Reply to: How much does it cost to keep a desktop on all year?

[VectraMan]

This is what I bought (though from Amazon):

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=38343

It would be better if it was more accurate at the low end (i.e. only shows whole watts).

I found a bios setting that reduces the off power to 1W by disabling the onboard NIC (in other words, no wake on LAN).

[minestrone]

Top quality work VectraMan.

It is pretty pricey and probaly quite a bit more than people think, one of the reasons I was interested was if it would be worth my while just buying a partition of a server somewhere and dumping all my servers and databases on it. Get the bonus of the connection to the team not relying on my crappy Orange broadband coming in on twisted copper pair wire strung across the garden.

Still my server probably costs half as much as the gf's straighteners, hair dryers etc etc.

[JoJoGabor]

Results now in:

My Dell Precision 390 (2.1Ghz Core 2 duo, 2GB RAM, 7500 rpm disk) uses 73W when sitting around doing nothing. Based on 15p per KWh (NPower) that's £95.92 per year..

You should change supplier - I checked my bill from Southern Electric and they are charging me 11.9p per KWh

[voodooflux]

Results now in:

Part 2:

Part 3 then I'm going to bed:

Very nice work sir - some interesting figures there

That's very interesting about the laptop - I guess a good laptop is constructed with efficient power management in mind, to maximise battery life.

The Sky+ figure is interesting (I've used that word a lot haven't I) as well, given that certainly for the HD boxes Sky added a feature to the box software to put them into standby after a period of inactivity. You can definitely hear the drives spin down and up as well, so I would expect some fluctuation in power consumption.

Got a link to that plug you bought? Might pick one up myself.

[VectraMan]

Part 3 then I'm going to bed:

My Sony 24" WS CRT TV uses 70W on, 5W on standby.

Sky+ uses 19W when on, and errr, 19W on standby (no such thing as standby really).

Pioneer CD player uses 4W on, 3W on standby.

Crappy old Wharfdale DVD uses 11W on, 4W on standby.

But my old Pioneer amp which uses 34W on, registers zero on standby (relays make a nice clunk).

So that's another 31W I'm wasting, or £40 per year.

[VectraMan]

Part 2:

Testing out my (fully-charged) laptop, which is a Dell D531 AMD 64x2 2GHz, 2GB, 7200disk, 15.4" WS display, and sitting idle it uses only 23W, which then falls to 12W when the screen blanks. I'm not sure what's happening with the hard disk at that point, but it's interesting that the power drain is the same as the NAS.

Which makes you think: given the recent cheapness of laptops, perhaps the best solution for a sit around doing nothing server/build machine is a laptop? Based on 12W instead of 73W, that's a saving of £80 per year. They take up less room, make less noise, and you can see above that my desktop and laptop are virtually the same spec (the laptop is actually noticeably slower in reality - the hard disk presumably).

[VectraMan]

Results now in:

My Dell Precision 390 (2.1Ghz Core 2 duo, 2GB RAM, 7500 rpm disk) uses 73W when sitting around doing nothing. Based on 15p per KWh (NPower) that's £95.92 per year.

I did set it to power down the disk, but I don't think it ever does, so maybe that can be improved on.

Big disk copy made no difference, but 100% CPU (i.e. both cores flat out), and it went up to 105W. So clearly CPU usage does make a big difference, and presumably intensive graphics use would too.

It also registered 2W when "off". So leaving the PC off but plugged in for a year would still cost £2.62.

My Buffalo 500GB NAS uses 12W, rising to 13W by copying a big file to it.

Each of my Samsung 17" LCDs uses 27W when on, 1W on no signal.

Also my Netgear ADSL/wireless router and its combined power supply/powerline ethernet adapter uses 10W, and the powerline switch at the other end uses 2W.

So with the PC "off", adding all that up I'm still using 28W for computer stuff, and that's £36.79 per year. With the PC on, that would be 99W, or £130.06 per year.

[voodooflux]

PowerEdge ... mine seem to very quiet

I have installed Acrtic Cooling heat sinks as they appear to be the quietest I have ever encounterd and Nexus case fans are supremely quiet. Antec PSU tend to be ultra quiet as well. I put these into a noisy old server I had and regained my sanity.

I have an Arctic Cooling sink on my current desktop rig - impressive (and large!) piece of kit. Going for a case with 120mm fans can help as well.

[lilelvis2000]

I've never encountered a quiet Dell server - what model are they?

It's amazing the difference a third party heat sink and fan can make - and how cheap they are. Compaq once wanted to rob me of around £50 for a replacement heat sink, so I bought a third party Akasa one and "modified" it with a dremel to make it fit - worked a treat.

PowerEdge ... mine seem to very quiet

I have installed Acrtic Cooling heat sinks as they appear to be the quietest I have ever encounterd and Nexus case fans are supremely quiet. Antec PSU tend to be ultra quiet as well. I put these into a noisy old server I had and regained my sanity.

[d000hg]

I don't think £100 is a big deal, over the course of a year. It's what, 3-4 hours income, which isn't much, and all it has to do is save you that much time a year turning it on and off and letting it boot.

[voodooflux]

My Dell servers are ultra quiet. I have to place my ear next to it before I cn hear it. My desktop, a Vostro 400, is much noiser.

I just recently replaced the heat sink and fans in another PC which has made it whisper quiet.

I've never encountered a quiet Dell server - what model are they?

It's amazing the difference a third party heat sink and fan can make - and how cheap they are. Compaq once wanted to rob me of around £50 for a replacement heat sink, so I bought a third party Akasa one and "modified" it with a dremel to make it fit - worked a treat.

[lilelvis2000]

Not to mention the noise.

My Dell servers are ultra quiet. I have to place my ear next to it before I cn hear it. My desktop, a Vostro 400, is much noiser.

I just recently replaced the heat sink and fans in another PC which has made it whisper quiet.

[lilelvis2000]

Must say that this thread has got me thinking. I've got four servers which I kept running 24/7 even though they are not used overnight and on weekends.

I was watching Andrew Marr on the weekend..Apparently they mentioned a newpaper article about research which suggested that for every two word search on Google enough power to boild three cups of water is used!

I'm now gonna switch off everything at night.

[voodooflux]

If you are using server class hardware, the power drain will be much higher as well

Not to mention the noise.

[JoJoGabor]

If you are using server class hardware, the power drain will be much higher as well