Energy efficient PC build?

By neufuse
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Grand Master

neufuse Veteran

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well, anyone who is looking for an efficient PSU should check out their models on this link

http://www.plugloadsolutions.com/80PlusPowerSupplies.aspx

lists all the efficiency ratings and voltage stability for 80+ PSU's... wish I had that info a few years ago, turns out my 80+ PSU is littearly only rated at 80.54% at its lowest and 81.75% at it's higest load....

80% efficiency to me isn't that efficient considering we have PSU's that are up to 93% efficient now with near perfect power regulation.... I have a Corsair CMPSU-520HX btw if you are curious... I thought I had the 750 watt one but forgot I changed it out for a 520 Watt one

Grand Master

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I also decided to ditch the rotational HDD for a SDD this time for the OS... what is the best controller chip now? Every time I see one online I see someone say "it's not sandforce!!!" but then someone else come and say to one that is "eww sandforce!"... that's just one controller... but what is the best now?

obviously garbage collection and trim are a must and SATA3.

Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

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Your computer is using 250W idle?? JFC!!!

That is more than half my whole houses "idle" use..

post-14624-0-69399000-1337371594_thumb.j

So you can see from above, at night - that was 00:48 whole freaking how was drawing 389 watts. Your Computer is 65% of that ;) WTF dude???

That reading is with my workstation on 24/7 (does not standby) plus my N40L server (only draws about 55watts idle) Plus all the other electronics in the house all on, 2 DVRs, slingbox, 3 different network switches. Prob the 100 watt bulb on the porch on? Prob left the living room lights on (cfl so low usage).. Not counting all the phone chargers, laptop chargers, etc.. etc.. clocks, TVs still draw even when off, etc.

I am into saving power as well.. Reason I went to the N40L running even my pfsense router now virtual. Was running 2 boxes before both drawing around 60w idle -- move to the N40L cut it in half for sure.

Have not put my killawatt on my I5 workstation lately - but if recall it only drew like 70 something idle (monitor off).

Wish I had some advice for you -- but I wish you good luck in your quest.. Going to check my workstations idle when I get home, might have to bring back standby atleast at night, etc.

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abysal

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I went from an x58 - i7 920 @ 3.6GHz - SLI GTX 560 Ti which did 325 - 350 watts idle, to a new Ivy Bridge build (in signature below), which currently uses 189 to 215 watts idle.

I also have an ESXi server based on an AMD 1090T 3.2GHz - 8 Drive storage pool on a Perc 6i, a FreeNAS AMD APU E-350 (+8 Drives), FreeNAS Atom D510 (+4 Drives) that use a combined 245watts.

Grand Master

neufuse Veteran

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Your computer is using 250W idle?? JFC!!!

That is more than half my whole houses "idle" use..

post-14624-0-69399000-1337371594_thumb.j

So you can see from above, at night - that was 00:48 whole freaking how was drawing 389 watts. Your Computer is 65% of that ;) WTF dude???

That reading is with my workstation on 24/7 (does not standby) plus my N40L server (only draws about 55watts idle) Plus all the other electronics in the house all on, 2 DVRs, slingbox, 3 different network switches. Prob the 100 watt bulb on the porch on? Prob left the living room lights on (cfl so low usage).. Not counting all the phone chargers, laptop chargers, etc.. etc.. clocks, TVs still draw even when off, etc.

I am into saving power as well.. Reason I went to the N40L running even my pfsense router now virtual. Was running 2 boxes before both drawing around 60w idle -- move to the N40L cut it in half for sure.

Have not put my killawatt on my I5 workstation lately - but if recall it only drew like 70 something idle (monitor off).

Wish I had some advice for you -- but I wish you good luck in your quest.. Going to check my workstations idle when I get home, might have to bring back standby atleast at night, etc.

I wish my house used that much when everything was idle.. I'm at 733 right now idle... 250 of that of course is the PC sitting here not doing much at all... that leaves 483 watts in use...

here is where I want to cry... not one light is on in the house... not one tv... that 483 watts is because of vampire crap... 120 watts of it is the AC unit outside's "Crankcase heaters" which run all the freaking time unless the ambient temp is 80 degrees.... so much for enegy efficient... the rest I've tracked down to stuff like the fridge, which is high efficiency (apparently), the TED itself uses 1.5 watts... which isn't much when the fridge isn't running the idle wattage in here goes down to about 375? I can't remember exactly... here's my past hour graph... you can see the different compressors and stuff turning on if you look at it and running... for the fridge... crankcase heaters outside on the ac ect...

every light in our house is CFL or LED... when I tell people how much wattage the houes uses the first thing they tell me to change is the bulbs, well been there done that... and we never have the lights on!

btw, what energy monitor are you using?

post-47883-0-22098900-1337373781_thumb.p

Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

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I am using envi current cost.. I looked at the TED, but this was much more cost effective to get put in.. And the wife still bitched about it ;)

http://www.currentcost.net/

I had bought a package that included the bridge, which sends the info to the internet - use to go to google power until they killed that. I miss the google power site, but they have been making strides with their site.

When I first got mine the vampire **** drove me nuts.. Can not unplug the fridge, etc. But yeah everything off, still sucking power.. BTW forgot I have a fridge out in the garage as well - just make you feel worse I guess ;) hehehe

Would love to see that idle cut in half to be honest.. Now you got me in the power reduction mood again, might see what happens if I standby my workstation and server and dvrs.. Should be able to cut 100watts off that low mark.

Have you thought about solar to atleast take care of big chunk of your daily norm? I was looking at them a while back, a few more years I think they might be cost effective.

Grand Master

neufuse Veteran

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I am using envi current cost.. I looked at the TED, but this was much more cost effective to get put in.. And the wife still bitched about it ;)

http://www.currentcost.net/

I had bought a package that included the bridge, which sends the info to the internet - use to go to google power until they killed that. I miss the google power site, but they have been making strides with their site.

When I first got mine the vampire **** drove me nuts.. Can not unplug the fridge, etc. But yeah everything off, still sucking power.. BTW forgot I have a fridge out in the garage as well - just make you feel worse I guess ;) hehehe

Would love to see that idle cut in half to be honest.. Now you got me in the power reduction mood again, might see what happens if I standby my workstation and server and dvrs.. Should be able to cut 100watts off that low mark.

Have you thought about solar to atleast take care of big chunk of your daily norm? I was looking at them a while back, a few more years I think they might be cost effective.

BudMan, you and me are on the same page.... I was actually researching PV systems recently, for about $8k I could pretty much eliminate all my daily usage with A quality panels.. it'd pay for itself in 5-8 yrs.. but doesn't mean I still don't want to use as little power as possible with my system hehe.. if I ever get a PV system put in, would rather have the power company pay me then me pay them :) I have about 680 sq ft of prime roof space for panels facing south on 8/12 and 4/12 roof pitches and another 600 or so sq ft of space that could also hold panels if i wanted to add more someday would love to see the TED showing generation numbers higher then the consumption numbers... would be a grid tie system of course... off grid to me is a bit eh... might as well sell the extra back if there is any and no need to keep tons of lead acid batteries around

a local company quoted me at $15k to cover my entire south roof in panels installed about 30 panels... I'd theoretically generate 7.5-9Kwh with B quality panels with 30% tax credit, thats $10k about payoff itme probably 10yrs with no extra load sell back? panels are warrantied for 25yrs... selling back extra power could reduce the payoff time to about 4yrs depending on rates... gawd I love tech..

I just cringe everytime a "ultra" republican friend laughs at me for speaking of solar... I just have to tell them this is about money and the fact I can do it, not about the environment

Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

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  • MVC
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Yup but mines a bit older, they didn't call it that when I got it and its not the enviR, just the envi -- I think that's total with shipping about what I paid.. Give me sec and look it up

Jul 31, 2010 09:31:57 PDT

PowerMeter Kit Includes standard Envi, USB Cable and Web Bridge (Web Bridge will ship August 2010)

Item# , Display Color: White $169.00 USD

Shipping and handling $18.75 USD

Total $187.75 USD

So its about 2 years old.

I was doing a pre-order before the bridge was even out, so got a discount on the bridge. Otherwise its the same price..

Proficient

srbeen

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if you want gaming performance you won`t get energy efficiency. Upgrade what you got and get an older laptop, Raspberry Pi or mac Mini for general usage, then have your performance machine for gaming or heavy tasks you can let sleep so it don`t waste power.

Thats how I would attack this problem.

This thread opened my eyes for home power level monitors...

7 cents in ontario per kWh, wow. Im dead center from that and the OP.

Grand Master

neufuse Veteran

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if you want gaming performance you won`t get energy efficiency. Upgrade what you got and get an older laptop, Raspberry Pi or mac Mini for general usage, then have your performance machine for gaming or heavy tasks you can let sleep so it don`t waste power.

Thats how I would attack this problem.

no one mentioned gaming, and I hate to say this but you obviously didn't read my original post... I want to BUILD an energy efficient PC, I didn't say I want minimal wattage, just efficient, and like I said before not a laptop

Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

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btw just double checked my pc, its 65 watts with the monitor on -- with pc doing nothing. When I turn the monitor off its just 40 watts idle.

What do you have in your machine that it would draw 250 watts idle?? I have to think your running folding@home or something in the background?

Proficient

srbeen

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no one mentioned gaming, and I hate to say this but you obviously didn't read my original post... I want to BUILD an energy efficient PC, I didn't say I want minimal wattage, just efficient, and like I said before not a laptop

Sorry I just assumed you wanted a powerhouse system while keeping your kWh down.. This is not without compromise, theres 5-20% tolerance in most electronics within the same batch..

I wasn`t implying its for gaming or a gaming rig, I just usually grade systems on a `gamers` scale, as gamers opt for the best fastest and newest gear. I dont play games, but its nice to know the latest software tech can run on my chosen hardware.

I was merely offering an alternative you could have possibly looked over, while keeping on-the-cheap.

A super cheap and super energy efficient machine (like a Rpi) and a moderate upgrade to what you have to cut its power in half. (250W idle is ridiculous honestly)

Then of course to benefit the most on the power bill you would use the super energy efficient one for everything but the heavy stuff.

If you want to be energy efficient it can`t have a single fan. Heat is a byproduct of energy waste, ironically, you have to spend even more energy to remove that heat too...

You can safely cool 100W CPU`s passively too. http://www.quietpc.c...ers/nof-cr-100a for example.

.edit - thinking on that 250W usage idle.. under full load what is it!

I trust you played with the computers bios to ensure you have energy efficient settings enabled.. cpu scaling and multicore cutbacks.. etc.

.edit again - as for your usage.. are you sure your meter isn`t tapped. are you in your own detatched house. somethings wrong here if you cant remove all the power from your panel or at least account for it. it could be faulty wiring in honesty. I would do a massive breaker shut down and literally track it all down so it made sense.

Grand Master

neufuse Veteran

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btw just double checked my pc, its 65 watts with the monitor on -- with pc doing nothing. When I turn the monitor off its just 40 watts idle.

What do you have in your machine that it would draw 250 watts idle?? I have to think your running folding@home or something in the background?

nope, When I say nothing is running I mean it Budman.

here's my system and what I could account for wattage wise

Intel i7 920 (very 1st generation and 1st run of the chip, max TPD is 130 watts, no where near as efficient as current generations)

EVGA X58 SLI 3x board (turns out this is a major power hog using 65 watts just for this board alone! talk about a bad design)

6GB DDR3 1333 RAM

nVIDIA 9800GTS (this used 35 watts idle alone)

3 hard drives - 1 system drive, and 2 in raid1 (each has an idle wattage of 8.40 Watts and a read write wattage of 8.77 watts)

65 watts for motherboard (this does not include the CPU)

35 watts for graphics card

25 watts for hard drives

I am already up to 125 watts idle for just those components

add in the CPU and make the PSU 80% efficient you are already in the 200+ range at idle

it's not hard to reach and if you go by this chart from a hardware site that tested idle wattage, they used the same EVGA X58 motherboard I have... my numbers match theirs almost exactly

11.png

I don't know why it's so hard to believe my idle wattage, other hardware sites got the same results as me, and you have to remember this is a 1st generation X58 / i7 system.. which was natoriously power hogs the X58 chip alone was a powerhog :)

did you build your own system Budman? if so do you remember what model parts you used?

Grand Master

neufuse Veteran

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Sorry I just assumed you wanted a powerhouse system while keeping your kWh down.. This is not without compromise, theres 5-20% tolerance in most electronics within the same batch..

I wasn`t implying its for gaming or a gaming rig, I just usually grade systems on a `gamers` scale, as gamers opt for the best fastest and newest gear. I dont play games, but its nice to know the latest software tech can run on my chosen hardware.

I was merely offering an alternative you could have possibly looked over, while keeping on-the-cheap.

A super cheap and super energy efficient machine (like a Rpi) and a moderate upgrade to what you have to cut its power in half. (250W idle is ridiculous honestly)

Then of course to benefit the most on the power bill you would use the super energy efficient one for everything but the heavy stuff.

If you want to be energy efficient it can`t have a single fan. Heat is a byproduct of energy waste, ironically, you have to spend even more energy to remove that heat too...

You can safely cool 100W CPU`s passively too. http://www.quietpc.c...ers/nof-cr-100a for example.

.edit - thinking on that 250W usage idle.. under full load what is it!

I trust you played with the computers bios to ensure you have energy efficient settings enabled.. cpu scaling and multicore cutbacks.. etc.

.edit again - as for your usage.. are you sure your meter isn`t tapped. are you in your own detatched house. somethings wrong here if you cant remove all the power from your panel or at least account for it. it could be faulty wiring in honesty. I would do a massive breaker shut down and literally track it all down so it made sense.

I've been through all the bios settings to try to make the current system as efficient as possible, speed step, correct C states, voltages, etc...

as for the house its detatched... and no nothing is "tapped" I can throw the main breaker and my house wattage with a camp on meter shows zero watts, I get the same readings with a camp on meter that I get with my TED monitor so they are calibrated correctly also

Grand Master

n_K

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Useful site that 80+ thing... Only problem is the only Dell 750w PSUs listed all appears to be for dell poweredge 2950, like, 8 of them... How the hell do I know what one mine is :s

Plus, an 8TB server using only 115w at idle? Do you power down ALL the hard drives or what because that seems AWFULLY low.

My UPS currently says my 2950 (8GB RAM in low power mode, 2xQuad Core 2ghz CPUs, 4x2.5" 73GB 15K SAS drives, 1xTape drive, 1xCDROM) is using... 151w

Grand Master

neufuse Veteran

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Useful site that 80+ thing... Only problem is the only Dell 750w PSUs listed all appears to be for dell poweredge 2950, like, 8 of them... How the hell do I know what one mine is :s

Plus, an 8TB server using only 115w at idle? Do you power down ALL the hard drives or what because that seems AWFULLY low.

My UPS currently says my 2950 (8GB RAM in low power mode, 2xQuad Core 2ghz CPUs, 4x2.5" 73GB 15K SAS drives, 1xTape drive, 1xCDROM) is using... 151w

you have to go by model number, look at the model number on your PSU... if its not on that site, then it is probably not 80+ certified or never tested by them

Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

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What kind of psu did you have on it, not that 750W beast? And no special video card with fans spinning on it, etc.?

55 watts, that makes more sense! Your other computer is more of a space heater ;)

Grand Master

neufuse Veteran

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What kind of psu did you have on it, not that 750W beast? And no special video card with fans spinning on it, etc.?

55 watts, that makes more sense! Your other computer is more of a space heater ;)

The original system? I had a 520 watt PSU because I originally was going to go SLI but didn't so ditched the 750w idea and went smaller, had a nVIDIA 9800GTS with just 2 120mm fans plus the CPU fan and a chipset fan, and well that is it... only thing out of the normal is the fact there is 3 HDD's

checked my X58 system at work and believe it or not it uses 278 watts idle! and that is an OEM workstation X58 chipsets must of been a power hog

but that system has 4 HDD's in RAID 10 and a much higher wattage graphics card

  • 3 weeks later...
Grand Master

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Still looking for the best parts for this future system build, was looking a simple water cooling solutions, anyone use the CORSAIR CWCH60 Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler? just wondering if these CPU only liquid coolers are any goor or not?

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