TechCompare LogoTechCompare

Running an 850 W gaming PC 4 h/day costs about $178 a year

A high-end 850 W gaming PC running 4 hours a day at 80% load works out to $178.70 a year at $0.18/kWh — about $14.89 a month. That's 993 kWh annually, or roughly 75% more than a 500 W build running the same schedule, so you're paying about $74 a year for the extra headroom and performance.

Annual cost
$179
At $0.18/kWh
Monthly cost
$15
4 h/day at 80% load
Annual consumption
993 kWh
850 W rated

Calculator

Power Cost Estimator

Device Configuration

W

Not sure? Check PCPartPicker or BuildCores.

Effective Power: 680W

Hours
$/kWh

Not sure? Check global prices on World Population Review.

Daily Cost
$0.49
Monthly Cost
$14.69
Yearly Cost
$178.70
993 kWh / year

How this is calculated

850 W is the mainstream high-end class in 2026 — typically a current-gen flagship GPU (RTX 5080 / 5090, RX 9070 XT) paired with an 80 W-class CPU. The PSU rating is the upper bound; actual draw rarely exceeds 500-650 W even in the most demanding games, which is why 80% utilisation is the reasonable average. Enthusiast mining-era 1200 W builds are a separate category worth pricing at closer to $300/year on this same schedule.

Verdict

$179 a year for a proper high-end gaming rig is less than most gamers spend on a single AAA game library per year — not a cost driver for the hardware choice. Longer daily hours (8+ as a work-and-play machine) push this toward $350+ and start mattering.

More Gaming PC scenarios

500 W gaming PC, 4 h/day
Mid-range gaming PC (500 W)
View details ➜
1200 W workstation, 8 h/day
Workstation / content PC (1200 W)
View details ➜

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a gaming PC 24/7?
At 300 W continuous draw and €0.30/kWh, a gaming PC left on 24/7 costs about €788 per year. Cut that to 8 hours per day of active gaming plus idle the rest and it drops to roughly €260/year. Sleep mode and turning the PC off when not in use are the biggest levers.
How do I calculate kWh from watts?
Multiply wattage by hours, then divide by 1,000. A 500 W device running for 4 hours uses 500 × 4 ÷ 1,000 = 2 kWh. Multiply by your electricity rate (e.g. €0.30/kWh) to get the cost.
What uses more electricity: an RTX 4090 or a typical fridge?
Peak power, the RTX 4090 wins (450 W vs roughly 100-150 W compressor draw). Annual consumption is the opposite: a fridge runs 24/7 at an average of 40-50 W, adding up to around 400 kWh/year — more than many gaming PCs used only a few hours daily.
Does a 1000 W PSU use 1000 W all the time?
No. A PSU is rated for its maximum output capacity; actual draw depends on what the components need. A system with a 1000 W PSU at idle might pull 80 W from the wall, jumping to 400-600 W under gaming load.
How much does an always-on TV or server cost per year?
At 100 W continuous draw and €0.30/kWh, any device running 24/7 costs €263/year. A home NAS at 50 W costs €131/year; a 65-inch OLED TV watched 4 hours/day at 150 W costs about €66/year.
Why is my electricity bill higher than the estimator predicts?
The estimator assumes the wattage you enter is the average over runtime. Real devices spike, idle, and have standby draw. Measure with a cheap wall-socket power meter for the most accurate baseline, then use the estimator to project costs for different usage scenarios.

Related tools

WebGPU Benchmark

Stress-test your GPU right in the browser with real WebGPU workloads and get a performance score.

Use tool ➜

RAM Latency Calculator

Convert DDR3/DDR4/DDR5 timings (CL, tRCD, tRP, tRAS) into true latency in nanoseconds.

Use tool ➜

RAID Calculator

Calculate usable capacity and fault tolerance for RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10.

Use tool ➜

Data Transfer Calculator

Estimate transfer times for files over USB, WiFi, Ethernet, and more.

Use tool ➜