# How Much POWER Does My P.C Consume???



## tango_cash (Jul 11, 2006)

hi i have a brdband connection and i generally start the downlod (torrent/limewire etc)and switch off my monitor.i wanted to know how much power does my cpu consume.i leave it on for 12 hrs(night 10 to mornin 10).but now i am worried abt the elctric bill. u can see my config below .could u tell me how much Unit does my cpu consume.i have heard that the monitor consumes the max power,therefore i switch it off.


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## gary4gar (Jul 12, 2006)

check this out *journeysystems.com/power_supply_calculator.php

when all this wats out then convert it to kilowatt hour.for every kilowatt hour u will be charged 1 unit


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## akshayt (Jul 12, 2006)

no dude, your system may not be consuming so less, a crt montiro alone my 100 watts +.

Anyway your system can't consume more than what your UPS is rated, also without monitor, speakers etc your system may be consuming like 50% your PSU max power for a power supply of a goood brand like Antec.

However since you are not using your comp under stress, I would say you may be using around 200 watts or maybe even less power. 300 watts may be on the highest side.


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## tango_cash (Jul 12, 2006)

akshayt said:
			
		

> However since you are not using your comp under stress, I would say you may be using around 200 watts or maybe even less power. 300 watts may be on the highest side.



my power supply is rated 400w.i switch off the monitor. and the only application i run are either limewire or bitcomet.how much  unit will it consume if we take 300w  for 10 hrs???


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## cyrux (Jul 12, 2006)

There is no way a CPU can consume 300 W , even under full stress.... well i guess your P4 wont take more than 100 W while downloading but i dont think you should be under wroing impression that if you use 1KWH you will be charged one unit. Modern meters are designed to run faster ..like 700 Watts for one unit


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## rskbug (Jul 12, 2006)

check out this link 

*www.apc.com/tools/ups_selector/index.cfm


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## janitha (Jul 12, 2006)

anarchist said:
			
		

> no way, CPU cant consume 300W in any case. you can idea of wattage from UPS.
> *500W UPS has 7.2AH 12V battery this equals 86.4WH. while battery is new, if you get 30min backup time with 15"monitor, power consumption of UPS+monitor is 86.4*2 =172.8W* (though with P3 i was getting more backup time than 30 min which means power consumption was <172.8W)
> P4 system without graphic card will consume <100W in normal conditions. power will rise if you run 3D applications or video convertion.
> 
> ...



Your "formulae" for unit, KWH etc. are all correct.


But your calculations regarding UPS, 7.2AH 12V battery etc. are entirely wrong and misleading.
And how these are related to the original question?


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## deathvirus_me (Jul 12, 2006)

> a crt montiro alone my 100 watts +



RU sure all CRT's consume so much ?? My whole pc under load consume a max of 310 W (inc. the monitor) ...


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## janitha (Jul 12, 2006)

anarchist said:
			
		

> if you can prove that you can file a case against Electricity board. that is international standard. 1KWH=1000WH (dont confuse KWH with KVAH. you will be billed on the basis of KWH not on KVAH).
> 
> 
> 
> i was just giving a support. to prove that PC's load is <150W, can you tell how calculations are wrong?



Surely, maybe tomorrow when I am back from office, since now I feel sleepy.

And about "filing a case against the E board", you a are entirely correct!


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## gary4gar (Jul 13, 2006)

see ppl let me clear the air off

i have a monotor samsung syncmaster 793s.its a 17" monitor and it consumes about 75W.i had cross checked it in manual of this product.

@tango_cash
nothing can be said excast as there are to many factors involed with it.i can give u a brief extimate that u will not be charged more than 3-4 *units* daily.for excat power rating get a voltameter


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## Prince Stephen Ranji (Jul 13, 2006)

CRT Monitor Consumes more power so switch it off when your sleeping also plugoff speakers (adaptor from socket) then another way to reduce power is by closing all unwanted applications.


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## TechGuru#1 (Jul 13, 2006)

This is VER IMPORTANT,
I got a E.Bill of * Rs. 9000* for May 2day!
Me using PC almost 24 hours(atleast 15-20 hrs@minimum) mostly all the time downloading with Monitor ON! 
//I have all the spare time in the World!

My System>800VA UPS, 19" CRT Monitor,250GB HitachiT7K HDD,1GB Twinmos RAM,XFX 6800GS Gfx card 256mb,Asus Sli premium board,500W L&C PSU,Pinnacle PC-TV USB2,Data1 Smart ATX MT 882 Router & a Logitech Z-5500 Spkr  system

Now,iwas getting last summer May-2005 a Max E.bill of 4000+,but this Year's bills have been horrific for me, Now can any1 plz tell me all this sudden /undue increase can be justified by me running my PC almost 20-24 hrs NON-Stop( an excess of over 4000 bucks just for my PC runiing 24x7x30)???????

PLZ HELP & REPLY!!!!!!!!
_I am Really LOST._


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## kalpik (Jul 13, 2006)

^^ 19" CRT! You were bound to get such a bill! Please switch off the monitor when not in use! Also u can disable devices from device manager which are not required like TV Tuner n stuff..


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## TechGuru#1 (Jul 13, 2006)

*^^ Now,what is the ACTUAL  fact-kalpik,Am i all due SURELY 2 get such a bloated bill of above Rs 4.000 JUSt bcoz i am using my system almost 24 hrs?*

&anarchist, HOW do u factor in that my Unit consumption would be =216 units,

I am using my 19" Viewsonic CRT Pro-Series Monitor P97f+ from my 500W PSU, & my Monitor has a Power consumption rating of 97W c this *www.viewsoniceurope.com/UK/Products/CRTProf/P97f+SB.htm (Ithink it takes the LION's share of electric consumption)
Other than that,The only heavy consuming component is the Z5500 which is  externally powered from the mains

*Now,can any1 actually build a TRUE power consumption(Units used) for my system for the Whole month under my profile of usage ?*


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## TechGuru#1 (Jul 14, 2006)

^^ so if even as u tell,my E.Units chargable for the Month would be around 216 w,then taking into account a Domestic coonection, units chargeble @ Rs.4.50 at my place,it should NOT exceed Rs 972,take  Rs.1,000.00 extra.Then how in the world my average monthly electric bill is exceeding Rs. 4,000.00 extra,considering the fact i have not installed any further/NEW appliances or devices in this meanwhile!!!. It is a BIG mystery,which i need a Urgent solution/Guide!!!
..* Kalpik was saying sumthing abt my problem.....can u be bit little more in deapth abt yr analysis.....when u say,that my bloated bill is but imperative!!?


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## akshayt (Jul 14, 2006)

High end pc can easily consume over 300 watts, his is not any stress and probably not high end.

His comp will probably comsume <200 watts maybe even around 150 watts or so.

But even if his system comsumes 100 watts, the amount of power the UPS will need to supply to his power supply even if he has Antec Smart Power PSU wil be around 150 watts, this is because the PSU is not 100% efficient. Antec SP has an efficient of 70% of more, so if you take 100 watts from the supply you will probably only get 70 watts and the rest will be wasted i belive.

But his power supply if of a lower brand and it is possible that its efficiency won't be as much, it might be around 50-60%, although I have no  idea, but in case it is 50%, then if your comp uses 100 watts then actual supply required through the supply is 200 watts. That is why you wll actually end up paying for 200 watts even if your comp is using 100 watts.

So let us assume that he uses 200-300 watts for which he has to pay. This makes it atleast 2000watts in a day.
or 2Kw.
how much wattage does each unit allow?


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## kalpik (Jul 14, 2006)

All i said was you can save *most* of the power if you can switch off your monitor, when you dont need it (if you mostly download, you dont need the monitor). Also switch of all other peripherals which are not in use (speakers etc). Also disable un-needed hardware (for example.. if you are just downloading something, you dont need your TV-Tuner card, so you can disable it from device manager). The best way to check if all this is making a significant difference to power usage is to check via a wattmeter while disabling stuff..


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## akshayt (Jul 14, 2006)

Whatever you do, finally you will be using 200-300 watts because even if your pc just uses 100-150 watts, your psu can't be 100% efficient, it might be 50-60% efficient or so so you may end up using about 2000 watts per day.

How many watts are included in a unit?


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## TechGuru#1 (Jul 14, 2006)

kalpik said:
			
		

> All i said was you can save *most* of the power if you can switch off your monitor, when you dont need it (if you mostly download, you dont need the monitor). Also switch of all other peripherals which are not in use (speakers etc). Also disable un-needed hardware (for example.. if you are just downloading something, you dont need your TV-Tuner card, so you can disable it from device manager). The best way to check if all this is making a significant difference to power usage is to check via a wattmeter while disabling stuff..



^^ Hey i need the Monitor 2 be ON,when i am Online,b'coz i always/mostly do other works,while i am Online.I am just NOT keeping the Monitor ON,because of Downloads.mayb i just need to recheck other paths 2 ascertain my proper units consumed,i m geeting arbitraray answers mostly! thanks.


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## akshayt (Jul 14, 2006)

Dude, I have told you. Let us assume that you are consuming about 2000-3000 watts per day, 4000 on the higher side, more is not at all likely.

I am asking a simple question, how many watts per unit?


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## TechGuru#1 (Jul 14, 2006)

^^ akshayt >>* stfu*


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## janitha (Jul 14, 2006)

akshayt said:
			
		

> Whatever you do, finally you will be using 200-300 watts because even if your pc just uses 100-150 watts, your psu can't be 100% efficient, it might be 50-60% efficient or so so you may end up using about 2000 watts per day.
> 
> How many watts are included in a unit?



Add to it the loss of power in the UPS which may be having a power factor of about 0.6 (60%)


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## akshayt (Jul 14, 2006)

a good psu has upto 85% efficiency.

any you are consuming 2-3 units per day. on the higher side that is .


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