Mains power meters

C64

C64

C64

Soldato
Joined
16 Mar 2007
Posts
12,884
Location
London
http://www.electrisave.co.uk/
Are these available in the uk yet ? will we be finally to dispell the myth of power requirements for our pc's ? here's one such quote from a user that has purchased one of these and done some tests.
because i was curious on my power usage with my pcs and was pretty amazed at it

e6600 @ 3.8ghz w/ 8800gtx @ 675/1050, 150gb raptor, sblive, corsiar 620w = 340 under fullload (3dmark)

e6300 @ 2.5ghz w/ onboard x700, 8x750gb wd, 2x 500gb seagate, xfi extreme music, areca 12-20 raid card, Thermaltake 750w psu = 320w under full load (copying files+3dmark)

was rather intereseting

and then had my 42' lcd @ 260watt (how much the e6300 is at idle)
and dell 24' @ ~ 40w with a coulpe things plugged in.
Click to expand...


productLarge_9554.jpg

This intelligent power meter simply plugs into a normal power point (GPO) and turns it into a real-time power monitoring outlet. You can enter the local price of your electricity and the meter will tell you exactly how much the appliance is costing to run. In addition, the power meter tracks the power used and can display the instantaneous voltage or current being drawn as well as the peak levels that have been drawn. The meter has backup batteries so it will not lose the stored data during a blackout or moving from point to point. Simple to install and a valuable tool for monitoring power consumption.
 
Last edited:
Very nice, its a shame they're discontinued here. As you say, it would be nice to actually quantify power usage at the source, certainly help to cut down the sales of 1KW+ psus :).
 
Most people seem to recommend a 620 corsair soon as somebody says 8800 gtx but as you can see full load 340 watts.
 
You can get something similar from a big high street electronics shop.

From an old post of mine -

My pc Core2duo 6600, 3 hds , 8800 and lcd uses 0.25 KWH general apps/web use.

So that would be 6 KWH for 24 hours.
 
B&Q along with some high street electrical shops sell similar things to that. In B&Q they cost around £9. I have had mine for months and the rig in my siggy only pulls 347w at the wall when gaming. That also includes the monitor, 5.1 speakers and watercooling stuff. It tells you amps, watts, volts, kwh and hz.
 
Last edited:
Yep, i got one from Lidl. Got to remember that eveb though the PC will run it, you need more amperage to power higher end hardware. (At least initially, until the die sizes start to shrink on later releases). I dont believe there is any need for anything over 600W though. These 1Kw / 1.2Kw PSU's are pointless. Unless you are powering 2-3 pcs (Which they wont do). Mine draws 280W in its loaded gaming state. (Base unit only).
 
Yes, you can still get a very good one from Hi-Di-Hi *on the High Street. Gives voltage and wattage, you can then calculate the amps from that if you need to. Used one on my server to 6 months to work out an average. Only sold it a few weeks ago on fleabay.

Cheers
 
yeah its amazing how over rated the watts are for things. i have an apc ups and the software with that tells you how many watts you drawing from it.

with a 17inch lcd
e6700@ 3.3
3 hdd
2 optical
x1950pro
2gb ram

when i am at windows just doing basic stuff it oly uses 150 watts and thats inclduing a monitor.
 
also remember, even if your drawing 620w from the wall with a 620w psu, your not actually maxing it out, as the 620w is the DC OUTPUT rating, not the AC input. and at 80% efficiency that 620w output is 775AC watts

spec per sig + 3 hdd + pump (20w)- when i wind it upto 3.15ghz @ 1.7v, and oc the gfx and hammer both cores with orthos and run 3d mark it pips about 420w... thru an old low efficiency tagan, (maybe 75% = 315w)

i seem to rememebr...was it joker?? clocking a quad + sli + many hdd setup very hard with the koolance watercooled psu, and getting past 800AC w..
 
Yea i figured other ones were available still nice to have one like that which can work out what things are costing you itself.But then i guess it's a good idea to have a power supply which is around 200 watts more than your rig actually pulls so it isn't working too hard?
 
Last edited:
Had one for ages, still available, that was just one brand which disappears.

Mine's called Plug in Power and Energy Monitor.

Anyway, they all give about the same readings more or less. Not just PC's which are over sold. People say Plasma TV's are power hogs.. But unless you display a full bright white image, they are actually no more power hungry than a large CRT, or LCD panel. (About 10% more than an LCD)
 
Just been looking at a certain online auction site and there are plenty of similar items for sale.

One caught my eye but for another reason.
Part of the item description contained this - "CONTINUING THE "I CAUGHT HIM PLAYING AWAY AND NOW HE'S GONE ALL HIS STUFF IS GOING ON EBAY" SALE. "
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom