Power consumption

JimboJet · 18 Aug 2010 at 12:11

I know we are all supposed to be green etc these days, but how much power does a PC consume? I know thats a fairly open ended question because threre's a huge variety in systems out there.

But for example my PC spec is:

i7 930 (130watt), Asus P6X58D-E, 1 Tb HDD, XFX 5850XXX, H50-1, about 4 120mm fans, Corsair HX620 watt PSU, 24" Dell 2407wfp display, 19" iiyama E481S secondary display. My usage is for internet, gaming mostly.

I have my pc overclocked to 3800Mhz, and is on for around 12 hrs a day. I often turn my displays off but I wonder how much power I'm effectively using (wasting) by leaving my system on at idle when I'm doing something else.

Im of the belief that although the PSU is rated up to 620 watts, it wouldnt consume anywhere near that in normal usage. So can anyone comment on the true cost of running a PC 12 hrs a day?

RJC · 18 Aug 2010 at 12:17

From what I can remember, My i7 920 @ 4ghz, crossfire 5850 and few hard drives pulls 430w full load from the mains.

About 230w idle? - Can't be 100% sure.

jezza1000 · 18 Aug 2010 at 12:31

'bout same for me

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 18 Aug 2010 at 12:39

Take a look at some review sites such as toms hardware they often have power usage in reviews. So they do system at idle and under load.

Dont forget you have to factor in power supply efeiciency. Eg if pc needs say 100watts to idle, with a 100% efficient supply you would draw 100 watts from the mains, but no supply is 100% so you need to calculate idle power divided by power supply efficiency so an 80% supply at idle sorts of wattage would be 100/.8 = 125 watts from mains.

Makhaira · 18 Aug 2010 at 12:41

Grab the fixed figures for most of your system, the load and idle figures for your CPU and GPU, and the efficiency rating for your power supply at the two total loads you will get as your sums of load/idle. There you will obtain the power measured at the wall.

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 18 Aug 2010 at 12:44

Here ya go take a look at this, section 12 has load and idle so you can see what they are pulling on a oc'd i920.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gtx-480-amp-edition-gv-r587so-1gd-icooler-v-turbo,review-31967.html

As your running a bit higher spec on some items that prob counteracts your 5850 vs the 5870 benchmark.

gibb · 18 Aug 2010 at 12:47

It isn't as much as some people I have met think. Before we replaced them with energy savers the halogen bulbs in the kitchen used more power than my PC.