newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2005
- Messages
- 28,473 (4.01/day)
- Location
- Indiana, USA
| Processor | Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | AsRock Z470 Taichi |
| Cooling | Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans |
| Memory | 32GB DDR4-3600 |
| Video Card(s) | RTX 2070 Super |
| Storage | 500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache |
| Display(s) | Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28" |
| Case | Fractal Design Define S |
| Audio Device(s) | Onboard is good enough for me |
| Power Supply | eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3 |
| Software | Windows 10 Pro x64 |
Here is the thing. I made that statement based on the general computer. Contrary to what some seem to think, the very large majority of computers don't have a high end gaming graphics card in them, or even a graphics card at all.
And if you look at the power consumption of a normal modern PC, you know, the ones where the 250w power supply Dell puts in them is still overkill, you'll find that the idle power consumption is absolutely minuscule. In fact, my i7-10700 desktop computer, the one I leave on 24/7, it sits idle at 9w once the monitor goes to sleep. That's pretty gosh darn close to the 3w it uses when put to sleep. And if you do the math, even if you are paying the worst price/kWh in the United States($0.43/kWh), the 6w difference between idle and sleep if you leave the computer idle 24/7/365 costs a whole $22.60 a year. That's it. For a whole year, less than $25. And that's if you're paying the worst rate possible in the US. If you're paying a more reasonable $0.25/kWh, the cost for a whole year is not even $15. And that is why I say the difference between idle and sleep is minor.
Yes, there will be exceptions. If you have a high end gaming computer, the idle will be higher, and sleep might make a difference to you. But generally, for the general computer user using a basic non-gaming computer from the last few years, the difference is in fact minor to the point I would call it negligible.
And even if you are one of the exceptions with a high end computer. I'd bet the difference between waking from sleep and hibernation, with your fancy SSD, is a few seconds. I know my gaming computer wakes from hibernation to the desktop in 6 seconds.
If you have a UPS connected to a computer without the software installed, you are correct that it shows up as a battery just like a laptop. But after that you don't seem to understand how everything works. I'll discuss how it works with Windows, because I will admit my knowledge of how it works in Linux and OSX is limited but I can't imagine it's that much different. So when I say "the OS" I'm talking Windows, but it might be the same for others.
The OS can read the state of charge of the battery. It also reads if the UPS is connected to power or not. So if you disconnect power from the UPS, so it is running on battery, the OS knows it is running on battery. Now, once power to the UPS is cut, some things happen, but it isn't the UPS that tells the OS to do anything(it's never the UPS, even if you have the UPS software installed). There are basically two scenarios when the power is cut:
- The computer is sitting idle with no one using it when the power is cut.
- In this scenario, the OS follows whatever time limits are set for the computer to go to sleep when on battery. Remember, these are different time limits from if the computer is connected to power. For example, I have my computer set to never go to sleep when UPS is connected to power, but to go to sleep after 15 minutes if power to the UPS is cut. However, and I can already hear you angrily typing on your keyboard. "But what if the battery doesn't last long enough for the computer to go to sleep after 15 minutes?!?" Well, the OS is already set up to handle that too. By default, Windows will force a hibernate once the battery reaches 5% remaining.
- You are actively using the computer when the power is cut.
- This one is simple. You can monitor the battery level, and put the computer to sleep, hibernate, or turn it off when you want. However again, by default, when the battery reaches 5% remaining, a hibernation will be forced. It doesn't matter if the user is right in the middle of a sentence, the computer will hibernate, and there is nothing the user can do to stop it.
The WiFi part is likely going to consume the most power. The radio transmitter consume a lot of power. I put my Comcast modem in bridge mode, and it uses about 1/4th power power it did when it was acting as a WiFi router and modem.
I think the answer to the question is really a case by case basis. But in general, I think saving your work and shutting down as soon as possible is the best practice. But at the same time, I can see someone continuing to work until the battery is getting pretty low too. In my case, when the power goes out, I get about 30-45 minutes of runtime from all my equipment. Which I use to go outside and connect my generator and power the house back up. I can usually get the generator hooked up and the house back to powered in under 15 minutes. And I have to use the generator because...
...in my neck of the woods, if the power goes out, it's usually out for a day or more. It's also why I currently have 10 UPSes in my house.
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