Everyday Tech · Oct 10, 2026
Your “125W” Intel CPU can officially use more than twice that
That TDP on your CPU spec sheet isn't its maximum draw.
Modern PCs are power-hungry machines. High-end GPUs like the RTX 5080 alone have a TGP (total graphics power) of 360W, raising the minimum requirement for PSUs in high-end systems to a minimum of 850W, as Nvidia advises. However, these GPUs aren't the only power-hungry components in your system. For the CPU, it seems like it would barely sip power, but that's not true for newer processors.