Any estimates how much power this PC uses?

[TailsNZ]

Just wondering if anyone could give estimates how much power this system would use at idle / full? Also if I have a 500 Watt PSU, does that mean it'll always draw 500w from the wall, and then the computer uses what it needs? Or would it only take from the wall what it needs?

Thanks!

Athlon 64 X2 4400
Asus A8N-SLI Premium nForce4 SLI
74gb Western Digital Raptor WD740 SATA (10,000 RPM)
300gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3300831AS SATA
GigaByte GeForce 6800 GT GV-NX68T256D-B Video Card 256mb
2GB RAM
BenQ DW1640 (16X +/- R, DVDROM & 8X +R DL, +RW & 6X -RW, & 4X -R DL & 48X CDR, CDROM & 32X CDRW)
Logitech MX1000 Laser Wireless

 

[Continuity28]

A power supply has a capacity (in your case 500W) but the load it draws is variable, dependant on how active your PC is.

It will draw anywhere from 50W - 3xxW in your case. (Estimates)

If you had a computer with a 400W power supply and pull it out and replace it with a 700W power suppy, both would draw roughly the same power from the wall.

Also, most components today when idle will draw less power, saving money on your electric bill.

 

[TailsNZ]

Ah it is variable, that's great to know. Thanks!

 

[2kfire]

To answer your first question, probably somewhere around 250-300W. This is a guesstimate going from what Anandtech's reviews get for single-GPU systems. To answer your second question, it will not always use 500W, only what it needs.

However, power supplies are not 100% efficient, so the PSU might actually draw more than the 500W when it is running fully loaded. The rating is the output power of the supply, not the input. If your system needs 300W, and the PSU has an efficiency of 80%, it will actually consume 375W. If your system actually needs the whole 500W, then the supply will actually consume 625W.

 

[TailsNZ]

Ah just 250-300W, that's good.

I've got a Seasonic S12 500W, which is around 80% efficient yeah.

Thanks!

 

[2kfire]

Glad I could help!