Need advice on what PSU an RTX 5080 build actually needs

Question

ok so i've been planning a whole new build around a 5080 and honestly the power supply has had me going back and forth for like three weeks at this point, im hopeless at decisions. nvidia's own page says 850W is fine but then every single build guide I open says just get 1000W to be safe. so which is it. my current 9060 XT build never once made me think about wattage, this is all new to me tbh. what do you all actually run

tangled_cables · Accepted Answer

A quality 850W ATX 3.x unit is what Nvidia recommends for the 5080 (a 360W card), and that holds even with a big CPU. The panic isn't about average draw, it's transient spikes that jump 50-150W past the TDP for milliseconds. A good ATX 3.x unit rides those out, which matters more than the label wattage. I've run a quality 850 in my rig for years, no drama.

burninWorrier · Answer

From what I read it's the transient spikes that trip up the cheaper units, not the raw wattage number. Probably worth spending on quality there. Have you actually settled on a specific unit yet?

alexc · Answer

my 4070 Super build has never once made the psu break a sweat honestly, dont overthink it