Boredom & a Kill-A-Watt

[bob4432]

as my electric company keeps requesting rate increases from the corporation commision, i wanted to see exactly where all the power i use was going. i figured that besides the normal A/C, Heat and Water Heater culprits the next guilty items would be my computers that usually run 24/7 w/ one crunching.

newegg just had the earthwatts 380 unit on sale for $20AR so i ordered one of those and a kill-a-watt just to see if i could save some juice as my now old (the tp-II 480B) was about 2yrs or so old and i looked inside and saw what i thought may be a cap issue (turned out to be dust). figured at the very least picking up a $20 psu that is 80plus certified is never a bad thing. i know this isn't going to save me much $$$ but after a few years i am sure that i will have saved a couple $.

i will add my other rigs up here as i check them just for people's references.

here are my findings:

System 1:
XP PRO 32BIT, SP2
AMD X2 4200 @ 2.42GHz @ Stock V (SKT939, 90nm, Manchester)
NVIDIA NFORCE 4 BASES ASUS M/B ? A8N5X
ATI X1800XT 256MB (set to o/c when using a 3d game to 682/783 using Catalyst Control Center 7.12)
2GB PC-3200
WD 1394 Card
1x IDE/SATA Card w/ 1x IDE port and 2x SATA Ports
LSI U160 SCSI Card
15K U320 SCSI (1x 74GB FUJITSU MAX / 1x 300GB SEAGATE 15K.5)
1x DVD-ROM, 1x DVD-RW
Fans: 1x92mm, 1x ~50mm (on M/B), 3x80mm (2w/ Blue LEDs, 1 no LEDs), 1x120mm in PSU when using the 480W PSU, 1x 80mm when using the EarthWatt PSU

PSU ? Antec TP-II 480 Blue
Idle Power Draw: ~140W
Average Power Draw while testing: ~280W while running the video performance test under COH: OF and 1 instance of Prime95
Standby Power Draw: 8W

PSU ? Antec EarthWatt 380
Idle Power Draw: ~125W
Average Power Draw while testing: ~255W while running the video performance test under COH: OF and 1 instance of Prime95
Standby Power Draw: 7W

System 2:
XP PRO 32BIT, SP2
AMD 3000 @ Stock V (SKT939, 90nm, Venice)
NVIDIA NFORCE 4 BASES ASUS M/B ? A8N5X
3dfx Voodoo 2000PCI
1GB PC-3200
3x 7.2k IDE HDDs
1x DVD-ROM
Fans: 1x 92mm, 1x 80mm (w/ Blue LEDs), 1x 70mm, 1x 120mm in PSU when using the FSP 300W PSU, 1x 80mm when using the EarthWatts 380W PSU

PSU ? FSP Green 300W
Idle Power Draw: ~94W
Average Power Draw while testing: ~129W (stressing using Prime95 ? max heat option under torture test while defragging 3x 7.2k HDDs)
Standby Power Draw: 6W

PSU - EarthWatts 380
Idle Power Draw: ~83W
Average Power Draw while testing: ~118W (stressing using Prime95 ? max heat option under torture test while defragging 3x 7.2k HDDs)
Standby Power Draw: 6W

REMOVED THE GPU - 3DFX Voodoo 2000 PCI and now just connect via remote desktop or vnc and now idle is down - ~64W and is a hell of a lot cooler, that Voodoo 2000 card's gpu heatsink would get very hot - too hot to touch, so a double bonus, less heat and less power

System 3:
XP PRO 32BIT, SP2
AMD 3000 @ Stock V (SKT939, 90nm, Venice)
NVIDIA NFORCE 6150 Based M/B - uATX, Foxconn brand
OnBoard GPU
1GB PC-3200
1x 7.2k IDE HDDs
1x DVD-ROM
Fans: 1x 80mm, 1x 80mm when using the EarthWatts 380W PSU

PSU - EarthWatts 380
Idle Power: ~50W

this is the only test i did w/ this machine as it use to be a htpc that was on very little. it only played regular sd video. this machine is now apart and other tests will not be performed on it

System 4:
XP PRO 32BIT, SP2
AMD 3800 X2 @ Stock V (SKT939, 90nm, Manchester)
NVIDIA NFORCE 6150 Based M/B - uATX, Foxconn brand
OnBoard GPU
1GB PC-3200
1x 7.2k IDE HDDs
1x DVD-ROM
Fans: 1x 80mm, 1x 80mm when using the EarthWatts 380W PSU

PSU - FSP Green 300W
Idle Power: ~55W
Standby:
Average Power Draw while testing: ~120W (while doing 2 instances of orthos, defragging and watching a 720p x264 clip)

System 5:
XP PRO 32BIT, SP2
Intel E2160 @ 3.0GHz
Gigabyte P35-DS3L
ATI X1800XT 256MB (set to o/c when using a 3d game to 682/783 using Catalyst Control Center 7.12)
4GB DDR2-667
WD 1394 Card
1x IDE/SATA Card w/ 1x IDE port and 2x SATA Ports
LSI U160 SCSI Card
15K U320 SCSI (1x 74GB FUJITSU MAX / 1x 300GB SEAGATE 15K.5)
1x DVD-ROM, 1x DVD-RW
Fans: 1x92mm, 3x80mm (2w/ Blue LEDs, 1 no LEDs), 1x 80mm in the EarthWatt PSU

PSU ? Antec EarthWatt 380
Idle Power Draw: ~120W
Average Power Draw while testing: ~230W while running the video performance test under COH: OF and 1 instance of Prime95
Standby Power Draw:

System 6:
XP PRO 32BIT, SP3
Intel E2160 @ 3.0GHz
Gigabyte P35-DS3L
ATI HD3850 512MB (set to o/c when using a 3d game to 758/998 using Catalyst Control Center 8.6)
3GB DDR2-667
WD 1394 Card
1x IDE/SATA Card w/ 1x IDE port and 2x SATA Ports
LSI U160 SCSI Card
1x 74GB FUJITSU MAX - 15K U320 SCSI
1x 250GB Seagate 7.2k SATA HDD - 7200.10
1x DVD-RW
Fans: 1x92mm, 2x80mm (2w/ Blue LEDs), 1x 80mm in the EarthWatt PSU

PSU ? Antec EarthWatt 380
Idle Power Draw: ~95W
Average Power Draw while testing: ~185W while running the video performance test under COH: OF and 2 instances of Prime95
Standby Power Draw:

System 7:
XP PRO 32BIT, SP3
Intel E2160 @ 3.0GHz
Gigabyte P35-DS3L
ATI HD4850 512MB (set to o/c when using a 3d game to 690/1100 using Catalyst Control Center 8.7 and a modified bios fixing the fan issue of the 4850s)
3GB DDR2-667
WD 1394 Card
1x IDE/SATA Card w/ 1x IDE port and 2x SATA Ports
LSI U160 SCSI Card
1x 74GB FUJITSU MAX - 15K U320 SCSI
1x 250GB Seagate 7.2k SATA HDD - 7200.10
1x DVD-RW
Fans: 1x92mm, 2x80mm (2w/ Blue LEDs), 1x 80mm in the EarthWatt PSU, 1x 120mm when using the TPII-480W

PSU ? Antec EarthWatt 380
Idle Power Draw: ~115W
Average Power Draw while testing: ~295W while degragging both hdds, running orthos small fft and furmark @ 1280x1024 4AA
Standby Power Draw:

PSU ? Antec TPII-480W Blue
Idle Power Draw: ~131W
Average Power Draw while testing: ~315W while degragging both hdds, running orthos small fft and furmark @ 1280x1024 4AA
Standby Power Draw:

now i have moved on to other items -

Scientific Atlantic DVR / Cable Box 8240HD
20-23W all the time, whether recording, watching, recording 2 shows and watching from the dvr, either hd or sd programming, either on or off, it is always drawing 20-23W 24/7 - it really never turns off :shocked:

XBox360 (older unit, before the new gpu heatsink)
Standby - ~2W
Dashboard, Idle -
running a saved game of Forza 2 - ~ 170W

Westinghouse 40" 720p LCD
Stanbdy - ~2W
Peak - ~ 270W
Average watching a HD feed - NatGeo Channel - ~205W

Vizio 32" 720P LCD
Standby -
Peak -
Average -

i know this information is probably out there already, but i am bored so i may as well share it. i will update the blank ones as i take measurements

 

[0roo0roo]

yea its mainly the overclock and the video card that will rape your power usage.
average laptop will probably suck down 30-40watts total including lcd!!!
gamer pc...is like urs, add another 40 watts for the lcd and wow!
now imagine if you had a pentium 4 or pentiumD, those things...sucked the power down like crazy. drives and other peripherals are insignificant, its mainly cpu/gpu that eat power.

desktop really need to catch up on power savings, more speed step stuff would be nice.
i know theres some on newer cpus, but gpus suck heinous power even at idle.

so yea, going into standby if ur going to leave the comp for a while does save power.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
yea its mainly the overclock and the video card that will rape your power usage.
average laptop will probably suck down 30-40watts total including lcd!!!
gamer pc...is like urs, add another 40 watts for the lcd and wow!
now imagine if you had a pentium 4 or pentiumD, those things...sucked the power down like crazy.

desktop really need to catch up on power savings, more speed step stuff would be nice.
i know theres some on newer cpus, but gpus suck heinous power even at idle.

those numbers are just the machine, not lcd.

i was actually surprised compared to the newer stuff that is coming out....

 

[0roo0roo]

yea the new intel penryn has some amazing potential.
toms had a thing where it was using ~4watts on idle that is nuts.

http://www.tomshardware.com/20...4ghz_with_air_cooling/

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
yea the new intel penryn has some amazing potential.
toms had a thing where it was using ~4watts on idle that is nuts.

http://www.tomshardware.com/20...4ghz_with_air_cooling/

damn, w/ the way things are going a new build will actually save me $$ by the end of a year, haha

now to change the server cpu (no need for a dc when it idles 95% of the time and has more than enough cpu even w/ a 3000venice) and possibly psu in that rig - will see if the fsp green series (supposedly 80%+ although not 80plus rated) psus are better than the earthwatts 380 in efficiency....

 

[JackMDS]

Nah, this PSU 80 plus is an over rated gimmick.

If you buy new PSU and ther 80 plus for the same price, OK.

But to take out a PSU in order to put 80 one. :shocked:

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
Nah, this PSU 80 plus is an over rated gimmick.

If you buy new PSU and ther 80 plus for the same price, OK.

But to take out a PSU in order to put 80 one. :shocked:

the psu purchase was for actually needing a psu, the fsp vs earthwatts is just going to be a test as i already have both and need both, and both will be used, the one that draws less in the same machine will go into the machine that gets used most. i got the latest 380EA for $20 thinking that i may have a cap issue w/ the 480WBlue unit and figured $20AR would be cheaper than going to frys if things went south, so it was bought to fix a problem i thought was there. i wouldn't just go out and buy one to replace it unless it needed replaced.

i am just doing the testing and posting it for info and the fact that i may as well since i have them all here and am moving stuff around anyway

 

[bob4432]

updated to show the fsp green vs earthwatts 380 comparison

 

[RossMAN]

Excellent information, thanks!

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Excellent information, thanks!

no probs, put up another machines idle info....

 

[bob4432]

more items added...

 

[aigomorla]

ahahahahahha someone is having fun with his kilowatt meter.

 

[PingSpike]

How low do you think I could get the idle usage down on a brisbane AM2 dual core rig, headless with no optical drive and 2 hard disks?

I'm shooting to try and get less than 50watts idle usage to keep a similar power usage when I replace the guts on my file server. Might have to underclock a little.

 

[Zap]

PingSpike, if it is just a file server, then your CPU is overkill.

The best way to lower power usage would be to set the multiplier to the lowest, and undervolt it. Fewer fans would be good too as those draw power. If you want to replace hardware, consider one of the Sempron "LE" chips - don't need dual cores for file serving. Also, those WD "Green" 5400RPM drives do use less power than other 1TB drives, plus one drive draws less power than two (if replacing two smaller drives). Of course the best bet would be to replace the AMD mobo/CPU with one of those Intel mini ITX solutions, and run it off a Pico PSU. I think that setup, plus a single WD Green drive would probably draw around 20W or so idling.

 

[frostedflakes]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
How low do you think I could get the idle usage down on a brisbane AM2 dual core rig, headless with no optical drive and 2 hard disks?

I'm shooting to try and get less than 50watts idle usage to keep a similar power usage when I replace the guts on my file server. Might have to underclock a little.

50w should be doable. My rig w/3600+ Brisbane, onboard video, and 1x HDD used 41w CnQ idle. An 80Plus PSU would probably be necessary, though.

 

[JackMDS]

bob4432 my remark from few days ago was not to take away from the very nice idea of you doing this experiment.

It has to do with the claiming made by the vendors to justify the unwarranted prices for some of these devices.

Anyway looking at the differences, since they are relatively small you should look at the output voltage as well.

E.g. if the 3V output is 2.9V on one PSU, and 3.2V on another, it can accounts to the difference rather than the Green.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
bob4432 my remark from few days ago was not to take away from the very nice idea of you doing this experiment.

It has to do with the claiming made by the vendors to justify the unwarranted prices for some of these devices.

Anyway looking at the differences, since they are relatively small you should look at the output voltage as well.

E.g. if the 3V output is 2.9V on one PSU, and 3.2V on another, it can accounts to the difference rather than the Green.

no prob, i didn't take it that way even if you had meant it in a mean manner i am a rather thick skinned individual.

i agree whole heartedly about the possibility of marketing exploitation too, but w/ a rebate i don't mind the prices. i get extremely mad regarding the marketing when vendors try to take advantage of people who may not know w/ the 80plus cert just like i do when the ram manf put "sli certified":shocked: and then try to charge an extra 25% or so.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: bob4432
vendors try to take advantage of people who may not know w/ the 80plus cert just like i do when the ram manf put "sli certified":shocked: and then try to charge an extra 25% or so.

but my sli certified ram was awesome! until my stupid 680i killed it with the 2.4V bug. [being sarcastic]

ummmm yeah nvidia certified ram killed by an nvidia board.

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: aigomorla

but my sli certified ram was awesome! until my stupid 680i killed it with the 2.4V bug. [being sarcastic]

ummmm yeah nvidia certified ram killed by an nvidia board.

I am surprised , are you really expecting that the nVidia chipset marketing would know what Motherboards' manufacturer marketing departments would do, and what the External Partners marketing department is doing.:shocked:

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: frostedflakes

Originally posted by: PingSpike
How low do you think I could get the idle usage down on a brisbane AM2 dual core rig, headless with no optical drive and 2 hard disks?

I'm shooting to try and get less than 50watts idle usage to keep a similar power usage when I replace the guts on my file server. Might have to underclock a little.

50w should be doable. My rig w/3600+ Brisbane, onboard video, and 1x HDD used 41w CnQ idle. An 80Plus PSU would probably be necessary, though.

Yeah, I was thinking that. My current file server has a via c3 s370 cpu and 512mb of old sdram. It gets the job done for sure, but its performance is pretty weaksauce. However, after checking out anandtechs midrange cpu buying guide I was kind of surprised at their power consumption numbers. They had a dual core AMD rig idling around 50-55 watts...sitting at the windows desktop after bootup, my killawatt reads 50 or 51 watts highest I've seen is in the 80s. Granted, it has a piece of junk mATX psu...but this thing was suppose to be low power! It looks like with a good efficiency PSU and a little tweaking I could build a duel core rig that uses the same or less power.

In the past I've wanted to do more then serve files, run torrents and act as a printer server but the c3 kind of chokes doing just those tasks.

 

[MarcVenice]

Ya know, even if you play even after saving some energy, but having to spend 20$ on a 80plus PSU, then it's still a good thing, coz you saved some energy, and helped make Al Gore be a happier person.

 

[nerp]

You know what drives me nuts? Trying to find an under-monitor power strip to selectively kill certain devices when not in use. I want something to shut down my Klipsch without having to reach behind the subwoofer. Knocking my printer out of commission would be handy too. I'd love to just flick a row of switches right in front of me and power down devices as I see fit instead of crawling around the floor and giving every appliance in my office the reach-around. Seems that finding such strips are almost impossible these days and all I can find is some small cheapo model that everyone is selling.

Anyone got any suggestion?

And yes, saving power rocks. I love my auto-hiberating machines.

 

[bob4432]

added another machine's draw

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: nerp
You know what drives me nuts? Trying to find an under-monitor power strip to selectively kill certain devices when not in use. I want something to shut down my Klipsch without having to reach behind the subwoofer. Knocking my printer out of commission would be handy too. I'd love to just flick a row of switches right in front of me and power down devices as I see fit instead of crawling around the floor and giving every appliance in my office the reach-around. Seems that finding such strips are almost impossible these days and all I can find is some small cheapo model that everyone is selling.

Anyone got any suggestion?

And yes, saving power rocks. I love my auto-hiberating machines.

They used to make something like that, but I haven't seen one in ages. It was a flat "box" that you could sit the monitor on, and it had about 5 switches that you could power peripherals with. I'll look around, and see if I can find one online.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: nerp
You know what drives me nuts? Trying to find an under-monitor power strip to selectively kill certain devices when not in use.

They used to make something like that, but I haven't seen one in ages. It was a flat "box" that you could sit the monitor on, and it had about 5 switches that you could power peripherals with. I'll look around, and see if I can find one online.

Uh, Google it? Looks like they are still available and start at $20 even for a TrippLite brand.