130W DC is actually pretty high for idling. I actually measured a few systems with a Seasonic Power Angel. My Athlon 64 Venice system is pretty close to the OP's. Not counting the LCD, it draws 85W AC at the wall idling and 170W full load (in a 3D game). My power supply is a pretty efficient Seasonic S300 (almost 80%). So with one more hard drive than mine and a 70% efficient PS, idle power draw would be about 100W. Full load on the CPU and video card would be pushing 200W.
130W DC is actually pretty high for idling. I actually measured a few systems with a Seasonic Power Angel. My Athlon 64 Venice system is pretty close to the OP's. Not counting the LCD, it draws 85W AC at the wall idling and 170W full load (in a 3D game). My power supply is a pretty efficient Seasonic S300 (almost 80%). So with one more hard drive than mine and a 70% efficient PS, idle power draw would be about 100W. Full load on the CPU and video card would be pushing 200W.
So if you're only at full load for 6 hours a day (on an average day) then your average power draw would be 107W, so you'd be paying around $80 per year to leave it on all the time. Or in other terms, by turning it off (or putting it into really deep sleep) you could probably save yourself around $30 a year (very rough guesswork on the last number)
But whatever way you look at it, it's not going to break the bank for the most part, and it serves as a space heater, cutting down on those gas bills.
Yeah, I realize I was pretty mistaken. My apologies... I was thinking incorrectly. looks like I WAS missing something.
You are probably using one kiloWatt-hour of electricity every 3 or 4 hours your computer is running in full ON mode. That would be 6 to 8 kWh per day. There is a device out there called the P3 Kill A Watt meter (the Seasonic Power Angel is the same thing, but usually costs more). You could use it to test what anything in your house is using over whatever period you care to test.
. I reviewed it here: http://www.techimo.com/reviews/ - it's in the Power Supplies section.
.bh.
. I reviewed it here: http://www.techimo.com/reviews/ - it's in the Power Supplies section.
.bh.
on Think Geek they have a device that measures the number of watts a device is using. You can figure your electrical expenses by hr, day, week, month, year.
Check it out: Kill-A-Watt
Might be worthwhile to have a pecise number verses an estimate.
Check it out: Kill-A-Watt
Might be worthwhile to have a pecise number verses an estimate.
I'm running a P4 northwood with a bunch of case mods... and I know that it sucks up juice like crazy.
You can do the math without complex algebra...
let the PC run for a month 24/7, check the elec. bill
let the PC run for a month 00/0, check the elec. bill
notice the difference? ofcourse you will want to access your PC, so with the second option, turn it on and off if you need to according to whether you are using it or not as opposed to the firts test, leaving it on all day for an entire month. ofcourse, you probably won't do this trick I'm assuming, since maybe your attention span won't cope with the task management of pressing that power button every so often and articulate planning. but in case you do pull this off, 2 months max, get back at anandtech and tell everyone how the xperiment went?
You can do the math without complex algebra...
let the PC run for a month 24/7, check the elec. bill
let the PC run for a month 00/0, check the elec. bill
notice the difference? ofcourse you will want to access your PC, so with the second option, turn it on and off if you need to according to whether you are using it or not as opposed to the firts test, leaving it on all day for an entire month. ofcourse, you probably won't do this trick I'm assuming, since maybe your attention span won't cope with the task management of pressing that power button every so often and articulate planning. but in case you do pull this off, 2 months max, get back at anandtech and tell everyone how the xperiment went?
Buy your dad Kill-A-Watt Meter from S3
http://www.p3international.com/products/special/P4400/P4400-CE.html
He can see how much every plug in item costs. Watch him flip when he sees how much the Refrig uses in a day !!!
http://www.p3international.com/products/special/P4400/P4400-CE.html
He can see how much every plug in item costs. Watch him flip when he sees how much the Refrig uses in a day !!!
my guess is during the winter it is a wash, whatever power you save on the computer by having it off, is proly used by the heater to heat your room that the computer is in.
most people are cheap! if broadband cost 49.99 a month, they rather use dialup
if it cost 14.95 to 19.95 99 percent of them would go for it. It's only a difference of a few months a month, hardly any savings to turn it off. It's cold in the winter so it does help to keep it on to keep the room warm.
if it cost 14.95 to 19.95 99 percent of them would go for it. It's only a difference of a few months a month, hardly any savings to turn it off. It's cold in the winter so it does help to keep it on to keep the room warm.
bingo! if it's summer then you would save a lot on electricity since less heat means that the air conditioner would turn on less.
450W is just the rating of your PSU, it has little to no relationship to the amount of power it uses. For example, I have a 520W Vantec PSU in my system, but at idle with the monitor off, the power draw from the wall comes in at ~120W or less. Even at full load the system power draw does not exceed 300W, which includes the monitor (a 17" CRT that pulls about 50 to 70 watts by itself). So basically the idling system is about as energy intensive as a light bulb, and this is with 4 HDD's and 2 optical as well.
So anyways, I think 200W is a good conservative estimate of your average power consumption if you leave your PC on 24/7 ("conservative" in that realistically it should be quite a bit more than the actual value unless you are running SETI@Home or something else on it that does not let it idle when you are not using it). Given this, running the PC 24/7 at 200W gives you 4.8 kWh per day of energy usage. This adds up to ~150 kWh per month, and if we assume a cost of $0.10 per kWh, running the PC 24/7 should cost ~$15 per month, at the most. Note that this is total cost and not the amount of increase between running the PC only when you need it and running the PC 24/7. The actual increase between the two is probably less then $10 monthly.
Just leave the damn thing on.
saving electricity is one of their concerns but turning it off is a taboo for most who see leaving it on is immoral. they think it is bad for the computer to leave on. if it's not about electricity its about the computer dieing sooner. i have to leave mine on 24hrs a day but even if he does not need it, it is better to leave it on for convenience. you may save a little on electricity by turning off but is more wear and tear on the computer in the long run. it's like a light switch, the more you switch off and on, the more likely you will short it out. I had a lightbulb that went poof less then a day due to a glitch in the switch, a power surge that sometime happens.
Just by flipping the on/off switch on my power supply, it died sooner then it's warranty.
Because I don't turn on and off often, my computer is still like new after 3 years. HD are still quiet as if I have just bought it.
Just by flipping the on/off switch on my power supply, it died sooner then it's warranty.
Because I don't turn on and off often, my computer is still like new after 3 years. HD are still quiet as if I have just bought it.
In theory you could acutally put more wear on some components such as your hard drive leaving it on all the time, especially with indexing or other services running.
Wow! Yu can switch a computer OFF!!
Mne has been on fr the last 3 years..rebooted a few times but never off...
How do you switch a P off anyway!
LOL
Mne has been on fr the last 3 years..rebooted a few times but never off...
How do you switch a P off anyway!
LOL
I've lived in the northeast where leaving my computer on 24/7 cost a lot more per month than it would living in the south where I am now.
But you are dead wrong if you think your pc acts as a sapce heater and saves $ that way. While with some machines running in a room can cause the room to be warmer, unless you have zoned heating and have a thermostat in that very room... the heat output of a pc or two WILL NOT lower your heating bill.
Makaveli
Diamond Member
- Feb 8, 2002
- 4,983
- 1,575
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Isn't it better to just leave the computer running, doesn't it cause more wear and tear on your components (HARD DRIVE) with start and stop cycles.
Not to mention isn't the actual powering on of the computer use almost as much power as full load during boot up.
Not to mention isn't the actual powering on of the computer use almost as much power as full load during boot up.
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