PC always on... How much will it be the electricity bill?
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PC always on... How much will it be the electricity bill?
For all of us that have the PC on at all times... is there anyone that has an estimated amount of how much money it cost to have the PC always on per month (or per year). Of course it depends on PSU, PC activity, country... but as an average... how much do you pay in UK, US, Canada, ... for PC electricity consumption?
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Great question. I'd love to know myself.
[two minutes later]
Hmmm... I've just found a good Google Answer at http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=330169
Apparently a good 'typical' figure is between 80-85 watts. That's about two kilowatt-hours a day, or 60 kW/h a month.
In the UK, the current price is UK£0.06-0.07 per kW/h. So, £3.60-£4.20 for a month of 24/7 operation.
Not bad... I pay £25 per month for 24/7 broadband, so 24/7 PC operation is just making the most of that investment. Or so I tell myself...
I'd be interested to know
a) what other people's estimates are
b) whether anyone has actually measured their system's consumption and can provide specs, so we can better calibrate our own estimates
[two minutes later]
Hmmm... I've just found a good Google Answer at http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=330169
Apparently a good 'typical' figure is between 80-85 watts. That's about two kilowatt-hours a day, or 60 kW/h a month.
In the UK, the current price is UK£0.06-0.07 per kW/h. So, £3.60-£4.20 for a month of 24/7 operation.
Not bad... I pay £25 per month for 24/7 broadband, so 24/7 PC operation is just making the most of that investment. Or so I tell myself...
I'd be interested to know
a) what other people's estimates are
b) whether anyone has actually measured their system's consumption and can provide specs, so we can better calibrate our own estimates
80-85 watts sounds like a crap figure for most people, especially for an inefficient PSU and a modern processor (take into account monitor usage, and that could easily double your power consumption). Typical power usage is closer to about 90-150W, depending on the configuration.
A 2600 Moblie-XP @ 1.35v w/ a 9600 vanilla Radeon draws close to 70-80 Watts AC with a Seasonic Silencer Rev A3 at idle. It'll probably draw more than that running Prime95. Keep in mind that this is relatively low powered stuff.
I would use 100-120W as a safe estimate if I were you.
A 2600 Moblie-XP @ 1.35v w/ a 9600 vanilla Radeon draws close to 70-80 Watts AC with a Seasonic Silencer Rev A3 at idle. It'll probably draw more than that running Prime95. Keep in mind that this is relatively low powered stuff.
I would use 100-120W as a safe estimate if I were you.
Well, the article says that the estimate is based on 16 hours of 35W sleep mode per day, and 8 hours of 60W + 75W monitor per day.
The figures used were 110W for boot, 60W for idle, and 35W for sleep mode.
I have two computers... one boots at around 120W and the other boots at 130W. They idle at closer to 100W than 60W.
If you're folding, you'll have to extrapolate, because you aren't going to be getting 16 hours of idle each day. Their prices for electricity also seem absurdly low.
The figures used were 110W for boot, 60W for idle, and 35W for sleep mode.
I have two computers... one boots at around 120W and the other boots at 130W. They idle at closer to 100W than 60W.
If you're folding, you'll have to extrapolate, because you aren't going to be getting 16 hours of idle each day. Their prices for electricity also seem absurdly low.
I have three underclocked and undervolted machines, each running dual instances of SETI at 2 ghz clock speed. Combined they pull 105 watts or 35 watts a piece.
105 x 24 x 30 x .001 = 75.6 KW/month
75.6 x .1 = $7.56 / month
To shorten the equasion just take the watts and multiply it by .72 to get kilowatts/month. Then multiply by your cost per kilowatt.
105 x 24 x 30 x .001 = 75.6 KW/month
75.6 x .1 = $7.56 / month
To shorten the equasion just take the watts and multiply it by .72 to get kilowatts/month. Then multiply by your cost per kilowatt.
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http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=62
Could buy/borrow one of those and just do the math with your last electricity bill...
Could buy/borrow one of those and just do the math with your last electricity bill...
That is virtually identical to a Kill-A-Watt that is used on this forum.
Also, I didn't previously read Sam Williams request for systems so I didn't go into more specific details on what I'm powering.
Aopen AK79-400VN, w/ XP-M 2600+.
Seasonic Silencer 300W (this makes a difference).
Samsung 40GB HD.
Radeon 9600 plain.
Plextor PX-708A.
When speed and voltage is reduced to 1.6GHz and 1.15V, it idles at 45-50W. I'm not exactly sure what the max power consumption is though. It's around 60-65W, I think. Switching from a Zalman 400B to a Seasonic 300 resulted in a 5-10W power reduction.
The dual Athlon system I mention in my sig has been posted elsewhere. The important details are 2x 2400 XPs, FireGL X1, and 4 drives. It idles at around 200-220W, but runs 255W loaded.
Also, I didn't previously read Sam Williams request for systems so I didn't go into more specific details on what I'm powering.
Aopen AK79-400VN, w/ XP-M 2600+.
Seasonic Silencer 300W (this makes a difference).
Samsung 40GB HD.
Radeon 9600 plain.
Plextor PX-708A.
When speed and voltage is reduced to 1.6GHz and 1.15V, it idles at 45-50W. I'm not exactly sure what the max power consumption is though. It's around 60-65W, I think. Switching from a Zalman 400B to a Seasonic 300 resulted in a 5-10W power reduction.
The dual Athlon system I mention in my sig has been posted elsewhere. The important details are 2x 2400 XPs, FireGL X1, and 4 drives. It idles at around 200-220W, but runs 255W loaded.
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