How is the running cost calculated?

Watts ÷ 1,000 × the electricity rate gives cost per hour: $0.13 at 400 W on the NSW rate; the yearly figure uses 3 h/day, 365 days a year at 400 W.

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 and model, at 3 h a day for 365 days a year (2026–27 reference usage rates)
State	Model	Per hour	Per day	Per month	Per year
New South Wales33.1c/kWh · Ausgrid	Efficient (100 W)	$0.03	$0.10	$3.02	$36
	Typical (400 W)	$0.13	$0.40	$12.09	$145
	High (650 W)	$0.22	$0.65	$19.64	$236
Victoria27.5c/kWh · Jemena	Efficient (100 W)	$0.03	$0.08	$2.51	$30
	Typical (400 W)	$0.11	$0.33	$10.02	$120
	High (650 W)	$0.18	$0.54	$16.28	$196
Queensland28.0c/kWh · Energex	Efficient (100 W)	$0.03	$0.08	$2.55	$31
	Typical (400 W)	$0.11	$0.34	$10.21	$123
	High (650 W)	$0.18	$0.55	$16.58	$199
South Australia41.9c/kWh · SA Power Networks	Efficient (100 W)	$0.04	$0.13	$3.82	$46
	Typical (400 W)	$0.17	$0.50	$15.29	$184
	High (650 W)	$0.27	$0.82	$24.84	$298
Western Australia33.3c/kWh · Western Power (SWIS)	Efficient (100 W)	$0.03	$0.10	$3.03	$36
	Typical (400 W)	$0.13	$0.40	$12.13	$146
	High (650 W)	$0.22	$0.65	$19.72	$237
Tasmania28.0c/kWh · TasNetworks	Efficient (100 W)	$0.03	$0.08	$2.55	$31
	Typical (400 W)	$0.11	$0.34	$10.20	$122
	High (650 W)	$0.18	$0.55	$16.57	$199
Australian Capital Territory37.0c/kWh · Evoenergy	Efficient (100 W)	$0.04	$0.11	$3.37	$40
	Typical (400 W)	$0.15	$0.44	$13.48	$162
	High (650 W)	$0.24	$0.72	$21.91	$263
Northern Territory31.7c/kWh · Power and Water	Efficient (100 W)	$0.03	$0.10	$2.89	$35
	Typical (400 W)	$0.13	$0.38	$11.56	$139
	High (650 W)	$0.21	$0.62	$18.78	$225

Where a gaming PC costs more

South Australia is the dearest state to run one: $0.17 an hour at 400 W on its 41.9c/kWh rate, against $0.11 in Victoria. Over a year of typical use that gap is $63 (52.6% more).
By yearly running cost at typical use it ranks 12th of the 26 appliances costed on this site (1st costs the most): $145 a year at the NSW rate.
An efficient 100 W model costs $138 a year less than a typical 400 W one in SA at 3 hours a day for 365 days ($90 less in VIC); a high-draw 650 W model uses 6.5 times the power of the efficient one.
At the 1 July 2026 price reset, typical-use cost fell $10 in VIC (Jemena usage rate 29.7c to 27.5c/kWh) and rose $4 in WA (Western Power (SWIS) usage rate 32.4c to 33.3c/kWh).

Typical household use per year, cheapest state first (3 h/day, 365 days a year at 400 W)
Rank	State	Usage rate	Typical year	Above the cheapest
1	Victoria	27.5c	$120	—
2	Tasmania	28.0c	$122	+$2
3	Queensland	28.0c	$123	+$2
4	Northern Territory	31.7c	$139	+$18
5	New South Wales	33.1c	$145	+$25
6	Western Australia	33.3c	$146	+$25
7	Australian Capital Territory	37.0c	$162	+$42
8	South Australia	41.9c	$184	+$63

Rates by state (each state's capital-city network): NSW: AER Default Market Offer 2026–27 (DMO 8); VIC: ESC Victorian Default Offer 2026–27; QLD: AER Default Market Offer 2026–27 (DMO 8); SA: AER Default Market Offer 2026–27 (DMO 8); WA: WA Government Standard Electricity Prices 2026–27 (Synergy Home Plan A1); TAS: OTTER-approved Aurora Energy Standing Offer 2026–27 (approved 25 June 2026) — Tariff 31; ACT: ICRC retail electricity price recalibration 2026–27 (ActewAGL standing offer); NT: NT Electricity Pricing Order 2026–27 (Jacana Energy standard residential). All effective 1 July 2026.

Appliance running-cost calculator

NSW

State

Power draw (watts)

Gaming PC: 100–650 W typical range.

Hours per day

Days per year

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 × the electricity rate = cost per hour. A gaming PC drawing 400 W on NSW's 33.1c/kWh rate costs $0.13 an hour; the calculator below 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 these figures directly. The low–high band in the table (100–650 W) roughly spans efficient to inefficient models.

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.

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

Where a gaming PC costs more

Appliance running-cost calculator

Cutting the cost

Frequently asked questions

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