PSU - labelled 750W does it actually use that much power all the time?

Azure101 · 16 Jul 2009 at 13:57

My PSU is labelled 750W and i was just wondering if it uses that much power all the time the PC is switched on because i'm trying to find ways to reduce our electric bill :rolleyes:

Xelene · 16 Jul 2009 at 14:00

No it doesn't. It allows you to use upto 750W at peak.

A handy thing about an oversized PSU unit is they are typically more efficient when not running full pelt.

Azure101 · 16 Jul 2009 at 14:02

Is there anyway of calculating how much my PC uses at full load?

ro55o · 16 Jul 2009 at 14:03

It has a peak output of 750W, it will only use what your PC needs though, so it all depends on the components inside.

Azure101 said:
Is there anyway of calculating how much my PC uses at full load?

You can buy a multi-meter and see what power the PC is drawing from the wall. The online calculations are pretty vague but might give you a rough idea of the power you're using.

What do you have in your PC?

Azure101 · 16 Jul 2009 at 14:07

Currently in my pc i have the following:
Asus M2N-E SLI Mobo
AMD 5200+ 2.7Ghz
XFX ATI 4870 1gb
2x2gb sticks Corsair RAM
750W PSU
250gb HDD (7200RPM)

Xelene · 16 Jul 2009 at 14:28

Azure101 said:
Currently in my pc i have the following:
Asus M2N-E SLI Mobo
AMD 5200+ 2.7Ghz
XFX ATI 4870 1gb
2x2gb sticks Corsair RAM
750W PSU
250gb HDD (7200RPM)

274W according to http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

Azure101 · 16 Jul 2009 at 14:32

And how much would a LCD monitor add on to that?

Xelene · 16 Jul 2009 at 14:35

Azure101 said:
And how much would a LCD monitor add on to that?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+many+watts+does+an+lcd+monitor+use

Azure101 · 16 Jul 2009 at 14:41

sldsmkd said:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+many+watts+does+an+lcd+monitor+use

=)

Duke · 16 Jul 2009 at 15:14

Monitor doesn't go into the PSU in case you didn't know

Tesla · 16 Jul 2009 at 15:29

You can get plug in energy monitors for under £10 and also I have now seen extension leads/trailing sockets with them built in too.

JonJ678 · 16 Jul 2009 at 15:37

Duke said:
Monitor doesn't always go into the PSU in case you didn't know

Fixed

Though its been a good 8 years since I had a computer that conencted the monitor to the psu. To save a power socket I suppose

Duke · 16 Jul 2009 at 16:07

Yeah I meant now not back in time

Admiral Huddy · 16 Jul 2009 at 16:20

Tesla said:
You can get plug in energy monitors for under £10 and also I have now seen extension leads/trailing sockets with them built in too.

Yep dead handy those..

Locke · 16 Jul 2009 at 16:22

sldsmkd said:
274W according to http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

Even 274W would be the high end of that at full load, so much less on average don't forget.

Thanks for the Monitor-PSU flashback lol

- good days..

daniel_bourton · 16 Jul 2009 at 16:34

you well in your power suppplies limits there

pastymuncher · 16 Jul 2009 at 18:57

My main rig, spec in siggy plus a pair of sata ll hdd's, sata dvdrw, Zalman ZM-MFC2 multifunction controller and 5 fans pulls a max of 274w at the wall when running Orthos and fur stability test together. Normal gaming load is 190-228w depending on the game.

Psu efficiency makes a difference. A quality psu will be more efficient than a cheapo special. What make is yours?

Xelene · 16 Jul 2009 at 21:10

pastymuncher said:
Psu efficiency makes a difference. A quality psu will be more efficient than a cheapo special. What make is yours?

This is why I like the Seasonics, they hit 85-90% efficiency at 30% load and stay there until you start gaming.