Considering the power hungry components that are coming out, this is a well timed video. Power consumption will be a factor in my build. I lose sleep at night thinking about the electric meter spinning out of control.
I recommend you to save money for a Solar Pannel specially for your PC Than you can use it as much as you want without losing sleep And while you are on it I recommend Dry battery instead of Acid batteries
@@Muhammad_Waleed I once calculated a solar energy installation on the roof without battery's. Most electricity is needed in the afternoon. Because no one is home. So you will need normal electricity. So for me it is an investment where I pay more for 30 years and maybe need a credit for.
All depends on the rates in your area. Even a system under full load, pulling over 400w, a few hours a day would cost less than $30 a year in my region for example.
Undervolting can significantly reduce CPU power consumption, particularly for older CPUs. SpeedShift settings (high EPP) are an effective way to reduce power consumption also. Cleaning the fans/radiators regularly reduces heat/fan use; consider repasting the CPU to optimise thermals. Cooler running PCs save energy and can have better sustained performance too, so win overall!
The Celeron mini-PC seems like a very good alternative to the Rapberry Pi and other SBCs, especially considering how hard it is to get your hands on a Pi at non-scalper prices these days. It has about the same power consumption as an SBC running at idle and significantly more computing power when needed. Looks like the perfect solution for a home automation PC or a light-duty server.
A mini-PC with a Celeron processor running Linux is a dream machine. Linux is low in resources and the Celeron processor is strong enough for daily tasks so it makes a great combination. My friend has one and he loves it.
@@brandon_wallace I have Zimaboard 216 with Celeron N3350 and Fujitsu Q956 with i5-6500t. Celeron consumes 2.5W idle (with 250GB Verbatim 550 SATA SSD) and 7.5W at loat compiling Linux kernel which takes 36 minutes. Fujitsu consumes 5.5W idle (it depends what you stick into USB ports, can go to 7-8W) and 36W compiling Linux kernel which takes 7 minutes, 45s which means it's almost five times faster using the very same disk, just transfered from one PC to other. It's up to you what you need. It's quite sad that Fujitsu has basically the same power consumption as Eaton S3 850 UPS and half of Compal DOCSYS3 modem/router/ap which consumes 11W. I prefer i5-6500t to Celeron, it's way more powerful and has way more RAM. Price is basically identical. Tasks that can be done by Celeron, can be handled mostly by Raspberry, except Raspberry works with unreliable SD cards and my old RPI3B from 2015 has horrible I/O speeds.
THANK YOU!!! All the LTT content pushing 800W rigs etc. THIS is the future of computing. I imagine a whole university or enterprise full of computers which combined consume less power than one single PC of 2012 for example. 🙏🙏🙏
But they're just handful of tech enthusiast that go max out. But turn your head a bit and seek out information about coin mining and you'll be astound. It's absolutely insane amounts of energy which has been used in it 😒
Mr. Barnatt, Just wanted to thank you for always providing great content that even a novice can understand. Thanks to your channel and website I've gone from being somewhat fearful of working on computers, to helping friends with issues, bringing old computers back to useful life, and even rebuilding some. Thanks not only for all the useful knowledge and understanding of computer concepts, but also for the confidence you have inspired.
Excellent episode, as always. Power consumption is something I have largely ignored in the past, even though I own a Kill-A-Watt meter that I purchased some years ago. This video has prompted me to search for it (I’ve moved house three times since I bought it), and take the subject more seriously.
This is extremely useful information! Especially for those doing self-hosting and/or home labs. I’m getting ready to deploy a 5 node cluster for high availability of my self-hosted services. Power consumption is a very big consideration. I’d like to see power consumption become a standard component of all your videos on power consuming devices. Thank you, as always, for your consistently outstanding videos. Your channel is a gold standard for RU-vid content creators.
Nice! There was once a time when I wasn't to concerned regarding power usage as a working youngster with money to burn. I'm older and smarter now, so energy efficient computing is going to be part of my new build later this year after fully researching power usage of components and making a point of seeking to reduce my energy usage.
You must have read my mind, Chris, as it was something I'd been considering recently. Electricity isn't getting any cheaper, so it's something I've been tinkering about with. I only have old hardware. A Vivo was at 15W during normal activity, 35W when Firefox gets its dander up. An old Dell was using 65W. So it seems that older hardware is pretty poor energy-efficiency wise. That Odyssey thing you mentioned looks good. It's more powerful than the stuff I've got, and seems very energy-efficient. It's also small. I do like small form-factor computers; much better than having a big chunk of metal on your desk. Mileage varies, of course, and the limited expansion capabilities of smaller computers is something to think about. But I've gotten on pretty well with my Vivo. Actually, power consumption is where the Raspberry Pi's shine. I can keep it on 24/7 as a server and don't have to worry about how much juice it is consuming. I measured it at about 2.4W. I'm glad people still think about energy efficiency in the days when everyone seems to want to throw more cores at the problem.
A fascinating presentation, I have always been sensible with electricity, turned lights off etc but I feel very sad we are now actually thinking about saving watts. Appreciate with 8 billion people in the world a single watt mounts up but seems nowadays we cannot have simple pleasure without thinking how much it costs.
Seeing the title I have to like the video. Given how expensive electricity is and how its just been rising in prices, I've been trying to limit the power consumption (and heat) of my pc by cutting down on background tasks so it can idle on low cpu usage along with undervolting it. My PC has a Ryzen 5 2600, 24gb ram, GTX1050Ti, 2 SSDs and 1 HDD, and a Corsair VS450 power supply. Its connected to 2 monitors, ideally I would want to monitor the power usage of my setup, but I'll need a power meter first and your video reminded me that I DO need one. I do practice the reducing screen brightness and unplugging devices that aren't in use and I apply it to even smaller devices like my phone chargers apart from my PC, printer, and UPS. Honestly its frightening how much newer pc components (particularly newer higher end Intel CPUs and graphics cards) consume power and it concerns me as apart from the electricity usage concern, there's also the heat to deal with due to all that power usage.
There is also a new PSU standard coming (called ATX12VO), which aims to improve by getting rid of the 5V and 3.3V rails as they are really inefficient across longer cables, instead it will be up to the motherboard to step down these voltages from the 12V rail. Basically it will be thinner connectors (with only 12V rails) and a more efficient power supply.
A well-timed video for me! I've recently been going through the process of transitioning to a Raspberry Pi 400 for as many computing tasks as possible specifically for lower power consumption. I have a few different monitors lying around and this has prompted me to also compare the power consumption of each.
Limit your frame rate in games, if you have a 60hz display, most of the time you won't need to run your pc higher than 60 fps. You can usually limit the frame rate in games, or just enable Vsync, you can set frame rate caps in the driver control panel too. You can also lower the power limit in the driver settings to around 80-90%. Doing these things with a gaming computer will save massive amounts of power and money over time. GPUs are very power hungry. Another side effect is the GPU will not get as warm, meaning the fan will be quieter.
I've been choosing PC parts with power consumption in mind for over 20 years - always custom builds, so I can have maximum control. I have also learned to optimize my resource consumption by disabling unnecessary services and startup programs. There's also the choice of more efficient software that does the same job faster without burning a lot of CPU/GPU power, so it's a good habit to learn skills, not specific software, to be able to migrate to something more lean if opportunity shows up. And I learned to settle for less GPU power, having used iGPUs since they became reasonable enough for HQ multimedia and some gaming. Many people don't seriously consider the fact that had all of these cool games come out, our lives would've gone just the same, we would've played what we had at hand. My happiness doesn't rely on a flood of newer and newer entertainment, but simply being able to be entertained. There are so many forms of entertainment, including less power hungry gaming, that we could game on for more time that we actually have - if gaming was really that big of a priority. Of course, not everyone has the luxury of using iGPUs - some people need fast rendering for what they do, but most people don't do that. And many can adjust their habits, expectations, and knowledge, to be able to do a lot with less. And technology keeps improving. Both Intel and AMD now have quite decent iGPUs that can easily support streaming (to Twitch, RU-vid, facebook, etc), some fairly decent gaming, rendering and other stuff. So it's always a good idea to check the latest options, to see if something significantly more power efficient can cover our needs. It's a scary thought for some, but then we should always keep in mind that adding a dedicated GPU to our PC is possible, provided it's a desktop PC, but it's also the case of some laptops. Just plan ahead a bit. Apart from using less energy, some added benefits of using iGPUs is that the PC is quieter (less fan noise), and it generates less heat, which some people try to get rid of by using air conditioning (more power, more money, more noise).
I just want to say that one of my summer classes is forcing me to do a labsim about IT infrastructure, and here I am procrastinating doing that by watching your videos!
@Astrocat 3D Haha. Agree that "research" is appropriate to call it. I don't think its that bad though considering it has relevance to IT infrastructure that OP is procrastinating on.
Personally, I'd use a tablet for most web browsing and simple work needs to use less power, switching only to the laptop/desktop when the app or situation needs it.
That's what I do as well when I don't need my desktop, I switch to my Android tablet, paired with a Logitech K480 keyboard, and the tablet can charge off a 10w cellphone charger. It really is amazing what you can get done on a tablet by just adjusting your workflow.
Laser printers can use 200-500W intermittently at idle, keeping the fuser at an operating temperature. A couple smart outlets can easily pay for themselves by making it easier for the user to schedule off times, and to easily turn them on/off. Economy of human effort towards power saving goals is a goal in itself.
I've been toying with the idea of going off grid in my man cave, a couple of solar panels and an all in one battery pack for my laptop and lights, maybe the rise in energy bills is the kick I need.
Common sense items no one thinks about anymore out of complacency and convenience for how modern electronic devices work. TV’s, and other entertainment devices draw power when “off” for the convenience of the remote controls. What you point out should be broadcast widely to explain power “vampires”. Great content as always CB!
Thanks for this. I have been banging my head against the wall trying to broadcast the "vampire device" message for a long time. Indeed my second ever ExplainingComputers video was on this topic 14 years ago! :)
The real vampires are the demons calling the shots. They will stop at nothing to achieve their agenda. A normal person says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", but these vampires are trying to fix a problem that we don't even have. Will they harden the grid against attack with all their newfound money? Not on your life. We're as vulnerable as ever but the energy companies are awash in money for new, unproven and unreliable methods for supplying power. The vampires are in charge of the asylum.
Nobody thinks about it because those standby devices use such a tiny amount of power that it isn't worth giving it the time of day... It's usually a just few milliwatts and at most 1W of standby power, so with about a dozen or so devices you're typically looking at about 30-50kW or $3-5 per year, yes that isn't nothing but unless you live in a third-world country with crazy expensive energy prices, there is no reason to be stressing out over what miniscule power random things are pulling in the background.
@@vgamesx1 Last week the BBC reported that 82% of people in the UK are now turning off lights to save electricity. So in that context -- and electricity is a lot more expensive in the UK than the US -- the savings do add up here . . . :)
@@ExplainingComputers they really don't add up: @vgamesx1 gave you the numbers, now it's up to you whether to drop an irrational, time-wasting obsession, or at least stop trying to pass it to other people. Apart from that, thanks for the great video.
This is why I say it's more fun to run a slow computer fast, than to run a fast computer slow. Once you setup the workflow around Raspberry pi zero, you're all set! It does require me to write most of the program myself since apparently programmers nowadays take CPU and RAM for granted.
Used to prefer developing software on a slow machine, one reason is if the software runs at speed on the old machine it will run fast on the fast machine, also the slower run time meant more time to think.
an old saying goes "if you paid for it, you want to use all of it" so why not use some of that ARM processing power, after all it will not spin up the fans, it doesn't have any
@@robbietorkelsonn8509 I used to do that in 1990s, but with Perl. The trick is to avoid OO paradigm. Memory allocation/deallocation is expensive, as is I/O processes. Are you doing dynamic OO and blame it on Python? Edit: and running it on 150k bandwidth network to boot! And think somehow a better coding language will help. 🤪 We now have gigabit bandwidth, cache memory and SSD, as well. I'd rather have those than faster CPU.
@@simpletongeek I am pretty sure the mysql connector is really badly optimized for python. My software runs a lot faster if I download the complete table at once and then search the table manually. Instead of using targeted select statements. Also that is what I meant. If you are waiting for IO, it doesn't matter how fast the processor. It would probably run as fast on raspberry pi as on intel i9.
Excellent Chris, although I've only skipped through to see if I can find anything, I salute you for bringing this to the fore. I've been doing this for so long that I actually cringe at the idea of using "old" PCs for servers (or heaven forbid, even *rendering*). There are times when we need that extra "beef" sure, but I've found it's better to swap my "performance" PC for something more modest for everyday work. Couple that with a more efficient fileserver (a cheap RPi-clone running Armbian which is truly wonderful and very easy to use for non-experts with a little technical knowledge). Although I also run OpenWRT on another similar ARM box and neither system consumes more than a 5W even flat out with multiple hard drives running. I could get that down even more using SSDs but the storage cost is the limit there for now. I've also found even decade-old laptops (particularly Core iX) make excellent daily drivers and can be had for a reasonable cost. Games are consigned (mostly) to the Xbox (or Playstation) with the PC reserved for the most power-hungry high-fidelity games (Skyrim, FS 2020, Cyberpunk etc.) Now IF I could only find a way to stop my refrigerator from consuming so much juice, I'd save a bloody fortune! Thanks again the environment owes you a cold one.
I have an invention for you! Run a water line around the compressor coil and send the hot water to the water heater. You fridge will run more efficiently, and you will save on hot water. Now your job is to design it.
@@briankleinschmidt3664 unfortunately the heat inefficiency is due to a lack of chilling efficiency, or at least, the ability to keep itself cool so the compressor runs longer than it should. I do run the small freezer in my work room to keep that warm though. Still I’m not sure if the gain is worth the loss.
@Win32Application - System File (480p Gaming) well I don’t use Windows on my rendering stations normally (and in my case it’s 3D ray tracing). I’m stuck with Win11 on the new Core i5 until Linux catches up (which it will)
Interesting analysis, Chris, and definitely worth our attention as many of us do leave our systems on 24/7. However, you failed to consider that although what you've outlined is true for a fair majority of computer users it doesn't apply to power users who do a lot of graphic design/image processing, video editing/post-production, & 3D design/rendering where the power sipping devices can't cope with the workload (though your power-saving tips for updating the PSU & lowering screen brightness is still valid ~and the latter is actually beneficial over long periods of time, reducing eye strain). That said, you still brought something very important to the conversation & I hope folks take heed not only to save themselves a few bucks but also to reduce the wear & tear of their devices. Cheers & looking forward to your next insight!
Given that I made videos for a living, I am aware that powerful machines are needed for some purposes! :) Even so, measures can be taken. For example, I edit video and produce 3D CG on an i7 6700T. And I have edited EC videos on a Raspberry Pi 4. :)
@@ExplainingComputers appreciate the reponse, Chris & yes I've also attempted to do both CG & post-production on my RPi4 and though doable, the experience was far from ideal. ;) Perhaps if you'd care to revisit the topic, you could compare doing the same load (say editing & transcoding a 5 minute video) on the 5 different platforms to show whether the added power consumption of the more powerful machines will be offset by the time it takes to complete the job. As always, I greatly appreciate your hard work. Cheers!
As always, very informative and easy to understand. Thank you Christopher. I'm planning on taking some old desktop PCs and repurposing them for other uses. This has given me some insights for that planned project. As a side note, one of the labs I did in college had us working with power levels and modes where we would tell the Tiny 2040 to flash an LED in a pattern for each mode before going into that mode. We had to measure the voltages as part of confirming the proper mode was reached.
I put my 12 core computer together two years ago with a Seasonic Titanium PSU. It is so awesome! Last year I swapped the 3900x out with a 5950x and it processes my 3D art faster but uses about the same power. I leave my machines running 24/7 at full speed and overclocked doing artwork. But in the last month I reduced to one, and even took the overclocking off and enabled the economy settings reducing it's use at full speed from 375 to 175W. It can still handle the 3D intensity, but it works it a bit slower and the CPU went from 75C to 50C, and that's when the ambient air is 38C! Thank you for your program! I learn a lot from you.
Very timely Christopher and something I've been planning to make a video on (with FreeBSD of course)... The way things are going, it's getting more tempting to use the Raspberry Pi 400 for everything except video editing. Thank you good sir!
I think we'll see a lot more people turning to devices like the Pi to save energy. I wonder how long it will take for the marketing of such devices to catch up with this.
A few years ago I upgraded from a very inefficient power supply to a Platinum 80 and saw a significant drop in wattage even at idle through a kill-a-watt. If I remember correctly it was around 30-40 watts lower which blew my mind.
When you run your computer on solar-powered battery system it is important to keep your power consumption as low as possible. It is way cheaper to save 10watts as installing 10watts. Thanks for the video.
Given the high prices of electricity in the UK right now I've been investigating this issue myself, my main computer is somewhat of a power hog being a gaming desktop I built myself - so I've been looking for alternatives for media consumption etc. having investigated the alternatives of a mini pc or a laptop, I decided to get a steam deck in the end, it's reasonably priced and has good enough hardware for my purposes with a low power consumption... the fact that it's also a mobile gaming device had no influence on my decision whatsoever (or so I tell myself!)
@@KameraShy It's a gold rated one, the problem is more that even at idle it's probably using 100w, at max load I'm not so concerned, as then I'm actually using the system
I've opted to watch RU-vid on a tablet, over the last few months, which has made decent savings. I'd previously watched on a gaming PC with 5.1 speakers adding to the cost of electricity.
For spinning hard drives it is normally possible to configure an idle time, after which it spins down, thus saving energy (about 6 W for a typical drive). The command 'sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda | grep level' shows the current setting for e.g. drive sda. Use 'hdparm -S ' to set the level according to a formula given in the man page for the command. Many desktop linux distros have a disks utility, where the settings can be accessed via a dialogue opened from the main menu (package gnome-disk-utility). Also note, each spin-up and down cycle accumulates device wear, but so also does leaving the disk spinning; thus, there is a balance to be struck between continuous 'online' and intermittent 'nearline' operation. See 'man smartctl' for details of how to interrogate and test drive health. Different grades of drives are available depending on the purpose and mode of operation. This whole subject may be worth a video to explain it all. . . . .
A few questions: 1. What would be the potential energy savings of an onboard or discrete DC-to-DC converter compared to usual PC power supplies? 2. How can building your own Wi-Fi router contribute to energy savings and performance compared to a prebuilt? 3. How well do later DDR RAM generations contribute to energy savings? 4. Which PC parts would be best for undervolting?
Very helpful! These kind of adjustments are also helpful if you have Solar or other renewables and are trying to stay within an energy budget...I need to upgrade my power supply to a platinum model now!
Very well timed video in this cost of living crisis. Given that we now work from home for longer time, the power and money saved can be quite significantly in the long run.
A very interesting study. I built an AMD Ryzen tower with a NVidia graphics card, during lock-down. Nice fast computer, especially with NVMe disk drives but a little high in energy usage. I recently went back after 10 years, to a Mac. My desktop M1 Mac Mini is super fast and uses surprising little power. My M2 MacBook Air, seems to use very little power at all! It would be interesting to see how these compare with the computers in this study. This would very interesting, when these devices are pushed and compared with say, video editing. I have been following this channel for a couple of year or more and find it very interesting, if with a dry humour, 'Stanley the Knife' etc.! Small form factor PC's are very interesting for me, as they can be a cheap, low power, way to access an office computer from home. Very relevant in todays way of working.
Nice video as always! I change my DeskTop power supply a week ago from a Bronce to a Gold. Main reason was that the old PS was 10 years old, so risk issue. I did a power consumption meassurement before and after and limited difference. A major item to take into account is not just the electricity saving, but you also need to think about the CO2 cost a production of a new PS. From a global perspective might be worthwhile. On the electricity saving, at least in the northern part of the world, more than half the year the electricty produced add to the heating so you only save in the summer. Going forward all heating will be electric (wind + solar sources). If you leve in a country with AirCondition the saving will be a lot more as it also reduve the AC need.
Thank you for this! Saving energy is really important especially as prices rise and summer comes up. I'll definitely turn off my devices at the source now
Thanks for the timely and very interesting video. An OS deep dive for power would also be interesting. Background processes, WiFi, Bluetooth, sound settings. In fact just how to measure would be welcome. I was easily able to reduce my laptop power usage by 90% by using powertop on linux.
Wow, by 90% ? Would you say that the "before" figure was vastly inefficient, even by an average Joe who doesn't care at all about energy consumption ? Because it seems so much. I'd like to know more details.
I think this is the single most important topic about computers that - especially when it comes to high end components and gaming - is not at all covered in detail that would be desirable.
Very interesting video, thank you! Another thing to keep in mind is the cost of production. You might end up using more energy in total by replacing things too early. If nothing else you could end up with unnecessary waste that requires a lot of energy (and other costs) to manage.
Hi Chris, another great video. I missed this one till today, it's just what we need. I always tell my son to turn of his Xbox and TV at plug after shutting them down and I turn off SDA's at night. I have just got to get family to ask if the kettle has boiled and not to boil it again, plus only put the correct water level that is needed.
One thing I think you forgot to mention is that monitors often have their own menu with various functions. There may be additional power settings built into the monitor itself on desktop computers. As an example, in my monitor, there is even a setting to turn off that little LED that tells me the screen is on or in standby. In standby it goes on and off. I can actually turn it off completely if I want to.
The way you explain about power saving is so interesting and now i considering to save power while using pc. Good info ❤️🌹🌺👌👍🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 i Gokul Madurai Tamilnadu India bye 👋
I remember someone once saying that a smartphone uses as much electricity as a refrigerator. This sounds silly at first glance but a smartphone is really a low-power terminal that accesses more powerful computers in the cloud - those computers in large data centres consume huge amounts of electricity.
Another great video. Thank you Chris. Not sure if it is new but I liked the transition you used for the text. Nice. Have a great week and I hope to see another video very soon.
Thanks for this Christoffer - If you do an update maybe consider some power consumption data for typical homes (just for comparison and context) such as heating, cooking, washing machine, dryer). Our power supplier here in BC offers a challenge and reward system to reduce consumption. Thanks so much for your extremely informative and interesting work. Please keep it up!!! Maybe consider comparing gaming computers, business models and home use models?
Chris, thanks for the great video. However, it'd be helpful to have graphs visualising the figures instead of only numbers. Looking forward to your future videos. Cheers!
I love small form factor and low-power computing. My needs are modest as I'm not a gamer in modern terms, and I have a couple of older, higher-end former office PCs(I love those too). If it wasn't for GPU issues on the ARM side of things with Linux, which I think even applies to the Pi 4 for my application as it seems less robust in that way compared to the Pi 3, that segment would cover most of my needs so well at a very low cost and with low wattage. Because of that, I now favor higher-TDP x86 machines just to avoid GPU issues. Those former corporate office PCs are a great value, provided you don't need it to be extremely low wattage. I was lucky enough to find one of Zotac's fanless machines using a 5W Core M 5y10c, which seems to be an extremely uncommon model. I paid way more than a Raspberry Pi, so it wasn't a great value in those terms, but it was a good buy compared to other Intel-based mini PCs, especially fanless types. While the RAM is not replaceable, the fact that it came with 8GB of RAM as opposed to none at all with many of the Zotac and other mini PCs did help make it a better value. I recently switched it over to acting as a media server because of its lower wattage than my other machines.
The video is well timed with me buying a power meter to monitor my PC power consumption. 120W for desktop/office use is super inefficient and makes me reconsider using my gaming rig for work from time to time.
I moved a number of network functions to raspberry Pi. After a few attempts of trying to get a j4105 unsuccessfully, I repurposed a desktop to be my firewall. I took out unnecessary hardware. I also started to dabble with microcontrollers. ESP32 is a wonderful platform for sensors at really low power consumption. Why use an expensive pi, when a microcontroller will do?
Thanks for the advice Chris. I use a Dell 3020 SFF PC and it has a 250 watt power supply. I'll have to test it's power consumption now. I also turned down the brightness of the monitor. My phone and tool chargers are on a timer to use overnight low rate electricity. I noticed my bill went down.
I have 4 devices in my house. One main PC that is directly connected to a monitor, Two mini pcs and a raspberry pi which runs pihole. These 3 devices I run headless and use remote desktop to connect to them when required so that reduces the need to have 3 extra monitors
Very good. I run my S22 Ultra with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 on very conservative power savings mode with roughly 30% display brightness and the blue light filter enabled and I'm able to be on this thing nearly non stop for close to 24 hours per full charge @ 100%. However, I alternate between charging to 85% and 100% modes every week or so and still yet I can maintain about 16 hours of heavy usage per charge on average. Modern technology is truly remarkable and I often feel like it is not well understood or appreciated by the youth. A decade ago, this was no where near being possible.
Great video as always, I have a pair of 10in Android tablets, and I just grab one(sometimes I use both if I'm working on one, and just use the older one to say watch a sports event) with one of my Logitech K480 keyboard when I don't really need my desktop computer at home, and I rarely turn on my desktop work these days having the tablet, and not having to be stuck at my desk to do simple task, I've gotten to like tablet computers so much, that I've just ordered a new Nokia T20 tablet with better specs than my older tablets, which have even just about replaced my laptop computers. Something that should be noted, is that turning off power at the wall outlet without a surge strip(not so great to have in the middle of a room, or on a kitchen/bathroom countertop), that's not doable here in the US, unless we hardwire them to a wall mounted light switch, of which the vast majority of households don't do because of the extra complexity in the wiring needed, or we have to flip it off at the breaker panel switch which often includes the entire room, or multiple rooms being switch off which is not practical when by building code at least in my area if you rewire your home, or build a new one you have to have hardwired backed smoke alarms that run on 120v A/C, and 9V DC batteries in every bedroom, your hallways, and kitchen, and with some models if the main power goes out, they all start to beep and/or flash an LED in unison to let you know there is a problem.
I worry a little bit (please note, a little bit) about the advice to power off desktop computers when not in use. I've had issues in the past with older systems being left in a 'powered down' state draining the cmos battery and causing issues on booting up. Leaving such a system plugged into the mains may have a 'vampire' effect but it also seems to trickle charge the cmos battery. A computer user with very little knowledge about hardware might not even know what a cmos battery is, let alone how to resolve boot issues caused by a depleted battery. My own knowledge isn't that good but when I had issues with cmos, I at least knew what a cmod battery was and how to replace it. Not everyone who uses a computer will do.
Thanks for this. Most CMOS batteries are lithium cells (eg a CR2032), and these will not charge -- although they will not be drained if the PC is powered as you note.
What's weird is I have an old Dell laptop that I found when someone was disposing of it and if I remove the main battery for any length of time, the CMOS battery (CR 2032) will be completely drained in about a week! As long as I leave the main battery plugged in and charged, the CMOS battery will last for at least a year or two. Weird.....🤔
They try to keep the computer's time updated, so when you turn it back on the time and date is still correct. If not plugged in it will drain the battery.
For browsing the web, doing email tasks, and other light duties, I’ve switched from a 2008 Macintosh desktop, to a 2022 Android tablet by Lenovo. The power savings were incredible! I have since banished my Mac to the attic, and slated it for a visit to the computer recyclers. When I took a hard look at my computer usage, downsizing was the only real option. Thanks for addressing this important, but rarely considered, option!
Low-wattage computing is also important for tiny and mobile homes where battery power (or power via a single domestic power extension lead) is typically the use case. A lot of new technology has come out since this video and you could easily make a complimentary video discussing desktop motherboards with soldered-on laptop processors (Erying is the biggest brand that makes these) and using laptops with external graphics card enclosures for wattage-consious gamers who don't want to use a lot of energy while browsing the internet but still want the graphical processing grunt to game at better framerates than integrated graphics can provide. Thanks for the video!
I've been building energy efficient gaming PCs for years, and I focus on getting the right parts to do just that. Some things to note on desktop PC energy efficiency the motherboard is another factor from it's size to all the bells & whistles (including RGB). For example a non RGB riddled ITX board will consume less power than a full ATX board (with or without RGB lighting). Also Storage to have to be considered. The lowest power draw storage is a 2.5" SSD
Great video! Another great way to reduce power consumption is undervolting (reducing the voltage the component is running at to reduce the power consumption and improve the longevity of the component), in some cases you may even see improved performance (because the CPU/GPU is running cooler, and can maintain its peak frequency for longer). And if you are okay with reducing performance, underclocking (reducing the frequency of the processor) will reduce power consumption, and will allow you to undervolt even further. Search for undervolting guide for your specific CPU/GPU series and generation. I also found that having a high quality power supply (usually the ones rated with better efficiency) will lead to more stable voltages and that would allow you to undervolt even more while remaining stable. Also, a few other awesome benefits of reducing power consumption are: - you are also reducing the heat output and thus saving even more energy on cooling the room. - You can have a quieter system without needing to upgrade the cooling system to a more expensive or larger one. -Since your computer fans are spinning at a lower RPM, it will collect dust slightly slower.
Great Video! Well Done. Living in a warm climate and electric bills rising, I really appreciate your attention to this issue, especially with imperical information using real life computing set ups. I have recently tried to make a conscious effort to spend less time on the big rig and monitor when doing menial tasks and now carry 2 androids (one as a main and one for media and light work) with bluetooth accessories. It encourages me to save energy as well as be more mobile and get out of the seat. Have watched you many times cooking and doing dishes. Anyway Thanks for your efforts great video.
That's why I upgraded last time to an laptop with an portextender to use it as a desktop. They are mostly more energy efficient. But turning down brightness might be another good thing to look at.
Get yourself a Raspberry Pi 400 and you shouldn't be disappointed and you should have similar results to the Raspberry Pi 4 tested. Very interesting subject to research particularly as the cost of energy has soared recently..
I recently bought a used HP office PC for a home server upgrade (i5 9500, 8GB RAM, 256GB nvme SSD, £150). Due to a 12V only motherboard and PSU Platinum efficiency it uses only 7W in idle. It hosts my websites and runs 24/7 mostly idle. But when it needs to do work it is still plenty powerful.
This is interesting, I just wish I had never built my Ryzen Threadripper back in 2020. This is the best video on RU-vid, just wish I could salvage some components from my electricity hungry threadripper rig?
my PC is the biggest power drain in the house, running at 200 to 250w 24 hours a day, that is the UPS with a PC, monitor, speakers and echo dot plugged into it, then there is all my cctv cameras that i use Blue Iris on the PC for, Modem/router and POE switches on top.
I actually learned the screen lesson recently. A friend had moved into a new place after having lived with someone else for a long time, and except his computer, had to buy furniture, TV etc., and he got a TV for free from someone who just wanted rid of it, a massive 60" monstrosity, weighed as much as a 28" CRT. A week after moving in, he felt like he was spending too much in electricity top ups, he checked everything, and the power draw of that TV was over 200w. He's kinda stuck with it for now, as his internet isn't getting turned on for a few weeks and his PC doesn't have a TV tuner, but yeah.
in that case scenario, you should buy a new tv set, because if it consumes 200 watt a 60 inch tv it likely is lcd PS: the primary reason he wanted to got rid of the tv is power consumption
@@mihaillevarda9395 It's only a temporary solution until he gets his internet connected in his new house. Once he has that, he can go back to using internet TV on his 26" ultra light monitor.
For experienced PC users, there are even more ways to reduce the power draw of a computer's CPU or GPU. You can use programs to manually adjust the clock speed, or even lower the power draw/thermal design point of active CPUs or GPUs. Intel Xtreme Tuning Utility, Ryzen Wattman, and MSI Afterburner are such programs that can do this. They even allow you to do what's called undervolting, which reduces the voltage supplied to the CPU or GPU at various clock speeds. This moderately reduces the power draw while the system is at load and when idle. Undervolting also reduces the heat output of the system as a bonus.
Disabling HDR as well - although my monitor came with this toggled off. I never use it - don't see the need. It is astonishing how much power the modern GPUs consume - especially with a push toward ray tracing in AAA games nowadays. The current crisis has forced me to evaluate all of my kit - which is no bad thing. I went back to using a Wii recently, soft-modded the unit and have had great fun, I think it runs on around 15-20 Watts, max. Considering the quality of the first party games from Nintendo, I find their approach to games development refreshing - working within the constraints of more limited hardware, yet still achieving magical results. Maybe we need to think soberly about where we want to take consumer electronics, considering the associated costs and the monumental garbage heap we have created. It has to stop.
another good way is to cap the fps... (I know blasphemy to some people) but I don't need 200 fps in civilization or farming simulator and such... I got a 144Hz monitor so when gaming FPS games I cap them at 144 if possible, no reason for the GPU to scream out 300 FPS burning even more power when I can turn it down and it hums alone nicely :D
In the long run using energy more efficently is benificial to us all enviromently and not just for finacial reasons. Going to cut the storage in my desktop to just a SSD and a larger H/drive to save some extra watts.
I didn't seen this in the video but you can always still use HDDs worth the while if you rack them up on the 2.5" 7200PRM ones. They works just as well as the power hogs and still allows you store much data (longER term that is). Without paying the world overs for "storage" class SSDs that might lose your data over time due to power being required about once a year (verses HDDs that might lasts you several years before needing to be re-powered to assure magnetic properties).
I'm a minimalist. A byproduct of wanting/using simpler tools, I do prefer to lower my energy consumption. The WWW today is actually a huge indicator of how gluttonous we've become with energy. That's why I try to use text browsers and Gopher protocol as much as possible. I also cap my video resolution for streaming at 720p max, if possible. On mobile, I try to download my video in apps like Prime Video so I don't have to worry about my phone working to pull in 1080p (or more) video streams on a 6" screen, which is just plain silly, IMO.
Thanks for a thorough and easy-to-understand analysis! I had a doubt. You cleared my doubt. My 17-inch monitor takes 25W constantly but I didn't consider it into the equation seriously. An old computer consumes more energy than a similarly powerful new generation computer. Raspberry Pi or other SBCs can reduce energy bills. Phones save a lot of energy. Energy costs will likely rise in upcoming years due to several factors, mainly the supply of gas, crude oil, coal and so on, the rest of which I don't want to discuss. We have to take precautions. A net savings of a few kilowatts per billing month is a considerable amount. 🙏
As it happens, I’ve recently purchased a HP slim tower with a Celeron J5040 10W CPU. Whisper-quiet and hopefully will serve me well as a single-user NAS/VM host.
