Power Consumption of a Typical PC While Gaming 211
cliffski writes "How much does your PC really draw in terms of power when idle, when in sleep, and when playing a demanding game? I don't trust everything the manufacturers of hardware say, so I thought I'd get myself a watt measuring device and run a few tests on some of the gear I leave on all the time, and the gear I go to the trouble of turning off. The Linksys router drew 8 watts, the monitor drew a fairly noticeable 30-31, but what surprised me was how little power the base unit drew, even when playing Company of Heroes. Also, the variance of power draw for Vista seemed minimal, regardless of what you got the machine to do."
What about my A/C kicking into overdrive? (Score:5, Insightful)
Hey, when it's 100 deg F outside, I notice the difference.
been wondering about this also (Score:2, Insightful)
been wondering about this also.
mainly due to having only one 20A outlet, and the building is old enough I don't want to risk that much.
looking to build a new system, I want to make a strong but low power-draw system (gonna use a 45nm intel chip). Looking at specs on various parts suppliers sites, I come across numbers like "total thermal dissipation", or things like the notes on Intel's ATOM board: "fully populated board with accessories uses 75W max"
Where do I find out exactly how much wattage I need?
A lot of the calculator sites seem to be either a tad old, or just give info on a few select parts.
on a note about the article,
I'd rather see what the power usage is while starting up (seems that's when the biggest drain usually is).
as for the printer, OK, it's just a deskjet, but show the drain on a laser warming up (for B/W, you're better with one of those).
Re:Accuracy (Score:3, Insightful)
My cheap power meter displays power factor, but not very accurately. It will tell me an AC fan has a power factor of 33% (correct) and an early-model switch-mode PSU has a power factor of 100% (wrong).
After seeing the effects of several hundred inductive loads on an AC grid, I now only buy PSUs with Active Power Factor Correction. It costs less in the long run.
Re:What about my A/C kicking into overdrive? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What about my A/C kicking into overdrive? (Score:1, Insightful)
I'd say that Dan tries his best to be objective and very clearly states when he's not. I trust the guy more than anything else on the web