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Best way to save on the electricity bill

You know how to save even more power? Turn off the PC...

You probably save around 10W by undervolting the CPU (at idle) but considering that the system draws around 100W just sitting there I'd hardly consider it a lot. Sure 10% sounds nice but the difference is rather minor (saving 10-20W in your power draw saves you 9-18 bucks a year). I do like undervolting but mostly to deal with heat and noise.
 
Originally posted by: Furen
You know how to save even more power? Turn off the PC...
Click to expand...

QFT. I always turn off the system overnight and if I know I'm not going to be using it for a while (few hours). The one minute it takes to go from being off to being useable in Windows (after the HDD stops thrashing) isn't gonna kill anyone and I personally have no interest in SETI or Folding or anything like that.
 
Let me see:

1. Select a high efficiency ACTIVE PFC PSU like the Fortron FSP 600GLN - > 85% efficiency !! An added advantage is that because the PSU does not waste power as heat, a low rpm fan can easily remove waste heat yielding true QUIET !!!

2. An advanced heatsink/fan -- like many of the Zalman coolers that can actually perform adequately with a very low rpm fan like the CN95P or something like that for socket 939/940 ... I love mine. Again the bonus is true QUIET !!!

3. Low RPM case fans. Low RPM case fans typically are lower wattage and move less air but if your devices produce less heat ... Yet again, the bonus is true QUIET !!!

4. Remove your floppy drive. If you need a floppy, consider a USB Floppy that can be used if/when you need it and can be removed when it is not needed.

5. Use fewer high capacity hard drives rather than many low capacity drives.

6. Ditch the monitor and purchase an LCD display. Closely examine the consumption during "power save" and look for the ones that have the lowest wattages.

7. Replace those ubiquitous cube power supplies for peripherals with a simple adapter slot converter that uses power from your very efficient PSU. Those little cube transformers use power all the time whether the peripheral is powered up or not. I call them parasites. They always consume far more power than is necessary to operate your peripheral.

8. Consider purchasing a processor that, at stock, will run at a speed you can be satisfied with. Processors running at stock produce far less waste heat than those that are overclocked.

9. Same as 8 for your Video

Those are my tips ...

mondo
 
very good points mondobyte...

But I've read about using cool 'n quiet on a overclocked cpu with certain mobo's (something about using the %overvolt option) which would also throttle oc'ed cpus at idle back to the lowest multi...

anyone confirm?
 
Darth: I'd go for RMclock rather than Cool and Quiet because you can control the P-states. Also, cool and quiet sometimes (depending on your motherboard) messes up your voltages so when your CPU is supposed to throttle back up it ends up using the default vid rather than what its supposed to be using.
 
Originally posted by: mondobyte
1. Select a high efficiency ACTIVE PFC PSU like the Fortron FSP 600GLN - > 85% efficiency !! An added advantage is that because the PSU does not waste power as heat, a low rpm fan can easily remove waste heat yielding true QUIET !!!
Click to expand...

You are half correct on this. A high efficiency PSU (like mentioned) is great, but what you want to do is to use the LOWEST WATTAGE PSU that you can get away with. The reason for this is that PSUs are generally inefficient when at lower power output.
 
Oh yeah, also wanted to add that the motherboard chipset and video card draws a lot of power. Typical Nvidia chipsets for A64 platform draws more power than competing SiS or VIA chipsets. Also, most video cards support different speeds in 2D mode and you may be able to underclock the card even farther for 2D usage (that'll go to hell once Vista comes out).
 
Originally posted by: Greg04
Best way to save (until LEDs become mainstream).

mmmm lights
Click to expand...

That's not computer related, but I agree that it is great for saving electricity. I'm still not sure how well they'll pay for themselves in the long run (I've had some fail and they are not as cheap as incandescent) but for sure you do recoup some of the purchase cost in power savings.

Some of them, especially the higher wattage ones, makes a buzzing noise when in operation. You can buy "natural" or "sunlight" types, but I've found myself hating those because they look dim and colors seem washed out to my eyes, however I've heard that those are great if you want lighting for photographing stuff indoors, especially closeups.

Besides price, only other drawback is that they don't look as good as some decorative incandescents can be. Not a problem in a lamp with a shade or in some other fixture that is covered or not in your line of sight, but in a fixture where the bulb is part of the look, these just don't look right.
 
Originally posted by: Zap
Originally posted by: mondobyte
1. Select a high efficiency ACTIVE PFC PSU like the Fortron FSP 600GLN - > 85% efficiency !! An added advantage is that because the PSU does not waste power as heat, a low rpm fan can easily remove waste heat yielding true QUIET !!!
Click to expand...

You are half correct on this. A high efficiency PSU (like mentioned) is great, but what you want to do is to use the LOWEST WATTAGE PSU that you can get away with. The reason for this is that PSUs are generally inefficient when at lower power output.
Click to expand...

and active PFC is not really useful to the consumer, to businesses yes but not really to a guy owning 1-4 computers

 
in some cases it might be a good idea to have two computers, lets say one for office, internet, downloads and stuff and one for serious gaming.

and there are VIA EPIA mainboard&cpu systems, i think they run at 1000-1200MHz consuming less than 5W
 
Originally posted by: BlingBlingArsch
in some cases it might be a good idea to have two computers, lets say one for office, internet, downloads and stuff and one for serious gaming.

and there are VIA EPIA mainboard&cpu systems, i think they run at 1000-1200MHz consuming less than 5W
Click to expand...

That's what I do.

I have a powerbox (in my sig) for gaming, and a lesser powerful machine for work-related stuff (i.e. basic web browsing, finances, ripping CD's/DVD's, etc)
 
I believe he means that you should replace all your DC power bricks (like the ones for the printer, mouse, speakers, etc) for *something* (this something would have to be bought or self-made) that takes power from your PSU's 12v rail. I suppose it saves you power but the effort, increased load on the PSU, initial expense and lack of flexibility may not be worth it.
 
Originally posted by: coomar
Originally posted by: Zap
Originally posted by: mondobyte
1. Select a high efficiency ACTIVE PFC PSU like the Fortron FSP 600GLN - > 85% efficiency !! An added advantage is that because the PSU does not waste power as heat, a low rpm fan can easily remove waste heat yielding true QUIET !!!
Click to expand...

You are half correct on this. A high efficiency PSU (like mentioned) is great, but what you want to do is to use the LOWEST WATTAGE PSU that you can get away with. The reason for this is that PSUs are generally inefficient when at lower power output.
Click to expand...

and active PFC is not really useful to the consumer, to businesses yes but not really to a guy owning 1-4 computers
Click to expand...
Active PFC power supplies are more expensive to manufacture and because of that additional cost, the manufacturers tend to use higher quality components and higher efficiency designs.
[*]Higher overall efficiency vs non PFC designs = electricty $ savings
[*]Higher reliability components = longer lifespan
[*]Both of these usually result in lower waste heat = electricity $ savings on Air Conditioning

About PFC:

Active PFC by itself does result in lowered electricity costs for non-commercial users .. however ... if you use a UPS, you can get by with a much smaller UPS with an Active PFC PSU compared with a non PFC PSU ... That can lead to lower cost for a UPS or lead to extended run times while on battery!

If you have multiple computers, then Active PFC PSU computers will let you run more computers on a circuit SAFELY than non PFC PSU computers. Again a savings in that additional or upgraded wiring may not be necessary.

Again, if you have multiple computers, Active PFC PSU computers will lead to more stable electricity for all of your computers and electronics.

As to Wattage ... Lowest wattage is not always the best or most efficient choice. Look closely at the PSU ratings. Additionally, make sure that you have a power supply that can provide you with the highest PEAK load that your system will require. Usually that peak load occurs at startup but there may be peak usage during heavy graphics, heavy disk usage, CD/DVD burning, etc. that needs to be accommodated. It is never a good idea to size your PSU based on current needs. That next video card or other peripheral may lead you into a power crisis. Carefully weigh operating costs vs cost of components. The savings in operating expense (electricty) may be substantially less than the cost of upgrading a high quality power supply. That said, you don't necessarily need to go overboard with Wattage!

mondo

 
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