What PSU do I need for a Core Ultra 5 245K?

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 Ultra 5 245K with GeForce RTX 4070

Power draw by component for a Core Ultra 5 245K build
Component	Power
Core Ultra 5 245K at its ceiling	159 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	403 W

The recommendation of 650 W sits that draw at 62% 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 Ultra 5 245K is sold as a 125 W processor and draws 159 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 34 W — 27% — before the graphics card is counted at all.

With a GeForce RTX 4070 the system draws 403 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 4090, you would buy 800 W. That build draws 653 W at full tilt — 82% of the unit you just bought, with nothing left for ageing or for the card's transients. It needs 850 W.

It happens on 27 of the 34 cards here, by as much as 50 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 Ultra 5 245K TDP against what the build needs
Graphics card	Sized on TDP	Actually needed	Short by
RTX 4090	800 W	850 W	+50 W
RTX 3090 Ti	800 W	850 W	+50 W
RTX 5080	700 W	750 W	+50 W
RTX 3090	650 W	700 W	+50 W
RTX 3080 Ti	650 W	700 W	+50 W

Core Ultra 5 245K with every graphics card

Power supply needed for a Core Ultra 5 245K with each graphics card
Graphics card	System draw	PSU needed	Set by
GeForce RTX 5090	778 W	1000 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 4090	653 W	850 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti	653 W	850 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 5080	563 W	850 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 7900 XTX	558 W	800 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3090	553 W	750 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3080 Ti	553 W	750 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3080	553 W	750 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER	523 W	750 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4080	523 W	750 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 7900 XT	518 W	750 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 9070 XT	507 W	750 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti	503 W	750 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER	488 W	700 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti	488 W	700 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 7800 XT	466 W	700 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 7900 GRE	463 W	700 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 7700 XT	448 W	700 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti	493 W	650 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 5070	453 W	650 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER	423 W	650 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3070	423 W	650 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 9070	423 W	650 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4070	403 W	650 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti	403 W	600 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti	383 W	600 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3060	373 W	550 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti	368 W	550 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 7600	368 W	550 W	Card maker
Radeon RX 9060 XT	363 W	550 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 5060	348 W	550 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 5050	333 W	550 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 3050	333 W	550 W	Card maker
GeForce RTX 4060	318 W	550 W	Card maker

Frequently asked questions

What PSU do I need for a Core Ultra 5 245K?

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 Ultra 5 245K actually draw?

159 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 34 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 34 W short.

Does a Core Ultra 5 245K need a bigger PSU than its TDP suggests?

Yes — 34 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 27 of the 34 cards here, by as much as 50 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.