there is going to be a lot more cards comming, especially now where there is no clear winner, so people will be upgrading within a year 
Well, it could be, depending on what one wants the card for.
I mean, if two cards offer similar performance (or one card vs two cards in sli), and one is $20 cheaper, but over a year is likely to use $40 more electricity, why not take it into consideration? I think PCs and gfx card especially have now gotten to the point where the power use is becoming a non negligable issue. Of course Americans have cheaper power costs than us Euroweenies.
I'd been wondering about this too so it is great that someone has done the calculations for me Though I think 4850CF is the way I will still go. I live in a fridged house so I could really do with the extra heating in winter. I changed all my lightbulbs to power savers so there is my savings to justify the new card.
Though I think 4850CF is the way I will still go. I live in a fridged house so I could really do with the extra heating in winter. I changed all my lightbulbs to power savers so there is my savings to justify the new card.
HumblePie
Lifer
- Oct 30, 2000
- 14,667
- 440
- 126
So no response from anyone about this comparison meaning nothing really when ATI fixes their idle watt consumption via a driver fix and how about others that use tools such as ATI tool of riva tuner or such to lower the clock and mem speeds while only doing 2D apps? If you know you are doing 2D only I think you can also disable the second card at least via the device manager as well.
So the cost comparisons for 3D gaming cards is moot so long as the consumer takes proper procedures and maintenance in mind when using their computer. Doing the above is the equivalent to someone making sure their tires are properly inflated and rotated and there is a clean air filter and oil filter and proper oil in their car to maximize gas mileage.
So the cost comparisons for 3D gaming cards is moot so long as the consumer takes proper procedures and maintenance in mind when using their computer. Doing the above is the equivalent to someone making sure their tires are properly inflated and rotated and there is a clean air filter and oil filter and proper oil in their car to maximize gas mileage.
This is not a full cost calculation of electricity consumption. The calculation here is just a basic service. There are also delivery charges (in Massachusetts).
Rates for Delivery Service
Customer Charge $6.21/month
Distribution Charge 2.660¢/kWh
Transmission Charge 1.037¢/kWh
Transition Charge 0.233¢/kWh
Demand Side Management Charge 0.250¢/kWh
Renewables Charge 0.050¢/kWh
Rates for Delivery Service
Customer Charge $6.21/month
Distribution Charge 2.660¢/kWh
Transmission Charge 1.037¢/kWh
Transition Charge 0.233¢/kWh
Demand Side Management Charge 0.250¢/kWh
Renewables Charge 0.050¢/kWh
I appreciate that you are concerned about environmental impact. I do what I can. There ar no incadescent bulbs in our house. Ceiling fans have enabled me to raise my air conditioning about 10 degrees and also help during heating season. What irritates me a whole lot is Al Gore, the supposed spokesman for the green movement. He lives in a house that consumes an average of 16,000 KWh per month. He flies in charter jets. He buys these phoney carbon credits and that makes everything ok.
Myself, well, I build machines for performance. I don't use any of that energy saving crap on my desktops (bios, OS, or other all disabled). That is not to say I am an energy waster, quite the contrary. I simply shut down my machines when I don't game or need the excessive crunching. I use my low powered laptop for nearly everything.
Just replace all your lightbulbs in the house with energy efficient ones to offset the cost.
Or just stop eating Mcdonalds for a whole year and you'll save money and lose weight at the same time lol
Or just stop eating Mcdonalds for a whole year and you'll save money and lose weight at the same time
lol
- Mar 21, 2004
- 13,576
- 6
- 76
Originally posted by: Candymancan
Just replace all your lightbulbs in the house with energy efficient ones to offset the cost.
Or just stop eating Mcdonalds for a whole year and you'll save money and lose weight at the same time
Already do both. I never eat out, and I use CP bulbs.
Saving even MORE money is better then "offsetting"
Unless you are using quad core extreme with triple SLI GTX280 then that statement is silly.
Money comes into play some time. I am not saying "save energy to save the planet"
That is BS. Saving 10% energy just means you pollute 10% less, if you want to not pollute, switch to a 100% renewable plan, it will cost you 1.3 cents more per KWH (at least in texas, over the 14 cents per kwh base price), and you create 0 pollution AND the more you spend the more you subsidize the technology...
The point of this calculations is price value for performance...
as said here:
That is exactly it.
No, not silly, it is relevant and good energy management. I run a Q6600 @ 3.6 and 4850's in Crossfire. The machine runs hard about 3 hours per day and then it's shut off, the price/performance argument is a non-issue for me.
Sillier, is that you let your machine idle for 10 hours a day. What might help your situation is to start taking advantage of rebates
....oh, that's right, you're already making too much money to care about that....:laugh:
- Mar 21, 2004
- 13,576
- 6
- 76
i dont let it idle for 10 hours a day... i use it for non gaming purposes for 10 hours a day that lets the VIDEO CARD ALONE idle... that 37$ a year difference figure was for the VIDEO CARD ALONE, not the whole system.
I use S3 sleep mode for every second that the system is not in use, or turn it off completely.
You just ASSUME that electricity is "practically free" instead of doing the math... you use it for 3 hours a day of gaming... and thats it? what do you call posting anandtech forums? I call it "non gaming usage", where your system is idling (you CPU usage should be 5% and the GPU at 0% while you are posting on anandtechs forums, idling), its not "sitting idle", it is "being used while still idling".
If I were you I would calculate the exact costs as they apply to me and take them into account... it might be that the difference for YOU is only 5$ a year, in which case it is irrelevant, it might be 50$ a year, it might be 150$ and you just don't realize it... and before you didn't say "I don't think it is any significant amount"... you said you DON'T CARE how much it costs... now you backtracked and said you are just assuming it costs very little...
Well, I urge you to do the math for your own benefit. Math is your friend.
Oh here is another trick... turns out the majority of chains price BULK ITEMS HIGHER!
That 12 ounce can is usually three times the cost of a 6 ounce can, even though it is only twice the amount... the know most people ASSUME that larger means cheaper, so they rip them off... carefully examine each product and you will find MOST products don't scale linearly (sometimes it is even weirder, with price per ounce/pound jumping all over the place).
Anyways, Don't take it as an assault on you. You said what you thought based on your assumptions, it was probably wrong, it happens... I do it too, we are only human :{P
I use S3 sleep mode for every second that the system is not in use, or turn it off completely.
You just ASSUME that electricity is "practically free" instead of doing the math... you use it for 3 hours a day of gaming... and thats it? what do you call posting anandtech forums? I call it "non gaming usage", where your system is idling (you CPU usage should be 5% and the GPU at 0% while you are posting on anandtechs forums, idling), its not "sitting idle", it is "being used while still idling".
If I were you I would calculate the exact costs as they apply to me and take them into account... it might be that the difference for YOU is only 5$ a year, in which case it is irrelevant, it might be 50$ a year, it might be 150$ and you just don't realize it... and before you didn't say "I don't think it is any significant amount"... you said you DON'T CARE how much it costs... now you backtracked and said you are just assuming it costs very little...
Well, I urge you to do the math for your own benefit. Math is your friend
.Oh here is another trick... turns out the majority of chains price BULK ITEMS HIGHER!
That 12 ounce can is usually three times the cost of a 6 ounce can, even though it is only twice the amount... the know most people ASSUME that larger means cheaper, so they rip them off... carefully examine each product and you will find MOST products don't scale linearly (sometimes it is even weirder, with price per ounce/pound jumping all over the place).
Anyways, Don't take it as an assault on you. You said what you thought based on your assumptions, it was probably wrong, it happens... I do it too, we are only human :{P
bob4432
Lifer
- Sep 6, 2003
- 11,695
- 28
- 91
hear that - in phx, az our last bill was ~$140 - $80 for misc charges and $60 for electricity
Basic Service Charge
Delivery Service Charge
Enviornmental Benefits Charge
Fed Enviornmental Improvement Charge
Competition Rules Compliance Charge
System Benefit Charge
Power Supply Adjustment
Metering
Meter Reading
Billing
Tansmission and Ancillary Services
Transmission Cost Adjustment
and all of these are a +, not a - to the total of the bill.....
That's incredible. My last bill for 775kwh was $44.00 for electricity used and $9 for taxes, etc. We moved to Ky from Oh about 3 years ago and our electric bill were nearly double what they are here for comparable useage. Kentucky Utilities is asking for about a 7% rate increase. Utilities using any kind of fossile fuel will probably be raising rates.
VirtualLarry
No Lifer
- Aug 25, 2001
- 56,353
- 10,050
- 126
I'm the same way. I disable all power-saving crap, since it usually never works right anyways. (And my assumptions turned out to be right, look up the Gigabyte S3 standby issue.)
I run DC 24/7 on my rigs, so while I may be using maximum power, I'm also doing maximum work with my machines. So the power isn't being wasted, it's being put to good use (I hope).
I was paying over $50/mo (no one else in household) for electric, with two computers running 24/7, but that has increased to over $85/mo, with the new 12000 BTU AC installed and running. I've started to turn off the AC when I go out, which I do often.
Nice summary, op. Maybe a public google spreadsheet might be useful for the next one. And please, no pics of you sitting at your pc...
I'm looking at a new gpu in the next few months. The power usage is significant to me in that less should equate to less heat generated which should equate to less cooling fan noise. Not that less power usage isn't attractive - if we're going to keep having increasingly more kids, we're going to have use less per person to support 'em.
Really like the power usage numbers on the 3850 but will probably wait for a resolution to the 4850 heat problem. Don't care as much about full blown 3d power usage, but want 2d usage to be on the order of an igp. Might also wait to check out 46xx performance - maybe similar to 3850.
Have always wondered why a sli/cf card uses more than twice that of two single cards. A power usage report in a review about a 3870x2 as opposed to (2) equivalent 3870s comes to mind.
I'm looking at a new gpu in the next few months. The power usage is significant to me in that less should equate to less heat generated which should equate to less cooling fan noise. Not that less power usage isn't attractive - if we're going to keep having increasingly more kids, we're going to have use less per person to support 'em.
Really like the power usage numbers on the 3850 but will probably wait for a resolution to the 4850 heat problem. Don't care as much about full blown 3d power usage, but want 2d usage to be on the order of an igp. Might also wait to check out 46xx performance - maybe similar to 3850.
Have always wondered why a sli/cf card uses more than twice that of two single cards. A power usage report in a review about a 3870x2 as opposed to (2) equivalent 3870s comes to mind.
Which standby problem? I have both the ga-965g and ga-ma78gm which, according to a kill-a-watt, reduces power usage to ~four watts each in s3 and, with vista32, comes out smoothly and impressively quickly with a keypress or mouse move.
- Jun 10, 2004
- 14,332
- 4,925
- 136
And the underwhelming conclusion/summary of this thread is:
One graphics card is generally more efficient than two+. Mind boggling, isn't it?
That said I underclock my ATI video card significantly, so at idle with a low-volted C2D I'm using very little power...
One graphics card is generally more efficient than two+. Mind boggling, isn't it?
That said I underclock my ATI video card significantly, so at idle with a low-volted C2D I'm using very little power...
VirtualLarry
No Lifer
- Aug 25, 2001
- 56,353
- 10,050
- 126
At least on their 775 mobos, if you overclock the FSB to something over 300Mhz, they have problems resuming from standby. There are threads in the motherboards forum about this issue. It's definately a design flaw, probably in the BIOS, and not just a batch of bad units.
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