Estimate the average power draw of my computer setup

Blue Mountain · 15th May 2010, 07:14 PM

Over the past year, I have had a simple energy meter plugged into my computer setup, which consists of the following:

Uninterpretable power supply (UPS)
Desktop computer with a 550 watt power supply (on UPS)
22" LCD monitor (on UPS)
Desktop laser printer
Cable modem (on UPS)
Home router (on UPS)
Cordless telephone (on UPS)
Normal telephone (I used it for its call display)
Secondary desk lamp with a 20 watt incandescent bulb
Secondary computer with 19" LCD monitor

All equipment plugged into the UPS runs continuously (24 x 7), although the monitor is in power save mode more often than not. The laser printer is always on as well, but spends most of its time in power save mode. The fluorescent light is in use for several hours a day, while the incandescent light is almost always turned off.

The secondary computer is turned on (on average) about twice a week for a couple of hours each time, usually because I want to test some hardware such as an interface card, a CD-ROM, another computer, etc.

Based on this information, please select your best estimate of the average power draw of this setup over the past year. I'll do the reveal in three or four days.

Gord_in_Toronto · 15th May 2010, 08:18 PM

What on Earth size UPS do you have that you can plug your laser printer in?

biomorph · 15th May 2010, 11:24 PM

Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto

What on Earth size UPS do you have that you can plug your laser printer in?

not sure you are suppose to plug laser printers into a UPS, however that might be me misreading somewhere, cant actually think of a reason technically why tho.

Wrathernaut · 15th May 2010, 11:36 PM

It'd help a lot if I knew if your CPU and video card have power-save modes as well.

It'd also help to know if the CPU is on as a server with high-hard drive load and such...

MortFurd · 16th May 2010, 05:48 AM

Originally Posted by biomorph

not sure you are suppose to plug laser printers into a UPS, however that might be me misreading somewhere, cant actually think of a reason technically why tho.

This is why. Laser printers draw a lot of current for a short tiem when heating the fuser. The average power consumption is not bad, but the peaks my be more than your UPS can deliver, and this could cause a dip in the power the UPS supplies to the rest of the devices. You print, and the light gets dim or the computer shuts off.

Blue Mountain · 16th May 2010, 07:31 AM

Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto

What on Earth size UPS do you have that you can plug your laser printer in?

The laser printer isn't plugged into the UPS, for the reason MortFund elucidated in a later post.

Originally Posted by Wrathernaut

It'd help a lot if I knew if your CPU and video card have power-save modes as well.

It'd also help to know if the CPU is on as a server with high-hard drive load and such...

Happy to oblige, and sorry for not providing the information in the OP.

The CPU is an Athlon II X2 with power management capabilities.

The video card is a low-end NVidia that gets its power from the AGP slot; it doesn't have its own connector from the power supply.

There are three discs in the machine: 2 x 500 GB, and an older 80 GB. One of the 500s is used as a backup for the main 500, and spends most if its time spun down. (I spin it up at 4:00 AM to do an rsync copy from the main drive, then put it into standby again a few minutes later. Ditto for the 80 GB, except it serves as a backup area for my most critical files.)

r0ast_p0tat0es · 16th May 2010, 07:31 AM

It's going to depend greatly on whether your computer spends its time constantly running stress-tests and benchmarks, whether it never runs anything more stenuous than Word, or whether it falls somewhere in between.

GreNME · 16th May 2010, 08:38 AM

Unless you have the computers off for most of the time and don't print at all (or once in a blue moon), then I'd say between 600-699 is my answer given the choices. If I had to give an actual answer it would be between 500-700 watts and probably spends most of its time fluctuating within that range when you have stuff up and running with normal usage.

moopet · 16th May 2010, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by MortFurd

This is why. Laser printers draw a lot of current for a short tiem when heating the fuser. The average power consumption is not bad, but the peaks my be more than your UPS can deliver, and this could cause a dip in the power the UPS supplies to the rest of the devices. You print, and the light gets dim or the computer shuts off.

This sort of thing used to happen to Automan every week.

Blue Mountain · 16th May 2010, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by r0ast_p0tat0es

It's going to depend greatly on whether your computer spends its time constantly running stress-tests and benchmarks

It's a pretty quiet system in that respect. I usually have a lot of browser windows open, and IRC client running, and an email client.

Quote:

whether it never runs anything more stenuous than Word, or whether it falls somewhere in between.

What's this "Word" thing? I'm running Linux

quarky · 16th May 2010, 04:55 PM

Its bigger than a bread box.

Btw, do we count your caloric needs when operating the system?
3 emails costs me a beer. aprox 100 cals; light, crapass beer.

Zax63 · 16th May 2010, 05:52 PM

I don't know if it will work for you or if there is a version for Canada but I used the Kill-A-Watt power monitor to answer a similar question. About $20 from Newegg or Amazon.

Modified · 16th May 2010, 06:44 PM

Right now my PC and 22 inch LCD monitor are drawing 105 Watts with nothing using any CPU. Since you aren't working 24 hours a say, unless you are running things in the background all the time, I'm guessing the average must be below 200 Watts.

Soapy Sam · 17th May 2010, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by Blue Mountain

Uninterpretable power supply (UPS)

It's compiled, or what?

biomorph · 17th May 2010, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by MortFurd

This is why. Laser printers draw a lot of current for a short tiem when heating the fuser. The average power consumption is not bad, but the peaks my be more than your UPS can deliver, and this could cause a dip in the power the UPS supplies to the rest of the devices. You print, and the light gets dim or the computer shuts off.

I just checked your link out, thanks. I knew I'd heard it somewhere, just couldn't remember/think why or when.....

I guess modern lasers might use a tad less, but perhaps, not.

Blue Mountain · 17th May 2010, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by Soapy Sam

Originally Posted by Blue Mountain

Uninterpretable power supply (UPS)

It's compiled, or what?

It means not even I can figure out how it works!

jiggeryqua · 17th May 2010, 04:33 PM

On planet X, a watt is the unit of currency

Gord_in_Toronto · 17th May 2010, 04:41 PM

341.18 Btu/hr

Less than 100 watts	4	15.38%
100 - 199 watts	2	7.69%
200 - 299 watts	7	26.92%
300 - 399 watts	2	7.69%
400 - 499 watts	1	3.85%
500 - 599 watts	1	3.85%
600 - 699 watts	2	7.69%
700 - 799 watts	3	11.54%
800 - 899 watts	1	3.85%
900 - 999 watts	0	0%
1000 watts or more	3	11.54%
Voters: 26. You may not vote on this poll

15th May 2010, 07:14 PM	#1
Blue Mountain Resident Skeptical Hobbit Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Waging war on woo-woo in Winnipeg Posts: 3,637	Estimate the average power draw of my computer setup Over the past year, I have had a simple energy meter plugged into my computer setup, which consists of the following: Uninterpretable power supply (UPS) Desktop computer with a 550 watt power supply (on UPS) 22" LCD monitor (on UPS) Desktop laser printer Cable modem (on UPS) Home router (on UPS) Cordless telephone (on UPS) Normal telephone (I used it for its call display) Secondary desk lamp with a 20 watt incandescent bulb Secondary computer with 19" LCD monitor All equipment plugged into the UPS runs continuously (24 x 7), although the monitor is in power save mode more often than not. The laser printer is always on as well, but spends most of its time in power save mode. The fluorescent light is in use for several hours a day, while the incandescent light is almost always turned off. The secondary computer is turned on (on average) about twice a week for a couple of hours each time, usually because I want to test some hardware such as an interface card, a CD-ROM, another computer, etc. Based on this information, please select your best estimate of the average power draw of this setup over the past year. I'll do the reveal in three or four days.
	__________________ The social illusion reigns to-day upon all the heaped-up ruins of the past, and to it belongs the future. The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Gustav Le Bon, The Crowd, 1895 (from the French) Canadian or living in Canada? PM me if you want an entry on the list of Canadians on the forum.

15th May 2010, 08:18 PM	#2
Gord_in_Toronto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 13,417	What on Earth size UPS do you have that you can plug your laser printer in?
	__________________ "Reality is what's left when you cease to believe." Philip K. Dick

15th May 2010, 11:36 PM	#4
Wrathernaut Thinker Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 243	It'd help a lot if I knew if your CPU and video card have power-save modes as well. It'd also help to know if the CPU is on as a server with high-hard drive load and such...
Wrathernaut Thinker Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 243

16th May 2010, 05:48 AM	#5
MortFurd Graduate Poster Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: An American in Germany Posts: 1,975	Originally Posted by biomorph not sure you are suppose to plug laser printers into a UPS, however that might be me misreading somewhere, cant actually think of a reason technically why tho. This is why. Laser printers draw a lot of current for a short tiem when heating the fuser. The average power consumption is not bad, but the peaks my be more than your UPS can deliver, and this could cause a dip in the power the UPS supplies to the rest of the devices. You print, and the light gets dim or the computer shuts off.
	__________________ Ace Baker gets pwned by Shrinker, and I get an Avatar.

15th May 2010, 11:24 PM	#3
biomorph Muse Join Date: May 2007 Location: here, and sometimes elsewhere Posts: 866	Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto What on Earth size UPS do you have that you can plug your laser printer in? not sure you are suppose to plug laser printers into a UPS, however that might be me misreading somewhere, cant actually think of a reason technically why tho.

16th May 2010, 07:31 AM	#6
Blue Mountain Resident Skeptical Hobbit Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Waging war on woo-woo in Winnipeg Posts: 3,637	Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto What on Earth size UPS do you have that you can plug your laser printer in? The laser printer isn't plugged into the UPS, for the reason MortFund elucidated in a later post. Originally Posted by Wrathernaut It'd help a lot if I knew if your CPU and video card have power-save modes as well. It'd also help to know if the CPU is on as a server with high-hard drive load and such... Happy to oblige, and sorry for not providing the information in the OP. The CPU is an Athlon II X2 with power management capabilities. The video card is a low-end NVidia that gets its power from the AGP slot; it doesn't have its own connector from the power supply. There are three discs in the machine: 2 x 500 GB, and an older 80 GB. One of the 500s is used as a backup for the main 500, and spends most if its time spun down. (I spin it up at 4:00 AM to do an rsync copy from the main drive, then put it into standby again a few minutes later. Ditto for the 80 GB, except it serves as a backup area for my most critical files.)
	__________________ The social illusion reigns to-day upon all the heaped-up ruins of the past, and to it belongs the future. The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Gustav Le Bon, The Crowd, 1895 (from the French) Canadian or living in Canada? PM me if you want an entry on the list of Canadians on the forum.

16th May 2010, 07:31 AM	#7
r0ast_p0tat0es Thinker Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 190	It's going to depend greatly on whether your computer spends its time constantly running stress-tests and benchmarks, whether it never runs anything more stenuous than Word, or whether it falls somewhere in between.

16th May 2010, 08:38 AM	#8
GreNME Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Folsom Prison Posts: 8,283	Unless you have the computers off for most of the time and don't print at all (or once in a blue moon), then I'd say between 600-699 is my answer given the choices. If I had to give an actual answer it would be between 500-700 watts and probably spends most of its time fluctuating within that range when you have stuff up and running with normal usage.
	__________________ _{Like love, criminals will always find a way. -- foxholeatheist The kind of pacifism I endorse is brought about by eliminating one enemy combatant at a time.-- JoeyDonuts}

16th May 2010, 12:18 PM	#9
moopet binary decision maker Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Scotland Posts: 705	Originally Posted by MortFurd This is why. Laser printers draw a lot of current for a short tiem when heating the fuser. The average power consumption is not bad, but the peaks my be more than your UPS can deliver, and this could cause a dip in the power the UPS supplies to the rest of the devices. You print, and the light gets dim or the computer shuts off. This sort of thing used to happen to Automan every week.

16th May 2010, 04:34 PM	#10
Blue Mountain Resident Skeptical Hobbit Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Waging war on woo-woo in Winnipeg Posts: 3,637	Originally Posted by r0ast_p0tat0es It's going to depend greatly on whether your computer spends its time constantly running stress-tests and benchmarks It's a pretty quiet system in that respect. I usually have a lot of browser windows open, and IRC client running, and an email client. Quote: whether it never runs anything more stenuous than Word, or whether it falls somewhere in between. What's this "Word" thing? I'm running Linux
	__________________ The social illusion reigns to-day upon all the heaped-up ruins of the past, and to it belongs the future. The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Gustav Le Bon, The Crowd, 1895 (from the French) Canadian or living in Canada? PM me if you want an entry on the list of Canadians on the forum.

16th May 2010, 04:55 PM	#11
quarky Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 20,454	Its bigger than a bread box. Btw, do we count your caloric needs when operating the system? 3 emails costs me a beer. aprox 100 cals; light, crapass beer.
quarky Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 20,454

16th May 2010, 05:52 PM	#12
Zax63 Master Poster Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,667	I don't know if it will work for you or if there is a version for Canada but I used the Kill-A-Watt power monitor to answer a similar question. About $20 from Newegg or Amazon.

16th May 2010, 06:44 PM	#13
Modified Illuminator Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: SW Florida Posts: 4,062	Right now my PC and 22 inch LCD monitor are drawing 105 Watts with nothing using any CPU. Since you aren't working 24 hours a say, unless you are running things in the background all the time, I'm guessing the average must be below 200 Watts.

17th May 2010, 10:06 AM	#14
Soapy Sam NLH Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 25,885	Originally Posted by Blue Mountain Uninterpretable power supply (UPS) It's compiled, or what?
Soapy Sam NLH Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 25,885

17th May 2010, 11:07 AM	#15
biomorph Muse Join Date: May 2007 Location: here, and sometimes elsewhere Posts: 866	Originally Posted by MortFurd This is why. Laser printers draw a lot of current for a short tiem when heating the fuser. The average power consumption is not bad, but the peaks my be more than your UPS can deliver, and this could cause a dip in the power the UPS supplies to the rest of the devices. You print, and the light gets dim or the computer shuts off. I just checked your link out, thanks. I knew I'd heard it somewhere, just couldn't remember/think why or when..... I guess modern lasers might use a tad less, but perhaps, not.

17th May 2010, 04:20 PM	#16
Blue Mountain Resident Skeptical Hobbit Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Waging war on woo-woo in Winnipeg Posts: 3,637	Originally Posted by Soapy Sam Originally Posted by Blue Mountain Uninterpretable power supply (UPS) It's compiled, or what? It means not even I can figure out how it works!
	__________________ The social illusion reigns to-day upon all the heaped-up ruins of the past, and to it belongs the future. The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Gustav Le Bon, The Crowd, 1895 (from the French) Canadian or living in Canada? PM me if you want an entry on the list of Canadians on the forum.

17th May 2010, 04:33 PM	#17
jiggeryqua Master Poster Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 2,929	On planet X, a watt is the unit of currency

17th May 2010, 04:41 PM	#18
Gord_in_Toronto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 13,417	341.18 Btu/hr
	__________________ "Reality is what's left when you cease to believe." Philip K. Dick