Power Usage

[tntcoder]

Hi,

I have a project coming up soon, and i need to know what factors have a direct effect on how much power a computer is using at any one time, these factors have to be measurable by software (no hardware instruments).

So far my list includes:
-CPU usage
-GPU usage
-Number of monitors
-Wallpaper colour? (not sure, but i believe dark uses less power?)
-Power settings, eg sleep time, hdd power downs etc

Can anyone help add to my research list? I can obtain the CPU core voltage, can this be used at all to decide if energy usuage is 'good' or 'bad'? Obviously i lack the current, so cant do any decent calculations

Cheers,

Jack

 

[LeperousDust]

RAM usage, HDD usage, USB usage, bluetooth, wifi. Also when you say measure the CPU load etc... thats not quite fair, because the CPU might be in a power saving mode hence it'll be at 100% but only running at a quarter of the speed... Or however the C2D's and all AMD's etc. work... That sounds like a horrible task. If you want to know how much power a PC is drawing, and how efficient it is, why not measure it at source ie. the plug?