PC Peripherals Multiple queries : Wireless Networking / reducing power consumption

vyral_143

vyral_143

Jarvis
Staff member
Super Mod
I have desktop with configuration as follows.

AMD 955BE at stock
Asus M5A97 R2.0
Corsair Vengeance 8GB 1600MHz
WD 2TB Red
Kingston 60GB SSD
Sapphire HD6950 2GB - unlocked to 6970
Seasonic S12 II 620w
Dell ST2220L

Most times I am using this PC for browsing internet via Chrome, iTunes/Windows Media Player for songs, VLC for movies and little bit of MS office type work.

Gaming is limited to CS nowadays. I see that for mentioned usage my desktop power consumption is high - correct me if I am wrong. I m looking for some low powered device which can do job of above mentioned usage at same time not drawing much power.

Also is there any way I can measure power consumption of my PC via any software ?
 
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Well the only low powered device capable of doing all the above would be a laptop. Or you could just downgrade your components - low power Intel dual core, low TDP GPU - and save power on the Desktop itself.

The only way to measure power consumption reliably is connecting a kill-a-watt. Some APC UPSs with PC interfaces can display the rough power consumption too. Your GPU might show realtime power consumption via apps like GPU-z.
 
Get a tablet to browse sites or browse on smartphone. You can listen to songs on your smartphone or tablet also. For games & movies you can use the pc. I save around 25 units per month by only using comp for watching movies now. My usage of pc has gone down from around 8-10 hr's per day to just 3-4.
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
Well the only low powered device capable of doing all the above would be a laptop. Or you could just downgrade your components - low power Intel dual core, low TDP GPU - and save power on the Desktop itself.
Click to expand...

Initially I thought up of similar setup - a display dead laptop using it with my current display, a console for gaming and something for data storage - have data of approx 2.5 TB (if possible across network). However I am not sure cost involved in this and how much easy it is to own a console, functionality and cost-wise.

6pack said:
Get a tablet to browse sites or browse on smartphone. You can listen to songs on your smartphone or tablet also. For games & movies you can use the pc. I save around 25 units per month by only using comp for watching movies now. My usage of pc has gone down from around 8-10 hr's per day to just 3-4.
Click to expand...

I can play songs via my phone and I do so at times :p For browsing somehow I do NOT prefer smartphones due to small screen. Can something be done in way that a device tackles my need of surfing/browsing internet and playing movies from storage - which might be across network, display for both of these on my Dell monitor ? For gaming needs I continue using this PC.

Nowadays I am done with my studies and do a regular job, after which I get approx 2-3 hours on weekdays and 6-8 hours on weekends - depending what is scheduled on my weekends.

Also I guess with above types of setups I will be able to squeeze in my downloading too on lower power consumption, which now is done on my desktop and sometime on my brothers HP laptop - which won't be available after August. :(
 
vyral_143 said:
I can play songs via my phone and I do so at times :p For browsing somehow I do NOT prefer smartphones due to small screen. Can something be done in way that a device tackles my need of surfing/browsing internet and playing movies from storage - which might be across network, display for both of these on my Dell monitor ? (
Click to expand...

A low powered atom pc is your best choice I guess. You can use it as a download rig too.

I think some tablets allow connecting additional display through HDMI cable and there are apps that allow you to connect and stream content from pc to device. You won't like the results though.
 
6pack said:
A low powered atom pc is your best choice I guess. You can use it as a download rig too.

I think some tablets allow connecting additional display through HDMI cable and there are apps that allow you to connect and stream content from pc to device. You won't like the results though.
Click to expand...

In case I go for a low powered pc like atom pc as you mentioned, my current rig will be more or less redundant na, except for gaming ?

I would prefer stable results - like do not have to tinker around once set.
 
Yes. For stable results get an atom pc. Its available for around 4-5k. With a kvm switch you can share monitor, keyboard and mouse. Install most basic os like Ubuntu or debian or windows 32 bit.
 
6pack said:
Yes. For stable results get an atom pc. Its available for around 4-5k. With a kvm switch you can share monitor, keyboard and mouse. Install most basic os like Ubuntu or debian or windows 32 bit.
Click to expand...

Any model or config suggestion ? Also I am kinda unwilling to keep my old set-up 'just' for gaming in case I am going for a low-powered/spec-ed PC like atom pc, as I do not find it that worth then. I mean yeah I do game but for type of games I play like just SP modes I m bit unwilling to give that much amount blocked - hope I have expressed myself properly here :(

If looking at tablet side what would be my option ?

Another question for maths, what would be most likely approx power consumption of my pc in usage I mentioned like say I m just browsing ?
 
All PC's have low power states and windows turns down CPU power & freq in such states.

If you don't want to keep your old pc, I don't see how you cxn continue to game if required. The atom pc would fail miserably in that field.
For normal browsing stuff, even your current rig must be consuming lowest possible power by running in low power state which is built into new cpus. If you remove all unnecessary hdds and such you could save power.
Power usage for your pc could be around 90-110w at lowest.

Atoms highest usage is 25-30w I think.
 
6pack said:
All PC's have low power states and windows turns down CPU power & freq in such states.

If you don't want to keep your old pc, I don't see how you cxn continue to game if required. The atom pc would fail miserably in that field.
For normal browsing stuff, even your current rig must be consuming lowest possible power by running in low power state which is built into new cpus. If you remove all unnecessary hdds and such you could save power.
Power usage for your pc could be around 90-110w at lowest.

Atoms highest usage is 25-30w I think.
Click to expand...

I am worried on my GPU part mainly. I have read that it consumes around 190 watts in idle state, not sure till what extent its correct :confused:.

Link
 
I bought this a while back for measuring power - http://www.ebay.in/itm/Meco-Killawa...5?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item2583338693
My PC idles at 130w with E8200 core2duo, 2 hdds (1 of which is WD black), 1 SSD, 5x1500 rpm fans, 5770 gpu with a 22" monitor and 2.1 speakers.
Max goes to 270 watts with prime95/Furmark. During normal HD-ish gaming it stays below that.
Other factors which affect power drain are - 80+ PSU and the age of the motherboard.
GPU don't idle at 190w. The PCIe slot can provide max 75 watts. Each external power connector to the card can give 75 watts.
So if your GPU needs 1 power connector, it can consume max 150watts at full load and between 45-60watts at idle.
 
g2 said:
GPU don't idle at 190w. The PCIe slot can provide max 75 watts. Each external power connector to the card can give 75 watts.
So if your GPU needs 1 power connector, it can consume max 150watts at full load and between 45-60watts at idle.
Click to expand...

I have two connectors going in to GPU making it 225W as per specifications.
 
Yeah bummer, that thing is a juice sucker. Even then I doubt it consumes 225W at max load, it will definitely be more than 150w for sure though.
I would assume (and hope :)) that GPUs or any electronic circuitry are designed to operate well within the max rated TDP envelopes.
The best way would be measure using a watt meter.
Some benchmarks show entire system load at around 300w with your card
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2010/12/15/ati-radeon-hd-6970-review/10
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/radeon_6950_6970_review,11.html
The 125w 955BE also wont help things.
 
On reading further on Cayman Architecture, on which my graphic card is built, I states that idle power consumption is 20w. Link
I am now confused between link of this post and links of earlier posts, that what does this exactly means and which one is true ? I feel I am acting like a noob :mad:
 
Get gpu-z and check, it should tell you something about the power states of your GPU.
Also the quickest way to save power on your GPU would be to shift it back to a 6950.
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
Get gpu-z and check, it should tell you something about the power states of your GPU.
Also the quickest way to save power on your GPU would be to shift it back to a 6950.
Click to expand...

GPU-z do not have power consumption field for me, may be my card not supporting to sense that :(
 
^ you should start reading the full thread instead of just the first post.
Intel i5 won't reduce his power consumption by a large amount to show any significant gains for the amount of money he will spend on buying it. Just processor plus mobo will set him back by at least 20k. All just to save few watts. His graphics card uses a lot more power than even the CPU he has. Like @Crazy_Eddy said, maybe he can save few watts if he rolls back the gpu to original firmware.
 
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