Electricity Question

[dcf-joe]

I am planning on getting a 1 KW power supply for two 4870 x2's. Currently my electricity bill is around 250 USD with a 480 Watt power supply. That is with my computer being on roughly two hours a day. Of course, I also have a refrigerator running, ac running, washer and dryer going on the weekends, and various other things running.

What is my new projected electricity bill with a 1 KW power supply? Can I honestly say that my bill will double?

 

[ShadowFold]

A no name 480w probably has a really low efficiency so a good 80% certified 1kw would actually drop it.

 

[Sasqui]

If you were using 1KW for two hours a day, you'd be spending about 30 cents a day on juice, so $9.00 per month.

That's assuming:
You are running under a good load for the entire two hours (close to 80% of the PSU)
Your KW/Hr cost is $0.15
You completely shut down the computer when not using

I find myself leaving my puter on overnight (just because I forget sometimes )... if that's your case, double or triple the $9.00.

Also, look into a Kill-A-Watt meter, it'll tell you how much jiuce you are really using at the plug.

 

[Pinchy]

Just because you get a 1KW PSU doesnt mean you will use 1KW of power.

If you have either a 600W or 1KW PSU (examples) on the same system, it will use the same power.

Though as Shadow said...if you get one with 80% efficiency it will use less power than a 600W one, thus saving you electricity.

Running two 4870X2's though...thats gonna take some power.

 

[dcf-joe]

Just to clear matters, my PC is completely turned off whenever it is not in use.

Also, say when I do get my crossfire system, if I have crossfire disabled when I do not need it, is the second card turned off, or is it still running, but not technically in use?

 

[dcf-joe]

bump

 

[Dark_Webster]

It is turned on, but it will not be used while playing or doing something GPU intensive. So it's like you have a card working in load and the other remains in idle.

 

[nafets]

It's not the new power supply that will greatly alter your power usage, it's the 2 HD4870 X2 video cards which will increase your power consumption.

Specifically however much gaming you do will be when the most power is being consumed.

If you really want a solid answer, buy yourself a cheap Kill-A-Watt plug through device. This will show you how may watts your current setup is using during IDLE (2D desktop) and LOAD (3D gaming).

Just guesstimating I'd say your peak power consumption now is around 200W.
With a new setup and 2 HD4870 X2s, you will easily double that amount...

 

[Wshlist]

To put things in perspective, the price of electricity here is $0.39 (converted) after tax.
Look at the savings you are getting as american with $0.15 prices and count your blessings (or curses if you care for the environment and get 'dirty' power).