What PSU do I need for a Core i5-14600K?

550 W to 1000 W, depending on the graphics card beside it. With a GeForce RTX 4070 the answer is 650 W.

Where the watts go — Core i5-14600K with GeForce RTX 4070

Power draw by component for a Core i5-14600K build
Component	Power
Core i5-14600K at its ceiling	181 W
GeForce RTX 4070 board power	200 W
Motherboard	25 W
Memory module x2	6 W
NVMe SSD	7 W
Case fan x3	6 W
Continuous draw	425 W

The recommendation of 650 W sits that draw at 65% of the supply's rating. The target is 80%: supplies lose capacity as they age, and a graphics card's millisecond transients have to come from somewhere.

Why the answer is a range

A Core i5-14600K is sold as a 125 W processor and draws 181 W when it boosts. Intel calls the second figure Maximum Turbo Power, and it is what the chip pulls whenever it turbos. Sizing a supply against the 125 W on the box is short by 56 W — 45% — before the graphics card is counted at all.

With a GeForce RTX 4070 the system draws 425 W at full tilt, which calls for 650 W. Across the 34 cards below the answer ranges from 550 W to 1000 W: with this processor it is the graphics card that moves the number, not the other way round.

What the box would have told you

Size a supply against the 125 W on this processor's box and, paired with GeForce RTX 3090, you would buy 650 W. That build draws 575 W at full tilt — 88% of the unit you just bought, with nothing left for ageing or for the card's transients. It needs 750 W.

It happens on 30 of the 34 cards here, by as much as 100 W. On the rest the graphics card is light enough that the undercount does not cross a supply size, which is luck rather than a method.

Supply sized from the Core i5-14600K TDP against what the build needs
Graphics card	Sized on TDP	Actually needed	Short by
RTX 3090	650 W	750 W	+100 W
RTX 3080 Ti	650 W	750 W	+100 W
RTX 3080	650 W	750 W	+100 W
Radeon RX 9070 XT	600 W	700 W	+100 W
RTX 5070 Ti	600 W	700 W	+100 W

Core i5-14600K with every graphics card

Power supply needed for a Core i5-14600K with each graphics card
Graphics card	System draw	PSU needed	Set by
GeForce RTX 5090	800 W	1000 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 4090	675 W	850 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti	675 W	850 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 5080	585 W	850 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 7900 XTX	580 W	800 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3090	575 W	750 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 3080 Ti	575 W	750 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 3080	575 W	750 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER	545 W	750 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4080	545 W	750 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 7900 XT	540 W	750 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 9070 XT	529 W	750 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti	525 W	750 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER	510 W	700 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti	510 W	700 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 7800 XT	488 W	700 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 7900 GRE	485 W	700 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 7700 XT	470 W	700 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti	515 W	650 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 5070	475 W	650 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER	445 W	650 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3070	445 W	650 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 9070	445 W	650 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4070	425 W	650 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti	425 W	600 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti	405 W	600 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3060	395 W	550 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti	390 W	550 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 7600	390 W	550 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 9060 XT	385 W	550 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 5060	370 W	550 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 5050	355 W	550 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3050	355 W	550 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4060	340 W	550 W	Card maker

Frequently asked questions

What PSU do I need for a Core i5-14600K?

It depends entirely on the graphics card: 550 W with the lightest here, 1000 W with the heaviest. Paired with a GeForce RTX 4070 the answer is 650 W.

How many watts does a Core i5-14600K actually draw?

181 W at its ceiling, not the 125 W on the spec sheet. Intel publishes the higher number as Maximum Turbo Power; the lower one is a thermal design target, and the gap between them is 56 W.

Is the 125 W TDP the number to size a PSU against?

No. TDP describes what the cooler has to remove under a sustained load, not what the socket can pull in the moment it boosts. Using it here would leave you 56 W short.

Does a Core i5-14600K need a bigger PSU than its TDP suggests?

Yes — 56 W more, before the graphics card. That is the difference between a supply that copes and one that trips under a load spike.

What happens if I size my PSU from the 125 W TDP?

You would buy a supply that is too small on 30 of the 34 cards here, by as much as 100 W — often a whole size, sometimes two.

A sizing estimate, not a measurement. It adds the processor's power ceiling, the graphics card's rated board power and an itemised allowance for the rest of the system, then leaves headroom so the supply is not running at its limit. Real draw depends on the board's power profile, how far the parts are overclocked, and how a particular graphics card handles transient spikes. Treat a result within 50 W of a supply's rating as a reason to choose the next size up.

Data on this page last verified 2 September 2026.