Power supply sizing for RTX 50 and Radeon RX 9000 builds
The rule: take the graphics card maker’s recommended wattage as your minimum, add margin for a power-hungry processor or future upgrades, and choose a current ATX 3.x unit with the right cables.
What the card makers recommend
| Card | Board power | Recommended supply |
|---|---|---|
| RTX 5060 | 145 W | 550 W |
| RTX 5060 Ti | 180 W | 600 W |
| RTX 5070 | 250 W | 650 W |
| RTX 5070 Ti | 300 W | 750 W |
| RTX 5080 | 360 W | 850 W |
| RTX 5090 | 575 W | 1000 W |
| RX 9060 XT | 150 to 160 W | 450 W |
| RX 9070 | 220 W | 650 W |
| RX 9070 XT | 304 W | 750 W |
The recommended supply is far above the card’s own figure because it covers a typical processor, the motherboard, drives and fans, and the short power spikes that graphics cards produce under sudden load.
When to go a size up
- High-power processors. Intel allows its Core Ultra 9 285K up to 250 W at full turbo; an eight-core Ryzen 7 9800X3D is rated at 120 W. Big processors deserve extra margin.
- Planned upgrades. A 850 W unit bought with an RTX 5070 can carry a later move to an RTX 5080.
- Noise. A supply that runs at half to two-thirds of its rating spins its fan slower and stays cooler.
ATX 3.1 and the 16-pin cable
Supplies built to ATX 3.0 or 3.1 are designed to tolerate the brief overloads that current graphics cards cause. ATX 3.1 units ship with the 12V-2×6 cable, the revised 16-pin plug used by most RTX 50 cards from the 5070 upward. It looks like the older 12VHPWR plug, but its sense pins are shorter so the card can detect a plug that is not fully inserted. Push it in until there is no gap, and do not bend the cable sharply right at the connector.
Radeon RX 9000 cards mostly use 8-pin PCIe plugs. Count how many your card needs and give each its own cable from the supply where possible.
Efficiency labels
80 Plus tiers and Cybenetics ratings measure how efficiently a supply converts mains power. They say nothing about ripple, protections or build quality, so look for a lab test of that specific unit before deciding.
Small builds
Mini-ITX cases usually take an SFX power supply. SFX-L units are a little longer and often quieter. Check which size your case supports.
Browse all power supplies, or read How to choose a graphics card first.
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