The Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics card comes rated with a maximum TDP of 350W. It comes with 8960 CUDA cores with a base clock of 1.26GHz and a boost clock speed of 1.71GHz. The RTX 3080 is based on Nvidia’s Ampere architecture and is manufactured using an 8nm node process.
The standard RTX 3080 variant comes with 10GB GDDR6X memory with a 320-bit memory interface. With 2nd generation ray-tracing, the RTX 3080 shows drastically improved performance in games. The new tensor cores targeted toward professional creators also bring huge improvements.
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Recommended Power Supply for RTX 3080
With the RTX 3080 has a max power consumption of 350W. A 750W – 850W power supply is sufficient. But for overclocking an additional 100W to 150W is a good margin. Hence, we recommend the NZXT C1000 80+ Gold Certified 1000W Power supply for RTX 3080.
| OUR PICK NZXT C1000 80 Plus Gold Certified Power Supply The NZXT C1000 PSU is a fully modular power supply. It is a 80+ Gold Certified PSU. With an ATX form factor it is best suited for gaming PC builds. |  | SPECIFICATIONS Wattage : 1000W | Power Efficiency : 80 Plus Gold Certified | Form Factor : ATX | Design : Fully Modular | Warranty : 5 years | RGB : No | | REASONS TO BUY
REASONS TO AVOID
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The NZXT C1000 PSU is a fully modular power supply. It comes with an enhanced microcontroller that offers protection by monitoring current and voltage. It features a unique circuit design that results in lower thermal dissipation. This results in low noise and better performance.
The NZXT C1000 power supply is 80+ Gold Certified. This offers 5% better efficiency than 80+ Bronze certification. The NZXT C1000 power supply is our top pick for gaming with RTX 3080 graphics card.
Read next: Best RAM for Ryzen 9 7900X
Estimation of Peak Power Consumption
This article recommends the best power supplies for RTX 3080. To better understand how much wattage each component in a PC build consumes, we have put together a gaming PC build that includes the RTX 3080.
As we can see from the table above, a maximum of around 800W of power is required. Adding another 100W to 150W margin for overclocking and future additions we recommend a 1000W power supply for RTX 3080.
| Component | Peak Power Usage |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Graphics Card | 350 W |
| AMD ryzen 9 7900X | 170W |
| Asus ROG X670 Motherboard + DDR5 RAM | 85W |
| Noctua NH-D15 CPU Cooler | 115W |
| SSD for storage | 8W |
| Three 120mm fans for cooling | 18W |
| PC Case RGB | 15W |
| Total Power consumption at Peak | 761W |
Power Efficiency of Different Power Supplies
Almost all power supplies come with a power efficiency rating like 80+ Bronze or 80+ Gold. Here 80+ rating stands for 80% of the actual wattage used. If you have a 1000W PSU, only 800W is used to power different components. The rest of the 200W is converted to heat. 1000W/800W = 80% power efficiency.
The table below lists the significance of all power efficiency ratings.
Power efficiency at different loads (115V)
| Certification Level | 10% Load | 20% Load | 50% Load | 100% Load |
| 80 Plus | 80% | 80% | 80% | |
| 80 Plus Bronze | 82% | 85% | 82% | |
| 80 Plus Silver | 85% | 88% | 85% | |
| 80 Plus Gold | 87% | 90% | 87% | |
| 80 Plus Platinum | 90% | 92% | 89% | |
| 80 Plus Titanium | 90% | 92% | 94% | 90% |
Read next: Best RAM for Ryzen 9 7950X
How to Optimize Your Power Supplies for Greater Efficiency
To increase your efficiency, you can optimize your power supplies by adjusting the following:
1) The voltage: Choose a voltage that will be appropriate for your device’s input impedance and rated Ampacity. For example, if you’re powering an iPad with a 5Volt input, you should choose a voltage between 5V and 15V.
2) The wattage: decorate your power supply with the correct wattage numbers to match the amps that your device requires. For example, if you’re powering an iPad with 10Watts, you should select a wattage of 10Watts or more.
3) The ripple: Make sure your power supply has a low ripple so that it doesn’t affect the performance of your device when running multiple applications at once.
Choosing PSU based on the Power Efficiency rating
There are several different PSU efficiency ratings that you can find. These ratings can help choose the suitable power supply for your needs. Higher power efficiency ratings like 80+ platinum mean that these power supplies use lesser energy and produce lower heat. This ultimately leads to better performance and lower power consumption.
An average PC build including the RTX 3080 only requires an 800W to 1000W PSU, an 80+ Gold Certified power supply is good enough.
PSU Cable Length and Quality
Many cheap power supplies come with integrated cables, this is limiting in terms of further expansion as we will be left with no extra SATA or other power cables.
The majority of affordable modular power supplies come with shorter and lower-quality cables. This must be avoided by picking the proper affordable PSU. We have gone through many affordable power supplies and picked a favorite one below.
Modular power supplies come with different cable colors that can be matched with your gaming PC build theme. With some high-end ones also featuring RGB lighting.
Affordable Power Supply for RTX 3080
Our best budget pick is the EVGA SuperNOVA 850GM Power Supply for RTX 3080. This is an 850W power supply. It comes with 80-plus gold certification, hence offering great power efficiency. It comes in SFX form factor with includes brackets for ATX PC cases.
| BUDGET PICK EVGA SuperNOVA 850GM Power Supply The EVGA SuperNOVA 850GM Power Supply comes with 80-plus gold certification, hence offering great power efficiency. It comes in SFX form factor with includes brackets for ATX PC cases. |  | SPECIFICATIONS Wattage : 850W | Power Efficiency : 80 Plus Gold Certified | Form Factor : SFX form factor | Design : Fully Modular | Warranty : 10 years | RGB : No | | REASONS TO BUY
REASONS TO AVOID
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This is a fully modular power supply with separate cables. It comes with 10 years warranty. The EVGA SuperNOVA 850GM also supports ECO mode and FDB fans for more power efficiency. It is made from capacitors imported from japan, which ensures long-term reliability and power efficiency.
Read next: Best CPU Coolers for Ryzen 9 7950X
PSU with highest rated Power Efficiency
Out of all the PSUs we shortlisted, the ASUS ROG Thor fully modular power supply is the only one to come with 80 Plus Platinum Certification for power efficiency. The Asus ROG Thor power supply is targeted toward high-end gaming PC builds.
| HIGH EFFICIENCY ASUS ROG Thor 1000W Platinum II Power Supply The Asus ROG Thor power supply is targeted toward high-end gaming PC builds. The ASUS ROG Thor also features a new PCIe 5.0 power cable that can deliver up to 450W to the graphics card. |  | SPECIFICATIONS Wattage : 1000W | Power Efficiency : 80 Plus Platinum Certified | Form Factor : ATX | Design : Fully Modular | Warranty : 10 years | RGB : Yes | | REASONS TO BUY
REASONS TO AVOID
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With the use of 100% Japanese capacitors and premium high-quality tested components, Asus was able to achieve an 80-plus platinum rating on the Asus ROG Thor 1000W power supply. The PSU features a unique ROG heatsink that keeps the overall temperature low and helps in noise reduction.
The Asus ROG Thor power supply features a 135mm fan with PWM for automatic speed control. Low workloads, the fan is at zero RPM resulting in 0dB noise. The ASUS ROG Thor also features a new PCIe 5.0 power cable that can deliver up to 450W to the graphics card.
The PSU comes with an OLED screen that shows real-time wattage consumption. This paired with RGB lighting all over the case makes the Asus ROG Thor 100W power supply one of the best high-end power supplies for RTX 3080 GPU.
Read next: Best CPU Coolers for Ryzen 9 7900X
Power Supply with RGB Lighting
The Corsair CX750F RGB power supply is a 750W PSU with RGB lighting on the top. The RGB lights can be controlled using the included iCUE software and can also be synced with other Corsair RGB-enabled components.
| RGB POWER SUPPLY Corsair CX750F RGB Power Supply The Corsair CX750F RGB power supply is a 750W PSU with RGB lighting on the top. Corsair CX750F RGB power supply comes with 80 plus bronze rated power efficiency |  | SPECIFICATIONS Wattage : 750W | Power Efficiency : 80 Plus Bronze Certified | Form Factor : ATX | Design : Fully Modular | Warranty : 10 years | RGB : Yes | | REASONS TO BUY
REASONS TO AVOID
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Corsair CX750F RGB power supply comes with 80 plus bronze rated power efficiency. This is not the best but for an affordable price, it offers excellent performance along with RGB. This makes the Corsair CX750F RGB power supply the best PSU with RGB lighting for RTX 3080.
Read next: Best CPU Coolers for Ryzen 7 7700X
Best Power Supply for Professional Creators
Many professional creators use the RTX 3080 for 3D rendering, video editing, or other high-usage workloads. These run continuously for several hours, hence a PSU capable of delivering power without any major heating is essential. For this, we recommend the Corsair HX1000i 80 Plus Platinum Certified Power Supply for RTX 3080.
| PSU FOR PROFESSIONALS Corsair HX1000i 80 Plus Platinum Certified Power Supply The Corsair HXi Series power supplies are fully modular PSUs with an 80 Plus Platinum Certification. These feature three EPS12 volt connectors for many modern server motherboards |  | SPECIFICATIONS Wattage : 1000W | Power Efficiency : 80 Plus Platinum Certified | Form Factor : ATX | Design : Fully Modular | Warranty : 10 years | RGB : No | | REASONS TO BUY
REASONS TO AVOID
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The Corsair HX1000i is available in 1000W and 1500W variations. As for professional workloads such as 3D rendering or machine learning, a server-grade processor such as AMD threadripper or Intel Xeon is used. These usually have a higher TDP. Hence we recommend you go with The Corsair HX1500i Power supply.
The Corsair HXi Series power supplies are fully modular PSUs with an 80 Plus Platinum Certification. These feature three EPS12 volt connectors for many modern server motherboards. These surprisingly run extremely quietly due to the 140mm fan having fluid dynamic bearings, which help in noise reduction. This 140mm fan runs a zero RPM at low or medium loads resulting in 0dB noise.
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