Cost of electricity to run a pc ?
 

Given yer standard 350w pc, how much does it cost to run it for 24 hours ?

Now that broadband has arrived, my pc is on most days. Just wondering.

Ta.

I have actually tried out this question.


I had one computer a couple of years ago which I used to switch off each night.

With the advent of broadband and cheap computers, I now have four netwrked PCs all running 24hrs, for 3D renderfarm and network storage/backup.

In a quarter I only gained £16 for all four. I initially thought about 350w - 500w per computer, but in practice the computer only uses a small amount at any one time. I was basing this on a 1KW bar fire - which in two days would be far more than the extra I pay a quarter.

You could always set your power options so that the monitor/hard drives turn off after a certain length of time...

Costs f$ck all. Minimal.

Maybe lightning101's apps don't run hard enough: of my £130/qtr bill, about half is running four comps doing SETI. Admittedly all are seriously overclocked, but they are all limited to 400W PSUs. Judging by how hot the room where three of them get though, about 150W just comes off as heat. Cuts the gas (central heating) bills though - they are only £45/qtr for a three bedroom house, in winter.


M

350W * 24 * 4p = 33.6 p per day.

Assuming 1kWh = 4p average.

350 w is the most current it can draw,not what it draws all the time, I won a suggestion award at work (Police) for suggesting they turn off the monitors via power saving on 4000 pc's !

errr aren't we out by a factor of 1000 here? ;)

0.35 * 24 * 4p = 33.6p

No, the sum is correct........!

0.35kW x 24h = 8.4kWh/day = 33.6p

In fact it'll be less than that - I made measurements on a fully loaded P4 2.8GHz running flat out with six hard discs not long ago. The actual power drawn from the PSU was only about 200W. Allowing for the PSU to be 65% efficient (and yes, they really can be that bad!) gives a power draw from the mains which is still only about 300W.

With the Monitor and Hard Drive etc dropping into power save mode and the PC just sitting there power consumption would be nearer 40W than 350W

I know the answer was correct, I was being pedantic because your power units were in watts not kW, hence the expression as presented made no sense! ;)

OK.......! but my units are in kW.......! 0.35kW.........! Sometimes i get lazy with units in power sums cos I do them all day!! (yes - i have a boring job)

So the guy above suggest 40W...! Why is it then that my bedroom gets damn hot if I leave my pc on all night!?!? I can fart hotter than 40W.......?

Does your PC drop on power save mode, does the hard drive shut down? Does the monitor shut off? Do you have many USB devices demanding power?

Try putting your fingers on a 40W tungsten light bulb after it's been on a few hours. :)

Lee

Actually I corrected it to 0.35. You put 350 and therefore, for your expression to be correct, the answer would have been 33600 in micro-pence ;)

AndyC_772, on the other hand, gets full marks for his perfectly presented: 0.35kW x 24h = 8.4kWh/day = 33.6p :D

I was being a bit didactic last night so I'll let it slide this once! :D

Broadband might be the trouble??? Whilst 40W is damn hot too touch........its hardly gonna heat a room up now is it!!

I get lazy with sums. I know what i mean!! Still I got the answer right! lucky i aint a teacher!!

ajm: Yes, I was the teachers' pet, and yes, I am an electronic engineer now :)