Should you turn PCs off now?

[CapnKill]

If you have a PC with a 700 W PSU should you turn it off when not in use?... will power consumption actually put a dent in your bill now?

 

[solas989]

Even though you have a 700W PS, it does not mean you are drawing 700W from the wall (making your electric bill higher). Depending on your setup, you could be only drawing 140Watts to 250Watts, give or take. Obviously SLI setups, Quad/Dual cores draw more power etc.

Now, if you have an ineffecient powersupply, it could make things worse. Active PFC and 80+ PS are good ones that reduce the loss of AC->DC conversion.

I would not change your habits unless you are extremely strapped for cash. If the box is newer, I dont think it would raise your electric bill by more than $10/month if at full load the entire month (depends on your electric rates). If you usually keep the box on 24/7, I would continue to do so.

Just my $0.02

Solas

 

[amdskip]

I have often heard that a computer is just like leaving a 60w light bulb turned on. I have been putting my home computer to sleep when I am work to save power. We have high electric rates here.

 

[Gusty987]

Do the planet a favor and shut it down when your not home/asleep. Whats the point of leaving it on?

 

[wildstyle]

Sweden: Electricity is not a matter of costs, rather a matter of philosophy. Do you need to have the computer turned on 24/7?

If you don't, leave it off when you're away for a long time. (Sure, you can take a ****** or perhaps have a sandwich without shutting it off :>)

Besides, i think it would feel weird knowing your computer can fail in no time, and burn down your entire place.

 

[Kwaipie]

Turn it off. Or spend $15 at the egg and get the kill-a-watt to see how much it costs you to leave it on.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882715001

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

If you leave it on, damn you if you aren't crunching.

 

[lobbyone]

Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
If you leave it on, damn you if you aren't crunching.

:thumbsup:

 

[Operandi]

PSUs have an efficiency curve that always peak somewhere in the middle 40-70% of load.

I saw your other post for PSU recommendations so I have a rough idea of what you'll be dealing with. While your PSU is very efficient you load is very lite for a 700 watt unit so your efficiency will not be as good as it would be with a 350-500 watt unit with similar efficiency scale.

For further reading try this --> Power Supply Fundamentals

 

[CapnKill]

Don't know, I always leave my current PC on... so when I go to it I don't have to boot it up, just move the mouse and you're back in business....

 

[SparkyJJO]

I always leave mine on. Along with 8 other systems lol. They all crunch though, which is why I have that many in the first place. Most of the dedicated crunchers are pretty crappy though (old systems I resurrected) so they probably aren't very energy efficient. I'm at school though right now so the electric bill isn't a problem. At home though, well... that many really added to the bill. Guess I'll have to shut many down over the summer

 

[SickBeast]

Vista has a really cool 'sleep' mode that kicks in after 1 hour of idle under default settings. The hard drives and all the fans stop spinning and it seems like the system must be consuming very little if any power. 'Waking up' takes under 5 seconds, and it's so great that I never shut down or restart my computer anymore.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
Vista has a really cool 'sleep' mode that kicks in after 1 hour of idle under default settings. The hard drives and all the fans stop spinning and it seems like the system must be consuming very little if any power. 'Waking up' takes under 5 seconds, and it's so great that I never shut down or restart my computer anymore.

Yea, I've been digging the sleep feature. It seemed like I had a 50% chance of BSOD when waking up using the old hibernate in XP. I've had no problems at all with Vista's sleep function.

I keep my computer on 24/7 in the winter when the extra heat helps. I've started using sleep since things have warmed up, and I imagine I'll continue doing that until fall.