what does it cost to run a fast pc 24/7?

[3rd_shift]

What Beamhead said.
Sometimes, Lowes, or The Home Depot has those compact flourescent replacement bulbs for 4 for $10.

Also turn down the temp of the water heater to just under 120 degrees if that adjustment is easy to get at.

Worst comes to worst, you could always just use your Lionheart for light if it's turned down enough, then recharge it in the morning. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I love those older Sony's too.
Collector's items in thier own right. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

 

[Saaby]

How's windows work with sleep/hibernate these days? To make it really effective, you may need to redo some of the fans so they shut off when the machine goes to sleep. I know on my laptop sleep uses a miniscule amount of electricity (I can have my laptop on sleep all night, not plugged in, and it only uses 2-3% of my battery) while allowing me to have it up and running by the time I open the lid.

I know that most Macs, including the desktops, can step down the CPU speed automatically under light loads to generate less heat so the fans have to spin less and also to use less electricity, they also "nap" the processor meaning that the processor shuts off completely several times per second which, in the long run, adds up to some energy savings.

See if you can tweak your PC to do similar things. Its very heavily CPU dependent and so I don't know if that desktop AMD chip supports it. I know chips like the P4m can do similar things, and they're even using the P4m in some desktops now, but I don't know about your AMD chip.

Efficiency is great, and the more efficient you can run that machine, likely the quieter it will run (If the fans are heat-sensitive), but I wouldn't go overboard changing internal components to save a few ¢ per day.

 

[KevinL]

There is a nifty utility called RMClock (google it), that I use. I'm a Pentium 4 user (with a tip of the hat to the 25W Mac Mini /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif - LOVE its low power draw!!), and RMClock enables On Demand Clock Modulation (ODCM).

I can set the CPU's clock in 12.5% increments, and I usually throttle it down overnight. That way you can 'underclock' to reduce heat, I feel that it works. www.silentpcreview.com talks about underclocking to reduce heat, to reduce fans, and in turn, reduce noise.

Saving power is quite a tricky subject. Agreed with Saaby about cost-effectiveness, I wouldn't spend $100 on a new part and only see returns of literally pennies on the dollar.

 

[snakebite]

btw running 100%cpu with f@h on a dual p3 1.4ghz 2 gb ram and 4 73gb 15k scsi drives in raid5 i read around 72w.
this does not include the 24" sony monitor.
that pig uses 130w with a full brightness white screen .which is worst case.
asleep the sony uses 8w.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Most computers allow control of fans via the motherboard to some extent. With exception of noise the fans would save far less power than powering the CPU to even 1/2 power unless you got some whopper 120mm fans everywhere. You can power down the hard drive to save more energy but I found about 1 time in 10 the computer wouldn't resume from that state and needed to be rebooted so I leave the drive spinning now.

 

[raggie33]

hey does any one know what a ceiling fan uses in watts? i have a newer box type fan it it says 2.2 amps thats crazy.thats like 180 watts!!!!! its ghoing to get hot here soon i think they said today will be 85.but i find that hard to belive!

 

[yuandrew]

What kind of ceiling fan do you have? Most fans can draw anywhere from 75 to 200 watts depending on size. Of course, they will only draw their maximum current running on high. You don't need to run your fan on high speed all the time do you?

Try medium or low instead and it should use half the power.

Even if it uses over 100 watts, that's still a lot less than an air conditioner

 

[cobb]

In my experience with a loaded mmx 200mhz system and 19 inch no name monitor, leaving it on 24/7 ran my bill up an extra ten bucks. Leaving the 19 inch tv on 24/7 runs it up like 3 bucks. My laptop I can not tell, nor my box fan or floor fan. AC runs it up the quickest at like a dollar for a few hours use and regular bulbs vs cf also raise it a few dollars on 24/7 and made the place warmer. In addition to your kw charge you also pay a service fee. In my experience the service fee is almost exactly your kw fee, so it if like paying twice. Lowest I got my elextric bill was 14 bucks highest was 60 soemthing. 14 bucks in the winter listening to radio than watching tv and 60 something having hte ac on low enough for windows to frost or fog over.

 

[3rd_shift]

2.2 amps is when it is run at it's noisy fast setting.
It should be wayy less on a slower quieter setting.
Cieling fans are good too, but can also drink up quite a bit of power when you want it to blow your socks off.
I have one that had newspapers flying around the room and very noisy when set to full power /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

 

[IsaacHayes]

I always turn off my PC when I'm done. It's in my bedroom and puts out a TON of heat. Plus I don't like hearing any fan noise when I sleep. Less wear and tear I figure too on spinning parts. And since my PC only takes ~20secs to boot up to windows to where I can click and run stuff, it's no problem! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I'd get some Florecent lamps to replace those hotwires!! they put out a lot of heat and suck up a lot of energy!

 

[cobb]

I was doing seti's search for life on my system, I quit after I got up to 500 or so units. I now just use it as needed then turn it off. Same for the AC. I only run it when I am hot with a fan on me.

Being 6 foot 3 when I stand up, I feared celling fans, not to mention thbe though of them falling on you or shaking loose. I find hte box fan on the floor on low works just fine. Switch that to high and it will slide around the tile floor or flip over. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

When I was in rehab they had these floor fans that look like foot stools. My room had ac so I never fooled with it, but it seems to be a design or idea that didnt work to well. I know my tile section of floor seems cool regardless of temp inside my apartment.

 

[raggie33]

well watching my meter looks like for now ill average 300 kilowatts per month!!! is that going to cost a lot?in summer ill use more cause ill turn on ac

 

[JackBlades]

Raggie, here's the estimator from my power company. You can adjust for KWH rate (mine's .20) and check the boxes for a rough estimate.

SCE estimator