impact, 25 W average display, 7 h/day heavy users
- Mills and Mills (LBNL): Taming the energy use of gaming computers, Energy Efficiency 9 (2016). Used for: Nameplate 810 W vs 414 W measured peak while gaming; 212 W average on-time draw; 4.4 h/day typical gamer; about 1,400 kWh a year; overclocking test
- NVIDIA: GeForce RTX 4060 Ti and 4060 specifications. Used for: RTX 4060: 110 W average gaming power, 115 W total graphics power, 550 W required system power
- NVIDIA: GeForce RTX 4090 specifications. Used for: 315 W average gaming power, 450 W total graphics power, 850 W required system power
- NVIDIA: GeForce RTX 5090 specifications. Used for: 575 W total graphics power, 1,000 W required system power
- NVIDIA: GeForce RTX 5070 family specifications. Used for: Total graphics power 250 W (RTX 5070) and 300 W (RTX 5070 Ti)
- NVIDIA: Ultimate guide to GeForce RTX 4060. Used for: RTX 4060 uses 60 W less on average than the RTX 3060
- U.S. DOE: Energy Saver Guide (2022). Used for: Turn computers off, use sleep settings, don't leave games running that keep the PC awake
- ENERGY STAR: Computers. Used for: Certified computers use about 30 to 40% less energy than standard models
- ethereum.org: The Merge. Used for: Ethereum's move to proof of stake in 2022
- U.S. EIA: FAQ: How much electricity does an American home use?. Used for: Average U.S. residential customer about 899 kWh a month in 2022