The RTX 3080 is a potent graphics card that most gamers are picking. But, while building a PC with this RTX 3080 GPU, they are confused about what PSU watts do they need for this RTX 3080 GPU.
When it comes to estimating the PSU wattage, then beginner’s PC builders choose a safe mark, and a 650W power supply is sufficient most of the time.
So, Can A 650W PSU Handle A 3080?
If we pair all the budget-end components with this RTX 3080 GPU, then the 650W power supply will be sufficient. But, if we pair top-tier CPUs or high-end components with RTX 3080, then a 650W PSU would not be sufficient.
There are other components also that draw high power, especially the CPU. That’s why it is important to calculate the wattage of all the other components that will be paired with this 3080 GPU.
How Much Wattage Does A RTX 3080 GPU Need?
According to the RTX 3080 GPU specification, it consumes power between 320 watts to 350 watts at maximum load, and NVidia recommends using a 750 watts power supply for this GPU.
But, if we estimate our overall system’s power requirements based on GPU specifications, then it can sometimes go wrong, and we may buy the wrong power supply with higher or lower wattage.
That’s why it is important to calculate all the components that you will pair with this RTX 3080 GPU.
According to our research,
RTX 3080, with the top-tier CPU and other high-end PC components, needs a Power Supply between- 750 watts to 850 watts.
RTX 3080 with mid-tier CPU and all the other mid-range PC components needs a Power Supply between- 650 watts to 750 watts
The RTX 3080 GPU with budget-tier CPUs and all the other budget-range PC components needs a Power Supply between- 600 watts to 650 watts.
I know that you are confused after getting this diversity of answers, and that’s why for your convenience, I made some tables that will tell you exactly how many PSU watts do you need when pairing this RTX 3080 GPU with high-end, mid-range, and budget-range components.
What PC Components Use How Many PSU Watts?
This table will help you estimate the power consumption of all the PC components you will use inside your system.
Now, we will pair the RTX 3080 GPU with the top-tier, mid-tier, and budget-tier components and then check the overall power requirements.
RTX 3080 GPU with All High-End PC Components
If anyone pairs the RTX 3080 GPU with top-tier CPUs and other high-end PC components, then the estimated power consumption would be like this-
| Components | Peak Power Consumptions |
| RTX 3080 | 350 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= 831 watts with Intel CPUs Total= 748 watts with Ryzen CPUs |
As shown in the above table, if we pair the RTX 3080 GPU with top-tier Intel CPUs and other high-end components, the estimated power consumption goes up to 831 watts. In this kind of scenario, we must pick an 850 watts Power Supply.
But, if we pair the RTX 3080 GPU with the top-tier Ryzen CPUs and other high-end PC components, then our estimated power consumption would go up to 748 watts, and in this kind of scenario, an 800 watts Power Supply would be a great choice. Here, we add a little bit of extra wattage in case of any miscalculation happens.
RTX 3080 with All Mid-End Components
If anyone pairs the RTX 3080 GPU with mid-tier CPUs and all the mid-level PC components, then the estimated Power Consumption would be like this-
| Components | Peak Power Consumptions |
| RTX 3080 | 350 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= 704 watts with Intel CPUs Total= 628 watts with Ryzen CPUs |
The above table shows that if we pair the RTX 3080 GPU with the mid-tier Intel CPU and all the other mid-range PC components, the estimated power consumption goes up to 704 watts. In this kind of scenario, a 750 watts Power Supply would be a great choice. Here, we add extra watts in case of any miscalculation.
But, if we pair the RTX 3080 GPU with the mid-tier Ryzen CPUs and all the mid-range PC components, then the estimated power consumption goes up to 628 watts, and in this kind of scenario, a 650 watts power supply would be sufficient enough.
RTX 3080 Pairing with Budget-End Components
If anyone pairs the RTX 3080 GPU with a budget-tier CPU and all the budget-end PC components, then the estimated power consumption would be like this-
| Components | Peak Power Consumptions |
| RTX 3080 | 350 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= 596 watts with Intel CPUs Total= 566 watts with Ryzen CPUs |
You can see in the above table that if we pair the RTX 3080 GPU with a budget-tier Intel CPU and other budget-end components, then the estimated power consumption would go up to 596 watts, and in this kind of scenario, we need a 650 watts power supply. Here we add littlebit extra watts by keeping the future upgrade factor in mind.
However, if we pair the RTX 3080 GPU with a budget-tier Ryzen CPU and other budget-end components, then the estimated power consumption would go up to 566 watts, and we at least need a 600 watts power supply in this kind of scenario.
You Need More Watts If You Overclock
You get a clear-cut idea about how many PSU watts do you need when pairing an RTX 3080 GPU with a different range of components. But, before picking the PSU, another thing you need to keep in mind is overclocking.
Many users overclock their system’s components to get the maximum performance out of their system. But, when we do overclock, our system’s components consume more watts than usual.
So, if you are going to pair the RTX 3080 GPU with an overclockable CPU on an overclockable motherboard, then pick a power supply with 100 watts extra after estimating the power consumption of all your components.
Can A 750W PSU Handle A 3080?
The 750W Power Supply would be enough for a 3080 GPU most of the time, but if anyone pairs this GPU with a top-tier Intel CPU (e.g., i9 13900K ) or top-tier Ryzen CPU (e.g., Ryzen 7 7050X), then a 650W is not going to sufficient enough.
So, in this kind of scenario, you will need a Power Supply between 800 watts to 850 watts.
Read other articles about how many PSU watts do you need for RTX 3050, 1660 Super, GTX 1050 Ti, and GTX 1650.
