☀︎SunTariff

How much does it cost to run a gaming pc? (2026–27)

At typical draw · official state tariffs

$0.11–$0.17 per hour at 400 W

Typical household use — 3 h/day, 365 days a year at 400 W — runs $120–$184 a year depending on your state's tariff.

Wattage basis: Idle/desktop ~100–150 W with a high-end GPU; mixed gaming ~300–500 W; a full-load high-end single-GPU build ~650 W (extreme rigs exceed this).

Gaming PC running cost by state at typical draw (2026–27 reference tariffs)
StateTariff c/kWhPer hourTypical year
New South Wales33.1c$0.13$145
Victoria27.5c$0.11$120
Queensland28.0c$0.11$123
South Australia41.9c$0.17$184
Western Australia33.3c$0.13$146
Tasmania28.0c$0.11$122
Australian Capital Territory37.0c$0.15$162
Northern Territory31.7c$0.13$139

Appliance running-cost calculator

NSW

Gaming PC: 100–650 W typical range.

2–4 h/day under load for a regular gamer; idle/desktop draw is far lower.

$0.13 per hour · $145/year at your settings
Per day (3 h)
$0.40
Per month
$12.09
Per year (365 days)
$145.14

Tariff: 33.1c/kWh — AER Default Market Offer 2026–27 (DMO 8) for the Ausgrid network, effective 1 July 2026. Wattage basis: Critical Hit — gaming system electricity use in Australia. Full gaming pc costs in NSW →

Cutting the cost

A gaming rig only pulls serious power under load, so turn on sleep and power-saving profiles for idle time and browsing. Cap the frame rate when you don't need every last one; the graphics card eases off and draws less. Try not to leave it grinding through downloads overnight unless you must, and switch off at the wall to kill the standby draw from the tower and monitors.

Frequently asked questions

How is the running cost calculated?
Watts ÷ 1,000 × your electricity rate = cost per hour. A gaming pc drawing 400 W on a 33.1c/kWh tariff costs $0.13 an hour — the calculator above lets you change every input.
Does a higher star rating cut the cost?
Yes — the star rating compresses the power draw or energy per use, which scales this page's figures directly. The low–high band in the table (100–650 W) roughly spans efficient to inefficient models.
Why does the state matter?
The appliance draws the same power everywhere — but each state's reference usage rate differs, so the same hour of running costs $0.11 in the cheapest state and $0.17 in the dearest. Pick your state above for exact figures.

Related

Sources — figures current as at 17 July 2026.

Costs use each state's representative-zone reference usage rate, effective 1 July 2026. 2–4 h/day under load for a regular gamer; idle/desktop draw is far lower.