Running cost
What every card costs to run.
The sticker price is one number. The power bill is the other one, and it keeps coming. Every card in the catalog at 4 hours a day under load, priced at the residential electricity rate where you live. Pick your state; the table recalculates.
The bill
17 cards ยท 4h / day
EIA residential average, May 2026
| # | Card | Board power | kWh / yr | Per hour | Per year | 5-year bill | 5 yrs vs MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | GeForce RTX 5060 NVIDIA | 145W | 212 | 2.7¢ | $39 | $195 | 65% |
| 02 | Arc B570 Intel | 150W | 219 | 2.8¢ | $40 | $200 | 91% |
| 03 | Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB AMD | 160W | 234 | 2.9¢ | $43 | $215 | 62% |
| 04 | GeForce RTX 3060 12GB (used) NVIDIA Used | 170W | 248 | 3.1¢ | $46 | $230 | 70% |
| 05 | GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB NVIDIA | 180W | 263 | 3.3¢ | $48 | $240 | 56% |
| 06 | Arc B580 Intel | 190W | 277 | 3.5¢ | $51 | $255 | 102% |
| 07 | GeForce RTX 4070 Super NVIDIA Used | 220W | 321 | 4.0¢ | $59 | $295 | 49% |
| 08 | Radeon RX 9070 AMD | 220W | 321 | 4.0¢ | $59 | $295 | 54% |
| 09 | GeForce RTX 5070 NVIDIA | 250W | 365 | 4.6¢ | $67 | $335 | 61% |
| 10 | Radeon RX 7800 XT AMD | 263W | 384 | 4.8¢ | $71 | $355 | 71% |
| 11 | GeForce RTX 5070 Ti NVIDIA | 300W | 438 | 5.5¢ | $81 | $405 | 54% |
| 12 | Radeon RX 9070 XT AMD | 304W | 444 | 5.6¢ | $82 | $410 | 68% |
| 13 | GeForce RTX 3090 (used) NVIDIA Used | 350W | 511 | 6.4¢ | $94 | $470 | 31% |
| 14 | Radeon RX 7900 XTX AMD | 355W | 518 | 6.5¢ | $95 | $475 | 48% |
| 15 | GeForce RTX 5080 NVIDIA | 360W | 526 | 6.6¢ | $97 | $485 | 49% |
| 16 | GeForce RTX 4090 (used) NVIDIA Used | 450W | 657 | 8.3¢ | $121 | $605 | 38% |
| 17 | GeForce RTX 5090 NVIDIA | 575W | 840 | 10.6¢ | $155 | $775 | 39% |
Board power is each card's rated maximum, so these are ceilings: typical gaming load runs below it and idle draw is a few watts. kWh per year = board power x 4 hours x 365 days. The last column divides five years of that power bill by launch MSRP; for used cards the street price is lower, so the share is higher in practice. Rates are the EIA average residential retail price by state (May 2026, Table 5.6.A).