I recently bought a 9800X3D and while stress testing it under default settings, I noticed that despite the CPU being at 100% usage, it only consumes around 75 watts. This seems low compared to what I've seen online, where people report usage around 105 to 120 watts. Is this normal? I can't help but wonder if the CPU isn't utilizing its full potential.
4 Answers
Which stress tests are you running? It can make a big difference in power draw depending on the software you use.
It's pretty normal. The power usage really varies with what the CPU is doing. You could be using 100% on simple tasks like addition and only using 20 watts, while more intense tasks can push it higher. It’s all about the workload.
It might depend on your CPU temperatures. Are you seeing any throttling? Lower temps can sometimes lead to lower power consumption, which might be what's happening here.
My temps are pretty steady actually, around 55°C at idle and just 73°C under load. So, I doubt throttling is an issue.
Make sure your clock speeds are stable. You might have hit the silicon lottery! Just keep in mind that stress tests don't always reflect real-world performance. If you're seeing good performance while gaming, you're likely in good shape.
I'm hitting around 5.2GHz consistently. I’ll keep an eye on performance during actual gaming sessions and let you know how it goes.
I’m using Aida64 and Cinebench for stress testing.