PSU's So how much do you actually save?

thedoc46 · 11 Jun 2012 at 19:32

On going from a bronze 80plus to a gold 80plus ?

Example 8hrs a day, with say an i5 3570k, with say a 7850, perhaps a couple of hrs a day gaming, the rest non-taxing.

Is it pennies or pounds ?

TheSkateyBird · 11 Jun 2012 at 19:35

Have a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vnXNyh9vIg

You'd only really noticed a significant difference if you had your PC running 24/7 at 100% load.

tamzzy · 11 Jun 2012 at 19:39

say ur system uses 300w for 2h, rest of the time its 200w
so 8h it uses 1800w per day
80+ gold = 92% efficiency at 50%, 80+ bronze = 85% efficiency at 50%
so at the wall ur system draws 1956w with gold and2117 w with bronze
1kwh is approx 15p?
so 1 day of use is 29.34p with gold and 31.76p
so in 365 days, 10.70 quid with gold, 11.59 quid with bronze
so yea...

Tealc · 11 Jun 2012 at 21:17

This is what I found going from a 80Plus to a 80Plus Gold PSU a while back. The gap between 80Plus and 80Plus Gold is actually a tad larger than the difference between Bronze and Platinum.

Code:

                             Before     After       Saving
Idle                         166W       148W        18W - 11%
Load (P95&Furmark)           422W.     365W        57W - 14%
BFBC2                        328W      296W        34W - 10%
Off.                           5W.      2W.          3W
Sleep.                        7W.      4W.          3W

So if we take the figures 2 hour at game load and 12 hours at idle load.

18W * 12h = 216Wh saved per day
34W * 2h = 68Wh saved per day

Total save per day 284Wh which is about 4p per day

Over a year the saving mounts to 103.66 kWh which is significant and is worth about £14.

A five year life span gives you a saving of around £70.

If my PC were running flat out 24/7 the figures would be quite different.

57W*24h = 1368Wh per day at around 20p saving.

Over a year that's £70 saving. If the PSU were to last 5 years it'd be £350 over the life of the PSU.

Your PSU may actually exceed the Platinum spec as well by a 1% or so.

So ultimately you save a little bit and if your usage and expected life span offsets the additional cost between a bog standard 80Plus Bronze and a Platinum it's all good.

I won my Gold PSU so the savings are just a bonus for me.

thedoc46 · 12 Jun 2012 at 02:04

Thanks fella's. This is most helpful. Who needs a calculator ? Just ask OcUK

doyll · 13 Jun 2012 at 11:35

So end result is in 5-7 years you save £50-70, but initial cost of PSU is £35-45+ so saving is £5-35 over 7 year PSU life.

Not enough for me to worrying about.

thedoc46 · 13 Jun 2012 at 20:09

doyll said:
So end result is in 5-7 years you save £50-70, but initial cost of PSU is £35-45+ so saving is £5-35 over 7 year PSU life.

Not enough for me to worrying about.

Yes, but less heat and less noise, plus with it paying for itself over the course of time, makes it a no brainer.

Xelene · 14 Jun 2012 at 12:12

thedoc46 said:
less heat and less noise

doyll · 14 Jun 2012 at 14:31

Originally Posted by thedoc46 View Post
less heat and less noise

Very little difference in heat in everyday use.. .1c if that, and less noise at normal load, well that's pure conjecture.

doyll · 14 Jun 2012 at 14:36

This is what I found going from a 80Plus to a 80Plus Gold PSU a while back. The gap between 80Plus and 80Plus Gold is actually a tad larger than the difference between Bronze and Platinum.

Code:

Before After Saving
Idle 166W 148W 18W - 11%
Load (P95&Furmark) 422W. 365W 57W - 14%
BFBC2 328W 296W 34W - 10%
Off. 5W. 2W. 3W
Sleep. 7W. 4W. 3W

Tealc,
Were this both new PSUs at time of test? I'm sure everything else in unit tested was same in both test.
Thanks