Do multiple computer programs use up more electricity?

JordanN

Say you have a computer whose PSU is rated at 1500 watts.

Technically, you never reach the maximum in everyday use, but say you had all your 3D programs open at once: i.e UE4, 3DS Max, Maya, Photoshop, Substance Painter etc. 

Does the increase burden force the PC to draw more energy or does it remain constant? 

ZacD

With a typical gaming PC, you'll never hit 1500 watts. An i7 and 1080ti uses 400 watts from the wall max (would suggest going for 600 watts with that build though, there's a power efficiency curve and power supplies do age).

Idle programs in the background barely use any electricity, there's only a substantial increase in power usage when there's a high GPU and/or CPU load.  

Farfarer

Yes, it will.