Power consumption of a computer with a monitor
Of course, every owner of a personal computer would like to know what indicator his own device consumes. In this article we will try to analyze in detail the main points that directly relate to the presented topic. We will find out in what ways we can reduce the consumption of a structure, and most importantly, the gap that determines the norm.
The content of the article
Average monitor power consumption
In order not to get confused in the provided topic, it is advisable to consider each configuration separately.
- As for average power and moderate use. Example: the owner uses the device for about 5 hours, where he not only visits websites on the Internet, communicates on social networks, but also plays regular games. In this case, we can assume a consumption where the figure reaches 180 watts.
IMPORTANT! You should not miss the fact that the monitor also costs some money (in numbers, it’s about 40 watts).
Therefore, now you need to add 180 and 40, the result is 220. It is this number that needs to be multiplied by the number of hours spent at work. The result is 1.1 kW. In addition, you can add a possible error. In conclusion, the entire system consumes from 35 kW per month.
- Speaking of a gaming computer, where the lion's share is spent on playing significant games. It is important to take into account that the video card, screen and processor take up a lot of energy. Accordingly, the estimated consumption is at least 440 W. Due to the fact that the user usually spends a significant amount of time - 6 hours, we multiply it and get 2.64 kW. Taking into account the error, a minimum of 81 kW comes out per month.
- What remains is a personal computer, where the power is very insignificant - one that is used purely at home for storing various video files and other materials. Since the monitor is most often not used, you can easily calculate the monthly consumption = 29 kW.
What is the minimum power a computer can consume?
It is clear that you first need to look at the parameters. Most often, the value of the power supply is from 350 watts. However, it can be noted that it is in modern buildings that this number increases quite a bit and sometimes reaches 450 Watts. ATTENTION! The consumption itself directly depends on how loaded the unit is with various applications. So, in order to determine the desired indicator as reliably as possible, you should pay attention to the following factors:
- In the process of work, namely when viewing any websites or photographs, videos, an average amount of 120 - 160 watts is consumed.
- Speaking about playing the game, it is worth understanding that the number is correspondingly larger. Therefore, we can safely assume values from 300 to 340 Watts (measurements are based on one hour of operation).
- As for old inventions themselves, this is a slightly different situation.This fact is explained by the fact that they have significantly older systems installed. This means that the consumption will be less. The parameter varies around 70 W.
REFERENCE! Do not forget about monitors whose consumption is determined from 30 to 40 W.
First, as in all cases, you should know the indicators of your own structure, which can be found on the back side. More specifically, these are the characteristics of the processor, monitor, and video card. To simplify, we will calculate directly in quiet mode, but when the unit is plugged into an outlet. Knowing that under the described condition, energy is consumed in the amount of five watts, you can make the following decisions. We multiply this number by 24 hours a day and we get 0.12 kW in one day.
How to reduce power consumption of the system unit
There are several really effective ways. Actually, they are presented below:
- “SUSPEND TO RAM” mode. With its help, it becomes possible to turn off your structure much more often. As the study shows, using this method, the indicator is reduced by almost 1.4 W. In order to configure it, you will have to go to the control panel, and then select the “power supply” section. There you will also have access to a setting where you can set the interval.
- Automatic PC shutdown. This situation is quite similar to the previous one.
IMPORTANT! It is recommended to determine the extinction interval from three to five minutes. In this situation, both convenience and savings will correspond.
- In addition, you can turn off the hard drive. In this case, the consumption will be reduced down to 1 W. You can also set your personal interval here. However, here it is advisable to do it for at least 20 minutes.
- The use of additional components that will help you reduce your consumption.
- And last but not least, there is a method where the user reduces the brightness on the monitor. Consequently, at the standard setting, electricity is consumed twice as much as if it were at the lowest setting.
How much does a computer consume depending on the operating mode?
Let's take a closer look at each separately:
- Sleeping. When this condition is enabled, the hard drive is in a different state, therefore, much less energy is required. And this is approximately 7% of the entire calculation.
- Hibernation. The personal computer turns off completely. However, all previous materials are retained. As for the parameters themselves, this is the interval between 5 Watts and 10 Watts.
- Absolute shutdown of the device. Important features: a full logout of the system is carried out, previously used information is lost, no saving occurs. When a new download occurs, the performance is updated. Therefore, electricity costs are about 4-5 W. You can also hear another name for this process - standby mode.
As you can see, how much the design costs depends on your actions.