Cost of running pc 24x7?

MikeHunt79 said:
I'm using an epia m6000 computer, with 1 120gb hard drive, and the whole rig uses less than 50W. :cool: Around half the power of a normal lightbulb.
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afraser2k said:
Same here. :)
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Guys what OS do you use on them and what sort of things can you do properly? ie DVD Playback DIVX Playback TV Recording etc

Also which version do you use 1ghz or the 1.3ghz?

Cheers!
 
I have a file server / download box on 24/7 ... my HTPC and game machine get knocked off every night.

I built the file server as a low power machine :

Celeron 1ghz, mobo with everything onboard + PCI Gigabit LAN card + 6 HDDs... cant be drawing that much power, and am using a very efficient 500w Zippy PSU - so it'll be drawing what ? 80w ish i reckon ?
 
I used to leave two of mine on for folding. I only leave mine on because I normally watch a TV show or something before I got to bed and then fall asleep with it on. I also seed torrents to keep a good ratio on my torrents sites ;).
 
How much power does the moniter and peripherals draw as well? I know they arn't left on all the time but they must add to the cost!
 
dwarf said:
How much power does the moniter and peripherals draw as well? I know they arn't left on all the time but they must add to the cost!
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If its a download box / server (the only things that need leaving on) then they shouldnt really need anything connected ;)
 
ste_bla said:
Guys what OS do you use on them and what sort of things can you do properly? ie DVD Playback DIVX Playback TV Recording etc

Also which version do you use 1ghz or the 1.3ghz?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Epia M6000 is the VIA 600 MHz version (fanless). I'm running Debian GNU/Linux on it in command line mode only as a 24/7 server. Various duties include web server (Apache), local DNS (bind), file server (Samba) and streaming media (GNUmp3d) so that I can listen to my collection at work. It was built more as a Linux play-thing rather than a serious server/project.

The M6000 didn't cope at all with DivX and wasn't great using PowerDVD when I tried it under Windows XP. If you're looking at multimedia I'd recommend the 1.3 GHz version.
 
Al Vallario said:
Quite the opposite, if I recall correctly.

Starting up and shutting down are the two most stressful times for computer hardware, I believe.
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its when it draws the most power too, its about the same as when the system is under full load. i had to check the power consumption of a few c2d systems a few months back.

MW
 
afraser2k said:
Epia M6000 is the VIA 600 MHz version (fanless). I'm running Debian GNU/Linux on it in command line mode only as a 24/7 server. Various duties include web server (Apache), local DNS (bind), file server (Samba) and streaming media (GNUmp3d) so that I can listen to my collection at work. It was built more as a Linux play-thing rather than a serious server/project.

The M6000 didn't cope at all with DivX and wasn't great using PowerDVD when I tried it under Windows XP. If you're looking at multimedia I'd recommend the 1.3 GHz version.
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Ah cool one other question do the drivers that come with it work for 98se + 2k?
 
jellybeard999 said:
I have a file server / download box on 24/7 ... my HTPC and game machine get knocked off every night.

I built the file server as a low power machine :

Celeron 1ghz, mobo with everything onboard + PCI Gigabit LAN card + 6 HDDs... cant be drawing that much power, and am using a very efficient 500w Zippy PSU - so it'll be drawing what ? 80w ish i reckon ?
Click to expand...
Using a low spec CPU doesn't mean it will use less power, if anything the opposite will be true. Because it is low spec it will be running at high load more often. You would be better off getting a more modern low voltage CPU if you want low power consumption.
 
I leave my server on 24/7 (1700 athlon, 1.5gb ram, and 3 hard drives soon to be 4).
My amd64 3000, is used mainly as work/ multimedia now and gets turned off when not in use/ at night.
C2D only on for gaming/ encoding.
Laptop is turned on for half an hour- an hour a day and on standby the rest of the time.
And my old amdk6 is on about once a week.

One of the worst problems I reckon is the 2* 19" crts and the 26" Lcd the middle 2 comps are connected to.
 
Anyone got any idea of the power my pc would draw?

XP2500+ @ 2066mhz, hsf, 3 case fans, one dvdrw, 2 IDE hard drives and 2 SATA drives. My PSU is 530W I think.

Thanks.
 
MikeHunt79 said:
I'm using an epia m6000 computer, with 1 120gb hard drive, and the whole rig uses less than 50W. :cool: Around half the power of a normal lightbulb.
Click to expand...
AFAIK my P4 2.6C system only uses around 100W at idle, if that. It's only under load that power consumption shoots up. The Epias might be frugal but they're as slow as hell.
 
Is it bad to turn your PC off at the plug instead of waiting for it to shut down?

If it's stressful on hardware shutting down thwn surely this is more stressful?
 
dirtydog said:
AFAIK my P4 2.6C system only uses around 100W at idle, if that. It's only under load that power consumption shoots up. The Epias might be frugal but they're as slow as hell.
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Depends on the model and task really. The low-end of course is suitable for servers/embedded work and the higher end for desktop and multimedia use. The M6000 has been ideal for my needs as a low-noise, low-power, 24/7 server. You can get high-end Mini-ITX boards that support Core 2 Duo if you really want a very powerful desktop. :)
 
Anyway if my PC uses 100W, running 24/7 and with what my electricity costs, I calculate it is around 28p a day. It is false economy to switch it off anyway due to the wear and tear on components enduring the stress of the startup cycle.
 
I just put my PC to sleep when im not using it, no noise and when i need to, its up and ready to go in about 10 seconds. Very Little power, also doesnt stress the components like "on & off" does, but very handy :)
 
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