Home device power use: Difference between revisions

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* Assume 40W or more for laptops, idling at 10W with things dialed down
* Assume 40W or more for laptops, idling at 10W with things dialed down


* 150W or more for desktops, idling at 100W (can be much less, if specialized)
* 150W or more for desktops, idling at 100W (''can'' be much less, if specialized)
: counting basic monitors (larger and brighter may add mode)
:: counting basic monitors (larger and brighter may add more)
 
:: most gaming machines don't go over 300 or 400W when working hard
Both are fairly approximate


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====Monitor====
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Assume that a modern LCD panel takes around 25W for a 20" screen.
It can be a more, depending largely on size and brightness (a 30" might be 60W, a 40" might be 100W).
In standby they tend to still use a few watts.
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====Storage====
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[[Image:spinup power.png|thumb|right|211px|Three platter drives made to spin up in sequence]]
Platter may take 4 to 10W while spinning (more while spinning up - assume it might be 20W)
Solid state might be 3 to 5W for SSDs and NVMe in use (can be multiples higher for higher end), and can be negligible while idling.
Note that for platter, a good portion of which may just be to keep it spinning,
whereas SSD power use is more related to how much you use it (in particular write),
and can be quite low when idle.
Note that SSD isn't much more efficient than platter in active use, but ''is'' when idle.
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====GPU====
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A powerful GPU working hard is probably the hungriest component you have, on par with powerful CPUs. 50 to 200W isn't crazy for a GPU.
That said, a moderately powerful GPU might idle at 5 to 15W.
Which is pretty decent power scaling, but still not ideal if you wanted a very power efficient system.
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====Can we do better?====
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'''Can we do better?'''


Yes.  
Yes.  


But how much will vary.
But how much will vary.


Some very informed choices can push a desktop down to 20W idle.  
Some very informed choices (mostly just how idle you can make the CPU and hardware components) can push desktop down a bunch.


If you can accept 15..25W idle, your search becomes a little easier than if you wanted 5..10W


It is no ''technical'' reason you can't have absolutely ''possible'' to have something that can draw 300W under load and 15W idle, but the ''practical'' amount of research to get that is... "so you wanted another hobby?" levels of work.
If you can accept 15..25W idle, your search becomes a little easier than if you wanted 5..10W.
 
It is no ''technical'' reason you can't have something that can draw 300W gaming hard and 15W idle,  
but the ''practical'' amount of research to get that is "so you wanted another hobby to consume your life?" levels of work,
and the choices will be so specific the information is not that valuable a few years later.




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====CPU====
=====CPU=====


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====GPU====
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A powerful GPU working hard is probably the hungriest component you have, on par with powerful CPUs. 50 to 200W isn't crazy for a GPU.
That said, a moderately powerful GPU might idle at 5 to 15W.
Which is pretty decent power scaling, but still not ideal if you wanted a very power efficient system.
-->
====Monitor====
<!--
Assume that a modern LCD panel takes around 25W for a 20" screen.
It can be a more, depending largely on size and brightness (a 30" might be 60W, a 40" might be 100W).
In standby they tend to still use a few watts.
-->
====Storage====
<!--
[[Image:spinup power.png|thumb|right|211px|Three platter drives made to spin up in sequence]]
Platter may take 4 to 10W while spinning (more while spinning up - assume it might be 20W)
Solid state might be 3 to 5W for SSDs and NVMe in use (can be multiples higher for higher end), and can be negligible while idling.




Note that for platter, a good portion of which may just be to keep it spinning,
=====Motherboard=====
whereas SSD power use is more related to how much you use it (in particular write),
and can be quite low when idle.
 
 
Note that SSD isn't much more efficient than platter in active use, but ''is'' when idle.
 
 
-->
 
====Motherboard====


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===Water cookers===
===Water cookers===
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Yes, they may draw 1000 or 2000W.
They will also only do so for 5 minutes, so they're sort of equivalent to running a 150W thing for an hour or a 6W thing 24/7:


Yes, they may draw 1000 or 2000W. They will also only do so for 5 minutes, so they're sort of equivalent to running a 150W thing for an hour or a 6W thing 24/7.
2000 W * 5 minutes &#x2248; 160 Watt-hours
  160 W * 1 hour   &#x2248; 160 Watt-hours
    7 W * 24 hours  &#x2248; 160 Watt-hours


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Revision as of 17:08, 8 April 2024


Computers

tl;dr:

  • Assume 40W or more for laptops, idling at 10W with things dialed down
  • 150W or more for desktops, idling at 100W (can be much less, if specialized)
counting basic monitors (larger and brighter may add more)
most gaming machines don't go over 300 or 400W when working hard


Monitor

Storage

GPU

Can we do better?

CPU
Motherboard

Power Supplies

Audio amplifier

Smaller devices

Heaters and coolers

Water cookers