Is the power usage of a GPU a major factor in your purchase decision?

[tulx]

With the launch of AMD's 290x and a few years ago Nvidia's GTX 480, heated discussions about performance-per-watt and general power usage were held, or are still on-going in case of the 290x.
This has always puzzled me because I've never felt that the power usage of my gaming PC is of any relevance at all. If one can afford a 500-800 € gaming GPU, a slightly higher electricity bill surely shouldn't be a factor, right? I always compare this to the amusing notion that one would worry about the fuel consumption when buying a Maybach or Bugatti.
Even if my whole electricity bill (and not just the power spent by the PC) doubled, I wouldn't really notice it compared to all the other household expenses.

Is the power usage of a GPU a major factor in your purchase decision?

 

[PrincessFrosty]

Not even slightly.

In fact I'd wish they'd do away with this dumb PCI-E power standard which limits GPU power draw.

 

[lavaheadache]

in my HTPC, yes.

When I'm trying to kill you and all your buddies on Damavand Peak, heck no......

 

[Gikaseixas]

When I'm trying to kill you and all your buddies on Damavand Peak, heck no......

This
My gaming systems don't have to be compromised at all.

 

[BrightCandle]

It is, because it impacts noise on air and it impacts the amount of heatsinks and fans I need if I choose to watercool it. TDP isn't really about power consumption for me, its about how much noise its going to produce. I dislike fan noise greatly, especially really loud whiny fan noise.

 

[lavaheadache]

It is, because it impacts noise on air and it impacts the amount of heatsinks and fans I need if I choose to watercool it. TDP isn't really about power consumption for me, its about how much noise its going to produce. I dislike fan noise greatly, especially really loud whiny fan noise.

headphones

also, where is your pc in relation to your head?

 

[BallaTheFeared]

1333 hours

125 kwh used

55 1/2 days of use, 2.25 kwh a day, or roughly 14 cents to use my PC each day.


I care

Not because of the 290 series, but because of the Earth. How can you can't care about the Earth?

Certainly don't need max graphical settings on Damavand Peak to own you and your buddies.

The Earth thing was a bit of a joke, noise and heat are my biggest problems with high wattage parts.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

It is, because it impacts noise on air and it impacts the amount of heatsinks and fans I need if I choose to watercool it. TDP isn't really about power consumption for me, its about how much noise its going to produce. I dislike fan noise greatly, especially really loud whiny fan noise.

You've not got enough explosions, gunfire or heroic battle music playing during your gaming if you're worried about noise

 

[lavaheadache]

Should I have made reference to hunting down and killing the Alpha Ceph instead? =P

 

[BrightCandle]

headphones

also, where is your pc in relation to your head?

I use a pair of Sennheiser HD 598's, they produce a brilliantly balanced sound but they are open headphones so the sound in the room needs to be low so I don't hear it. Closed headphones boost bass and distort the sound and I don't ever want that. I have played with closed headphones before but my ability to position and shoot on the basis of sound only works with high quality open headphones.

The PC is under my desk not that it matters, at 50Db it would need to be behind a wall not to hear it.

 

[GaiaHunter]

Depends.

Price and performance are the main factors impacting my decisions.

Between 2 products of same price and performance, I'll get the lower power consumption.

But I won't pay a big premium for lower power.

 

[nOOky]

Power usage, I don't really care. Noise, yes. Despite those that get "used" to it, I hate it. I frequently play with both headphones and surround sound depending on what I'm doing. I have a Coolermaster HAF-X case sitting down by my feet, and when the GPU fan spins up I find it annoying. I have good hearing, and I don't want to destroy it by cranking the games up so loud that I can't hear the GPU fan running. My 7970 is as loud a card that I'll buy, and in fact I'd like a quieter solution which is why the new AMD cards aren't exciting me.

As time progresses my personal opinion is that quieter is better, not louder. I'd rather spend the money for peace and quiet. Quieter also signifies quality to me. YMMV.

 

[24601]

I use a pair of Sennheiser HD 598's, they produce a brilliantly balanced sound but they are open headphones so the sound in the room needs to be low so I don't hear it. Closed headphones boost bass and distort the sound and I don't ever want that. I have played with closed headphones before but my ability to position and shoot on the basis of sound only works with high quality open headphones.

The PC is under my desk not that it matters, at 50Db it would need to be behind a wall not to hear it.

I have found the same to be the case. I have used my crazily audiophile friend's closed headphone setup that was probably 500 USD+ (he is a musician and works on his music with them) and I found them inferior in sound accuracy (and sound spatial positional accuracy) compared to the KSC-75 headphones that I have used for many years now (I have gone through countless pairs of these because of the low physical durability of the ultra-thin wires).

 

[Majcric]

No, Absolutely not. I do however look very closely at the thermals and noise levels.

 

[HurleyBird]

Power, not really. Noise, certainly.

 

[JBT]

Power no. Idle noise yes, full load noise no.

 

[imaheadcase]

I don't care if its run by a wind turbine used to test airplanes, long as it gives me the performance i want.

 

[thilanliyan]

Up to a certain point yes, but only because of cooling requirements. I like a fairly quiet PC. The actual consumption doesn't bother me too much.

 

[chimaxi83]

Never have, don't think I ever will.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Absolutely. I dont want to go over 200W. Maybe 150W with 20nm.

Its money, its heat and its noise.

 

[Teizo]

Yes. Is it a purchase destroyer? Depends on what other cards have to offer in regards to their relative performance.

 

[AdamK47]

If that power usage translates into excessive heat, noise, and worsening performance, then yes.

 

[Phynaz]

Absolutely. I have never purchased a GPU that required more than a six pin power connector. Not interested in the heat and noise.

 

[SirPauly]

It's important but more on the bottom of the important totem pole! The reason why it is still important -- steeper power requirements - usually there are trade-offs with efficiency -- acoustics and thermals -- more care or tweaking!

It wouldn't stop me from passing on the GPU but would look at more efficient cooling or paying a modest premium over reference designs!

 

[PingSpike]

Its important but price, performance and noise are more important. As others said, it impacts noise. Since most GPUs have pretty smart throttle down now to limit draw at idle its actually not a big concern as far as cost of electricity goes to me anymore, that feature takes care of it IMO. The other concerns are needing a PSU to drive it (cost) and I like to have a battery backup to protect against brownouts which needs to be up to snuff (cost again).