What PSU do I need for a Core Ultra 9 285K?

550 W to 1200 W, depending on the graphics card beside it. With a GeForce RTX 4070 the answer is 650 W.

Where the watts go — Core Ultra 9 285K with GeForce RTX 4070

Power draw by component for a Core Ultra 9 285K build
Component	Power
Core Ultra 9 285K at its ceiling	250 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	494 W

The recommendation of 650 W sits that draw at 76% 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 9 285K is sold as a 125 W processor and draws 250 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 125 W — 100% — before the graphics card is counted at all.

With a GeForce RTX 4070 the system draws 494 W at full tilt, which calls for 650 W. Across the 34 cards below the answer ranges from 550 W to 1200 W: with this processor it is the graphics card that moves the number, not the other way round.

Rated to 250 W, with a 295 W extreme profile some boards enable by default. If yours does, size against that instead.

What the box would have told you

Size a supply against the 125 W on this processor's box and, paired with GeForce RTX 5090, you would buy 1000 W. That build draws 869 W at full tilt — 87% of the unit you just bought, with nothing left for ageing or for the card's transients. It needs 1200 W.

That is not a quirk of this pairing. On all 34 cards here, sizing from the stated TDP lands you a smaller supply than the build calls for — by as much as 200 W at the top end.

Supply sized from the Core Ultra 9 285K TDP against what the build needs
Graphics card	Sized on TDP	Actually needed	Short by
RTX 5090	1000 W	1200 W	+200 W
RTX 4090	800 W	1000 W	+200 W
RTX 3090 Ti	800 W	1000 W	+200 W
RTX 3090	650 W	850 W	+200 W
RTX 3080 Ti	650 W	850 W	+200 W

Core Ultra 9 285K with every graphics card

Power supply needed for a Core Ultra 9 285K with each graphics card
Graphics card	System draw	PSU needed	Set by
GeForce RTX 5090	869 W	1200 W	This build
GeForce RTX 4090	744 W	1000 W	This build
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti	744 W	1000 W	This build
GeForce RTX 5080	654 W	850 W	Both agree
Radeon RX 7900 XTX	649 W	850 W	This build
GeForce RTX 3090	644 W	850 W	This build
GeForce RTX 3080 Ti	644 W	850 W	This build
GeForce RTX 3080	644 W	850 W	This build
GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER	614 W	800 W	This build
GeForce RTX 4080	614 W	800 W	This build
Radeon RX 7900 XT	609 W	800 W	This build
Radeon RX 9070 XT	598 W	750 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti	594 W	750 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti	584 W	750 W	This build
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER	579 W	750 W	This build
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti	579 W	750 W	This build
Radeon RX 7800 XT	557 W	700 W	Both agree
Radeon RX 7900 GRE	554 W	700 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 5070	544 W	700 W	This build
Radeon RX 7700 XT	539 W	700 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER	514 W	650 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 3070	514 W	650 W	Both agree
Radeon RX 9070	514 W	650 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 4070	494 W	650 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti	494 W	650 W	This build
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti	474 W	600 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 3060	464 W	600 W	This build
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti	459 W	600 W	This build
Radeon RX 7600	459 W	600 W	This build
Radeon RX 9060 XT	454 W	600 W	This build
GeForce RTX 5060	439 W	550 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 5050	424 W	550 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 3050	424 W	550 W	Both agree
GeForce RTX 4060	409 W	550 W	Both agree

Frequently asked questions

What PSU do I need for a Core Ultra 9 285K?

It depends entirely on the graphics card: 550 W with the lightest here, 1200 W with the heaviest. Paired with a GeForce RTX 4070 the answer is 650 W.

How many watts does a Core Ultra 9 285K actually draw?

250 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 125 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 125 W short.

Does a Core Ultra 9 285K need a bigger PSU than its TDP suggests?

Yes — 125 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 34 of the 34 cards here, by as much as 200 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.