85-88W runs this entire system

[nyker96]

Recently I upgraded my parent's rig, they used it mostly for browsing but I borrow it to do some video compression job here's setup:
E2140 M0 @3.2
ip35-e
4x1gb DDR2-800 XMS2
1x pci gcard
1x 320gb HDD
1x DVD-RW drive
couple of fans
EW500 PSU

to my surprise after I got my killawatt, the system shows only 60W at idle, 85W at full load (ortho blend)!! That's power efficient, I mean how could this be? That E2140 should eat up at least 65W if not more. But anyhow I don't really know why, just knew the killawatt shows 85-87W total at ortho load conditions for that entire setup.

What do you guys get for your system in power usage? This seem to me too good to be true ...

* EDIT1: a small update, I started running x264 encoding on this system and discovered that it stressed it more than ortho, turning in at about 100W loaded. That sounds more reasonable to me now.

 

[sutahz]

Kill-a-watt = AC power (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A...matics_of_AC_voltages)
Computer = DC power (Power=Voltage*Resistance)
*yeah, calculating power is as easy as P=IE, sorry (Pwr=Current*voltage)
*P=V^2/R is also correct, but it uses a useless factor (which I included in my first post as well) which is resistance.
I'm sure there's a lot more to why your killawatt shows 85W, but thats the skinny.

E2140 M0 @3.2 (assuming your using 1.35V for that 100% OC 142W max, 100W normal use lets say. Even 3.2GHz at 1.25V is 122W)
ip35-e (i dunno.. 40W)
4x1gb DDR2-800 XMS2 (negligable)
1x pci gcard (10W?)
1x 320gb HDD (15W)
1x DVD-RW drive (negligable, only takes power when its burning/reading)
couple of fans (assume 3x80mm so like.. 30W)
=195W by my guesstimates
*How are my guesses high? Where do you pull your numbers from for components inside your comptuer PlasmaBomb?

http://www.extreme.outervision.../psucalculatorlite.jsp calculated 242W

Didnt know I was out to impress anyone, especially Idontcare.
I was pointing out that the 85W is illogical (in the 500W PSU sense). I also tried to hint at an explanation of the 85W. 85W in an AC system yes, 85W in a DC system no. Your post is useless Idontcare, its an attack aginst me and provides nyker96 w/ no useful information. Ok, so Kill-a-watt shows (an estimate) of what the power company is charging you for but does nothing to confirm, deny nor explain his 85W reading in relation to his CPU which has a TDP of 65W.

I am pretty sure there is a valid reason a market exists and a product is sold for that market

what an impressive statement

@PlasmaBomb, Kill-a-watt type meter's do NOT use P=I*V, it's an AC circuit, refer to the first line in this post. P=I*V (V is the same as E) is DC, as stated above.

TDP is the max theoritcal power consumption of the cpu. So in all probability w/ that cpu at 3.2GHz its probley not pushing more then 50W full load.

Maybe we're arguing different points. I dont doubt that the OP's computer is pulling 85W from the electrical grid. I do however assume that the OP thinks that his computer is using 85W of the "500W" availible from his EW500 based on the statement

That E2140 should eat up at least 65W if not more.

So I was trying to point out to the OP the differences in AC and DC power.

 

[themisfit610]

if that's accurate, that means your system is pulling 85w out of the wall. It's losing a lot of that in the AC - > DC conversion.

Let's assume 80% effeciency, that means your system is actually using ~ 68W at full load. Hard to believe, but possible IMO.

~MiSfit

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: sutahz
Kill-a-watt = AC power (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A...matics_of_AC_voltages)
Computer = DC power (Power=Voltage*Resistance)
I'm sure there's a lot more to why your killawatt shows 85W, but thats the skinny.

E2140 M0 @3.2 (assuming your using 1.35V for that 100% OC 142W max, 100W normal use lets say. Even 3.2GHz at 1.25V is 122W)
ip35-e (i dunno.. 40W)
4x1gb DDR2-800 XMS2 (negligable)
1x pci gcard (10W?)
1x 320gb HDD (15W)
1x DVD-RW drive (negligable, only takes power when its burning/reading)
couple of fans (assume 3x80mm so like.. 30W)
=195W by my guesstimates

http://www.extreme.outervision.../psucalculatorlite.jsp calculated 242W

Kill-a-watt measures what you are paying the electrical company for...i.e. how many KWhr are being consumed by whatever is plugged into the wall.

I am pretty sure there is a valid reason a market exists and a product is sold for that market...you'll excuse me if your "free guestimates" fail to impress me.

 

[sharad]

My system which is somewhat similar to the OP, except that I have a Q6600.

Intel Q6600
Abit IP35 (non-E)
Corsair 4x1GB
WD 250GB
Benq DVD RW
1x Panaflo 2x Scythe S-FLEX fans
1x PCI CNet wireless card
Silverstone ST50EF Plus

Measured using a cheap Kill-A-Watt type meter, the system (sans monitor) pulls 150-160W at wall when running Prime95 blend. At idle is sits at around 100W. Surprising thing, when the PC is off the PSU still pulls ~25W from the wall.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Kill-a-watt type meters are cool, they measure the input voltage (V) and current (I) and can therefore work out the power draw of the system (P=I*V). As Idontcare states they can also measure the number of kWh used

As for Sutahz, your power consumption figures are high; get them from an overclocking site??

DC power isn't voltage* resistance it is - P=V^2/R.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: sharad
My system which is somewhat similar to the OP, except that I have a Q6600.

Intel Q6600
Abit IP35 (non-E)
Corsair 4x1GB
WD 250GB
Benq DVD RW
1x Panaflo 2x Scythe S-FLEX fans
1x PCI CNet wireless card
Silverstone ST50EF Plus

Measured using a cheap Kill-A-Watt type meter, the system (sans monitor) pulls 150-160W at wall when running Prime95 blend. At idle is sits at around 100W. Surprising thing, when the PC is off the PSU still pulls ~25W from the wall.

I get 160W usage (sans monitor) at Prime95 small FFT on Q6600 at stock as well.

My usage is 1W (per kill-a-watt) though when the system is off. Could it be that your BIOS settings are setup to allow "power on by LAN" or some such which could cause the mobo the instruct the PSU to "keep warm and ready should a signal come thru to power-on"?

 

[sharad]

Originally posted by: Idontcare
I get 160W usage (sans monitor) at Prime95 small FFT on Q6600 at stock as well.

My usage is 1W (per kill-a-watt) though when the system is off. Could it be that your BIOS settings are setup to allow "power on by LAN" or some such which could cause the mobo the instruct the PSU to "keep warm and ready should a signal come thru to power-on"?

Interesting. I just looked around in the BIOS and the only setting that enabled was USB power on from S3, which I disabled and then restarted. Still got 23W. Even worse when I switch off the PSU using the switch at the back of the PSU it was till drawing 11W. I guess the Silverstone ST50EF Plus is not very efficient at standby power usage, even though it's rated for 80+ efficiency.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I have to get myself a Kill-a-watt and do some testing on how much power my rigs are drawing. Having reboot issues (mentioned in another thread).

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: sutahz
couple of fans (assume 3x80mm so like.. 30W)

I have a couple of generic 80mm fans handy: 12v 0.15A so only 1.8 watts each.

 

[Comdrpopnfresh]

don't forget that "full load" is in terms of the processor. Run some graphics intensive benches, and hdtune/tach to get a more accurate picture. Do you have EIST enabled? may contribute to the idle numbers.

I don't understand what you're saying sutahz... That the reading is wrong?

 

[sutahz]

I have a few 80mm fans too, 12V & .13/.12A. At work there was a 92mm fan that took 7.8W. Fans aren't going to make or break this AC/DC power consumption question.

I don't understand what you're saying sutahz... That the reading is wrong?

I'm arguing that the kill-a-watt reader/meter doesnt indicate power consumption in how we think about it (ie what the PSU is really putting out) because of the differences between AC and DC power. Others perhaps, are arguing that it is pulling 85W because thats what the kill-a-watt says its doing.

 

[nyker96]

I currently have EIST enabled. So that explains the low idle, perhaps. Still 65W on idle is quite impossible for this system, I mean logically this thing should be needing much more even at idle. At load I think the CPU along I calculate to pull in over 100W. yet the total system power AT THE WALL is only 85W give or take. This KillaWatt's probably doing something wrong. But I checked the I=0.7x amp or so and V=125V so P=IV=about 85W is correct. Somewhere I read that the killawatt don't calculate power correctly due to power factor but I can't see how that's affecting things. Anyhow 85W on a overclock system that's running 3+ just doesn't seem possible to me, although if it is, then this must be the most power efficient system I've ever had. perhaps that M0 core has something new under the hood :]

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: sutahz
Kill-a-watt = AC power (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A...matics_of_AC_voltages)
Computer = DC power (Power=Voltage*Resistance)
*yeah, calculating power is as easy as P=IE, sorry (Pwr=Current*voltage)
*P=V^2/R is also correct, but it uses a useless factor (which I included in my first post as well) which is resistance.
I'm sure there's a lot more to why your killawatt shows 85W, but thats the skinny.

E2140 M0 @3.2 (assuming your using 1.35V for that 100% OC 142W max, 100W normal use lets say. Even 3.2GHz at 1.25V is 122W)
ip35-e (i dunno.. 40W)
4x1gb DDR2-800 XMS2 (negligable)
1x pci gcard (10W?)
1x 320gb HDD (15W)
1x DVD-RW drive (negligable, only takes power when its burning/reading)
couple of fans (assume 3x80mm so like.. 30W)
=195W by my guesstimates
*How are my guesses high? Where do you pull your numbers from for components inside your comptuer PlasmaBomb?

http://www.extreme.outervision.../psucalculatorlite.jsp calculated 242W

Didnt know I was out to impress anyone, especially Idontcare.
I was pointing out that the 85W is illogical (in the 500W PSU sense). I also tried to hint at an explanation of the 85W. 85W in an AC system yes, 85W in a DC system no. Your post is useless Idontcare, its an attack aginst me and provides nyker96 w/ no useful information. Ok, so Kill-a-watt shows (an estimate) of what the power company is charging you for but does nothing to confirm, deny nor explain his 85W reading in relation to his CPU which has a TDP of 65W.

I am pretty sure there is a valid reason a market exists and a product is sold for that market

what an impressive statement

@PlasmaBomb, Kill-a-watt type meter's do NOT use P=I*V, it's an AC circuit, refer to the first line in this post. P=I*V (V is the same as E) is DC, as stated above.

TDP is the max theoritcal power consumption of the cpu. So in all probability w/ that cpu at 3.2GHz its probley not pushing more then 50W full load.

Maybe we're arguing different points. I dont doubt that the OP's computer is pulling 85W from the electrical grid. I do however assume that the OP thinks that his computer is using 85W of the "500W" availible from his EW500 based on the statement

That E2140 should eat up at least 65W if not more.

So I was trying to point out to the OP the differences in AC and DC power.

Where in the OP's post do they claim to be interpretting the kill-a-watt measurement as being the power consumption of their CPU and/or the CPU's TDP?

For someone who has been on this forum for 13 days you sure have a big mouth and a lot of assumptions about what people are posting about.

The OP is interested in how much power his system consumes. That includes the CPU, power supply, ram, etc. The whole thing.

And guess what, if you want to know how much power your WHOLE computer is using then you use a kill-a-watt to measure it.

If you want to know how much your CPU is consuming, then that is a whole other thread/conversation. Now pull your head out, stop flaming me and the OP just because you want to misinterpret what this entire thread has ALWAYS been about (system power consumption as measured by kill-a-watt).

 

[Accord99]

85W is possible, at stock the E2140 is under 30W. And Orthos Blend probably won't completely maximize power output, you might want to see if the Small FFT test shows higher system power.

http://www.digit-life.com/arti...-e2140-2160-page3.html

 

[sutahz]

Originally posted by: Idontcare

Where in the OP's post do they claim to be interpretting the kill-a-watt measurement as being the power consumption of their CPU and/or the CPU's TDP?

I mean how could this be? That E2140 should eat up at least 65W if not more

and you can't measure a CPU's TDP, its simply a value calculated by the CPU's manufacturer.

For someone who has been on this forum for 13 days you sure have a big mouth and a lot of assumptions about what people are posting about.

Good math skills, you calculated I've been here for 13 days. Yet you seem to have a misconception that days on a forum = days owning a computer or being alive...
I didnt make any assumptions to what he was asking, I was just pointing out a POSSIBLE reason for this "too good to be true" reading.

The OP is interested in how much power his system consumes. That includes the CPU, power supply, ram, etc. The whole thing.

ACTUALLY if you read the OP's post you'll see he isn't interested in how much his rig consumes (well his parents, because he already knows, 60/85W) he asks how much OUR (everyone elses) rigs consumes.

What do you guys get for your system in power usage? This seem to me too good to be true ...

And guess what, if you want to know how much power your WHOLE computer is using then you use a kill-a-watt to measure it.

Yup, we got that by now.

If you want to know how much your CPU is consuming, then that is a whole other thread/conversation. Now pull your head out, stop flaming me

How did I flame you? I stated that your post in no way helped or informed the OP. If you take a stab at someone you should expect a rebuttal.

and the OP

How/when did I flame the OP? You really need to make more sense and read everything before you go off your rocker

just because you want to misinterpret what this entire thread has ALWAYS been about (system power consumption as measured by kill-a-watt).

So whats so wrong w/ me making the suggestion that maybe... just maybe you can't take a kill-a-watt reading (lets say 60W) and say "Of the 500W my PSU can supply, I'm only using 60W" because the 2 values could be different. The OP stated he thought his reading was too good to be true (in the DC power consumption way) and so all I was doing was giving a possible reason why (and that reason is his kill-a-watt is reading AC power consumption which probley doesn't equal the DC power consumption.

 

[ajemm]

According to my Kill A Watt, my system pulls about 140W at full load and 85W at idle.
In addition to the components listed in my sig, I also have...

3 optical drives,
2 additional Nexus fans (92mm & 120mm)
1 slot cooler
1 USB card reader.

My old Opteron (2.5 GHz) 939 system which was basically this same rig with a different motherboard, CPU and RAM pulled 175W at full load and 105W at idle. Those numbers were the main reason I switched to a C2D.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: themisfit610
if that's accurate, that means your system is pulling 85w out of the wall. It's losing a lot of that in the AC - > DC conversion.

Let's assume 80% effeciency, that means your system is actually using ~ 68W at full load. Hard to believe, but possible IMO.

Feel free to assume that efficiency since I'm guessing the EW500 that the OP mentions is an EarthWatts PSU, which is 80+ rated.

Now, the Kill-a-Watt is not always 100% accurate. It normally measures AC usage, meaning DC usage is less after taking PSU efficiency into account. However, there are documented and repeatable cases where APFC PSUs throw off the measurement, so the wattage reported is the actual DC load and not the AC load (not really, but can be thought of as that).

Still, it makes for some interesting measurements... and arguements from people who insist that their systems must be drawing more power and thus they need that huge e-peen PSU. Whatever floats their boat.

 

[nyker96]

* EDIT1: a small update, I started running x264 encoding on this system and discovered that it stressed it more than ortho, turning in at about 100W loaded. That sounds more reasonable to me now.

 

[Tiamat]

AMD Athlon 1800+ Socket A (2000mhz)
ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 256 (420mhz, 360mhz during reading)
Antec P150 w/ stock PSU


[Kill-a-watt readings]
150 Watts idle
190 Watts load

 

[nyker96]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
AMD Athlon 1800+ Socket A (2000mhz)
ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 256 (420mhz, 360mhz during reading)
Antec P150 w/ stock PSU


[Kill-a-watt readings]
150 Watts idle
190 Watts load

No way! the socket A is double mine at load, that's pretty incredible.