The RTX 3050 GPU is an excellent card for gamers; therefore, many users want to build a PC with this GPU but are confused about what Power Supply watts they need for this RTX 3050 GPU.
500 Watt Power Supply is enough for RTX 3050 when you will pair the budget-tier CPUs and other budget-end PC components with this GPU.
To estimate exactly how many PSU watts need for this GPU, you have to calculate the power consumption of all the other components you will pair with this RTX 3050 GPU.
So, How Many PSU watts Do You Need For RTX 3050 GPU?
The RTX 3050 GPU consumes 130 watts of power from the PSU at maximum load, and Nvidia recommends using at least a 550W Power Supply for this GPU.
But, picking the Power Supply based on the GPU specifications can sometimes go wrong, and we may end up buying the wrong Power Supply with higher or lower wattage. Because asides from the graphics card, other PC components also consume high PSU wattage (especially the CPU).
That’s why it is always a good idea to calculate the power consumption of all the PC components and pick the Power Supply.
According to our research,
The RTX 3050 GPU with budget-end CPU and other budget-tier PC components needs a Power Supply between 400W to 450W.
The RTX 3050 GPU with the mid-tier CPU and other mid-range PC components needs a Power Supply between 450W to 550W.
The RTX 3050 GPU with the top-tier CPU and other high-level PC components needs a Power Supply between 550W to 650W.
For your convenience, I make some lists through which you will get a clear-cut idea about how many PSU watts you need when pairing the RTX 3050 GPU with high-end, mid-range, and budget-end components.
But before that, check the image below, which will tell you what PC components in your PC consume and how many PSU watts.
What PC Components Consume How Many PSU Watts?
This image would help you to calculate the power wattage of all your components and choose the Power Supply.
Now, we will pair the RTX 3050 GPU with high-end, mid-end, and budget-range PC components and check what PSU watts will be safe.
RTX 3050 with All High-End Components
If anybody pairs the RTX 3050 GPU with top-tier CPUs and other high-end components, then the estimated Power Consumption would be like this-
| Components | Peak Power Consumptions |
| RTX 3050 | 125 watts |
| Top-Tier Intel CPUs (e.g., Intel Core i9 13900K) | 253 watts |
| Top-Tier Ryzen CPUs (e.g., Ryzen 7 7950X) | 170 watts |
| 2 SSDs | 18 watts |
| 2 Hard Disk | 40 watts |
| Motherboard | 80 watts |
| 4 RAMs (16 GB) | 60 watts |
| 3 Case fans (120mm) | 18 watts |
| 2 CPU fans (liquid cooler-120mm) | 12 watts |
| Total= 606 watts with Intel CPUs Total= 523 watts with Ryzen CPUs |
You can see in the above table that when you pair the RTX 3050 GPU with top-tier Intel CPUs then, the estimated power consumption would go up to 606 watts, and in this kind of scenario, the 650 watts power supply would be sufficient enough. Here we add extra watts in case of any miscalculation happens.
Things would change a little when we pair the RTX 3050 GPU with the top-tier Ryzen CPUs and other high-end components; then, the estimated power consumption would go up to 523 watts, and in this kind of scenario, the 550 watts Power Supply needed.
RTX 3050 with All Mid-End Components
If anyone pairs the RTX 3050 GPU with the mid-tier CPUs and other mid-range PC components, then the estimated power consumption would be like this-
| Components | Peak Power Consumptions |
| RTX 3050 | 125 watts |
| Mid-Tier Intel CPUs (e.g., Intel Core i5 13600K) | 181 watts |
| Mid- Tier Ryzen CPUs (e.g., Ryzen 7 7700X) | 105 watts |
| 1 SSD | 9 watts |
| 2 Hard Disk | 40 watts |
| Motherboard | 70 watts |
| 2 RAMs (16 GB) | 30 watts |
| 3 Case fans (120mm) | 18 watts |
| 1 CPU fan (120mm) | 6 watts |
| Total= 479 watts with Intel CPUs Total= 403 watts with Ryzen CPUs |
You can see in the above table that when we pair the RTX 3050 GPU with the mid-tier intel CPUs and all the mid-range PC components, then the estimated power consumption would touch up to 479 watts, and in this kind of scenario, picking a 550-watt Power supply would be a great choice by keeping the future upgrade factor in mind.
Things would change slightly when we pair the RTX 3050 GPU with the mid-tier Ryzen CPUs. In this kind of scenario, the overall system’s power consumption touches up to 403 watts, and we at least need a 450-watt Power Supply.
RTX 3050 with All Budget-level Components
If anyone pairs the RTX 3050 GPU with budget-end CPUs and other budget-range PC components, then the estimated Power Consumption would be like this-
| Components | Peak Power Consumptions |
| RTX 3050 | 125 watts |
| Budget-Level Intel CPUs (e.g., Intel Core i9 11900K) | 125 watts |
| Budget- Level Ryzen CPUs (e.g., Ryzen 5 3600X) | 95 watts |
| 1 SSD | 9 watts |
| 1 Hard Disk | 20 watts |
| Budget end Motherboard | 60 watts |
| 2 RAMs (8 GB) | 14 watts |
| 2 Case fans (120mm) | 12 watts |
| 1 CPU fan (120mm) | 6 watts |
| Total= 371 watts with Intel CPUs Total= 341 watts with Ryzen CPUs |
When we pair the RTX 3050 GPU with the budget-level Intel CPUs and other budget-range PC components, the estimated Power Consumption goes up to 371 watts, and for this kind of scenario, we need a 450 watts Power Supply. Here, we add a few extra watts in case of any miscalculation or if you want to upgrade some components in the near future.
But, if we pair the RTX 3050 GPU with the budget-end Ryzen CPUs and other budget-range PC components, then the estimated Power consumption would go to 341 watts, and a 400 watts Power supply would be great in this kind of scenario.
You Need More Watts If You Overclock
Overclocking increases the overall PC’s performance, and that’s why many users (especially gamers) these days are overclocking their system’s components like- RAM, CPUs, and GPUs.
But, if you are going to overclock your components, you need to keep in mind that when you overclock, your components consume more power than usual.
For instance, during overclocking, the motherboard consumes 20 to 50 watts more, the RAM consumes 2 to 3 watts more per stick, and the storage devices and PC fans consume 1 to 2 watts more than usual.
So, if you are going to pair this RTX 3050 GPU with an overclockable CPU on an overclockable motherboard, then you have to pick a Power Supply with 100 watts extra.
If you are not interested in overclocking, the extra Power supply watts are unnecessary.
