How much does a gaming PC cost to run?
A typical gaming PC costs about 23.7p per session to run. At 5 sessions a week that is £1.18 a week, or £61.59 a year, based on 300 W for 3 hours (0.90 kWh) at 26.32p per kWh.
Adjust for your gaming PC
Worked example
300 W is 0.3 kW. Running for 3 hours uses 0.3 × 3 = 0.90 kWh. At 26.32p per kWh that costs 23.7p.
Five sessions a week comes to £61.59 a year. A change that halved the average draw, such as a frame-rate cap and a lower-power graphics setting, would save about £30.79 over the year.
How to cut the cost
Capping the frame rate to your monitor's refresh rate stops the graphics card working harder than it needs to. Let the PC sleep when idle, switch off peripherals you are not using, and consider that a laptop would draw a fraction of this for the same game.
Questions
Does a gaming PC use a lot of electricity?
More than most computers, because the graphics card dominates. A 300 W average costs 7.9p an hour at 26.32p per kWh, so a session of 3 hours costs 23.7p.
How can I measure my own PC's power draw?
A plug-in energy monitor between the wall socket and the PC shows the watts in real time. Note the reading in a typical game, enter it above, and you get your own running cost.
Other appliances
Electricity rate: Ofgem energy price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026, Great Britain average, Direct Debit, default tariff: 26.32p per kWh. Your own tariff and region may differ, so change the rate above to match your bill. Appliance figures are typical estimates; your appliance's energy label or manual is more accurate. Last checked 2026-11-03. Next review: January 2027, when Ofgem announces the next quarter's cap.