Jump to content

Welcome to Geeks to Go - Register now for FREE

Need help with your computer or device? Want to learn new tech skills? You're in the right place!
Geeks to Go is a friendly community of tech experts who can solve any problem you have. Just create a free account and post your question. Our volunteers will reply quickly and guide you through the steps. Don't let tech troubles stop you. Join Geeks to Go now and get the support you need!

How it Works Create Account
Photo

psu questions


  • Please log in to reply

#1
aaaa44

aaaa44

    Member

  • Member
  • PipPipPip
  • 151 posts
How much more energy efficient are the energy efficient psu's? What is a very rough estimate of their cost savings in cents/hour of use or whatever measurement. I know there are many factors which determine the cost of running a computer (wattage of psu, processor, computer uses, differences in cost of energy for any area, etc.) but a rough estimate would be interesting. If energy efficient psu's really do save significantly then it wouldn't make any sense not to use one because even though they cost more the energy they save could pay for the computer. Also, when purchasing a psu do you simply match the wattage of the psu with the motherboard requirements or would a more powerful psu than the minimum required make the computer run better i.e. if a motherboard needs a 200-300 watt psu to function would a 500 watt psu be better? Thanks for any replies.
  • 0

Advertisements


#2
The Skeptic

The Skeptic

    Trusted Tech

  • Technician
  • 4,075 posts
1: When you install a PSU you must take into consideration power reserve in case you decide to install more hardware (extra disks, advanced video card etc.). For standard computers I use 450-500 W.

2: The determining factors are system requirements and how you set your system power saving options. Newer CPU's draw considerably less power then older ones. Advanced video cards can take a lot of power. If we take the hardware needs as a given constant then the way you set power options is important. The options are set in Control Panel. At least as important is to switch your computer off when you finish your work. Many people leave the computer running all the time for no apparent reason. I could never understand why they do that.
  • 0

#3
dsenette

dsenette

    Je suis Napoléon!

  • Community Leader
  • 26,047 posts
  • MVP
some info from HP on energy efficient PSUs here and some more info from SilverStone

basically the energy efficient PSUs are more.....efficient (duh)...so they waste less electricity during the conversion from AC power to DC power which also reduces the heat that they generate which means the fans they use can be smaller and more efficient and you don't have to worry about the computer heating up the room that it's in so you can use less air conditioning in the room. also since they're more efficient they last longer


also here's an online savings calculator thingie
  • 0






Similar Topics

0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users

As Featured On:

Microsoft Yahoo BBC MSN PC Magazine Washington Post HP