Do modern PC's consume a lot of Power?

Otsile

New member
Hi guys. Do modern computers use up a lot of electricity? What peripherals can cause the PC to use up a lot of electricity? And do things like "Power Save", found in Windows7 at the control panel, really work?
 
A gaming machine with maybe 750w+ PSU with dual GFX cards, will definitely rack up more electricity than a standard office PC.

All depends on the internal components.

Power-save in Windows 7 basically just lets your CPU run slower than it should like limiting max usage %,turns off some functions and limits other hardware.. all depends on the PC; thus consuming less electricity but that "power plan" is more effective on a laptop as you need that when running on battery
 
A gaming machine with maybe 750w+ PSU with dual GFX cards, will definitely rack up more electricity than a standard office PC.

All depends on the internal components.

Power-save in Windows 7 basically just lets your CPU run slower than it should like limiting max usage %,turns off some functions and limits other hardware.. all depends on the PC; thus consuming less electricity but that "power plan" is more effective on a laptop as you need that when running on battery

If you leave the pc rendering all night then yes.

Pluss big psu's like 1000w
 
There are far to many variables, but technically they use less power than a similarly speced PC from back in the day.
Care to extend on your question?
 
There are far to many variables, but technically they use less power than a similarly speced PC from back in the day.
Care to extend on your question?

Like Ike said to many variables i for one have a full 5.1 system on my pc with a full HD LDC screen with built in sound and Tv card and i've noticed running a normal LCD compared to the other screen uses more power, my pc runs 24/7 365 and because i'm on prepaid meter i tested this to work out when i went on holiday.

but on avg pc's do not consume that much power compared to something like a kettle or toaster or your fridge and geyser
 
So the more speced your PC the more power usage. Do home theatres, for PCs, also have an impact when in use
 
So the more speced your PC the more power usage. Do home theatres, for PCs, also have an impact when in use

Well like i said there is a power consumption influx going from desktop stereo speakers or headphones to my full 5.1 system because that built in amp/converter in the sub likes power and the louder you go the more juice it uses(it think on that one one i may stand corrected on the power usage when it comes to loudness and amps)
 
Depends on load. Mine idles at ~100W which is crazy low compared to older PCs.

That quadruples if the PC is under load though...graphics cards in particular shoot it skyhigh.

Pluss big psu's like 1000w
Size of PSU has no effect on actual draw....just max possible draw. e.g. the 100W idle mentioned above is on a 800W PSU.


I'd agree with the others though. You can take reasonable measures on the PC front but don't worry too much. Worry about other stuff instead:

On the whole anything in the house that heats or cools something murders the electricity bill. Underfloor heating, Aircon, geyser, heaters, stove, oven, kettle toaster etc. Also...pool pump.
 
Depends on load. Mine idles at ~100W which is crazy low compared to older PCs.

That quadruples if the PC is under load though...graphics cards in particular shoot it skyhigh.


Size of PSU has no effect on actual draw....just max possible draw. e.g. the 100W idle mentioned above is on a 800W PSU.


I'd agree with the others though. You can take reasonable measures on the PC front but don't worry too much. Worry about other stuff instead:

On the whole anything in the house that heats or cools something murders the electricity bill. Underfloor heating, Aircon, geyser, heaters, stove, oven, kettle toaster etc. Also...pool pump.

The man speaks the truth. While your PC is idling, it really uses very little power, between 100 and 150 W. We pay around 65c/kWh, so leaving your PC on at idle while your at work (say 9 hours) costs you 87c.

(150 W = 0.15 kW * 9 hours = 1.35 kWh * 65 c/kWh = 87.something c)

For a comparison, boiling 500 ml (two cups) of water for your morning coffee takes 177.65 kJ to heat the water and another 112.8 kJ to partially boil it. (Completely boiling it would mean everything turned to steam!) This is equal to about 0.081 kWh, which costs 5.3 c.

Running a very efficient (200% efficiency factor) 24 000 BTU aircon at half tilt for just an hour uses 1.76 kWh, or R1.14.

So long as your computer isn't left crunching big numbers or rendering 24/7, the amount of power it uses is very negligible.
 
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