I've been very excited about the Mini-ITX form factor for a number of reasons. One of those reasons is the power consumption of the PC. I've use an amp meter plugged in serial with the power cord of the CPU to measure the power use. The cost to run each computer for 24 hours is based on $.10/kw-hr. So the math should be pretty easy to convert to your kilowatt-hour price. And, why a 2,500 hour estimate? Most work-years are based on 2,000 hours, the extra 500 is a buffer for overtime and folks forgetting to turn the computer off occasionally.
eWeek, January 21, 2002, did an interesting view of power consumption called "in Hot Pursuit of Energy Efficiency".
| Computer | 5% CPU Load usage | 100% CPU Load usage | ||||||
| Idle use 5% load |
Total KiloWatt hours used | Est. Annual (24X7) |
Est. Annual (2,500 hrs) |
100% Load use | Total KiloWatt hours used | Est. Annual (24X7) |
Est. Annual (2,500 hrs) |
|
|
Desktops/WorkStations/Laptops |
||||||||
| M9000-based desktop (C9 workstation) | $.30 | 3 | $109.50 | $31.25 | $.42 | 4.2 | $153.30 | $43.75 |
| Shuttle Computer SV25 | $.46 | 4.6 | $167.90 | $47.92 | $.52 | 5.2 | $189.80 | $54.17 |
| DIY Intel P4 2.2G | $.59 | 5.9 | $215.35 | $61.45 | $.78 | 7.8 | $284.70 | $81.25 |
| DIY AMD 3000+ | $1.04 | 10.4 | $379.60 | $108.33 | ||||
| DIY AMD 2400+ | $.81 | 8.1 | $295.65 | $84.38 | $1.00 | 10.0 | $365.00 | $104.17 |
| DIY AMD 1800/XP | $.50 | 5.0 | $182.00 | $52.08 | n/a | overheat | n/a | n/a |
| DIY PIII/667 | ?? $.57 | 5.7 | $208.05 | $59.38 | ?? $.40 | 4.0 | $146.00 | $41.67 |
| Dell Dimension 4300 | $.24 | 2.4 | $87.60 | $25.00 | $.42 | 4.2 | $153.30 | $43.75 |
| Dell Optiplex GX270 | $.15 | 1.5 | $54.75 | $15.63 | $.29 | 2.9 | $105.85 | $30.21 |
| Dell Optiplex GX240 | $.16 | 1.6 | $58.40 | $16.67 | $.40 | 4.0 | $146.00 | $41.67 |
| Dell Optiplex GX150 | ||||||||
| Dell C810 Laptop | $.26 | 2.6 | $94.90 | $27.08 | $.48 | 4.8 | $175.20 | $50.00 |
| Dell Inspiron 5000 Laptop | ||||||||
| Dell Inspiron 2650 Laptop | $.15 | 1.5 | $54.60 | $15.63 | $.48 | 4.8 | $175.20 | $50.00 |
| Micros WS/4 POS terminal | $.09 | .9 | $32.85 | $9.38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
|
Servers |
||||||||
| DIY Cube Server P4 2.4G | $.47 | 4.7 | $171.55 | $48.96 | $.72 | 7.2 | $262.80 | $75.00 |
| DIY Cube Srvr (Powered Off) | $.03 | .3 | $10.95 | $3.13 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| DIY Cube Server P4 3.06G | $.22 | 2.2 | $80.30 | $22.92 | $1.03 | 10.3 | $375.95 | $107.29 |
| Dell PowerEdge 400SC (2.8) | ||||||||
| Dell PowerEdge 400SC (3.06) | $.46 | 4.6 | $167.90 | $47.92 | $.76 | 7.6 | $277.40 | $79.17 |
| Dell PE 400SC#2 (3.06) | $.33 | 3.3 | $120.45 | $34.38 | $.62 | 6.2 | $226.30 | $64.58 |
| Dell PE 400SC#3 (3.06) | $.02 | .2 | $7.30 | $5.22* | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dell PE 400SC#4 (2.26) | $.39 | 3.9 | $142.35 | $40.63 | $.45 | 4.5 | $164.25 | $46.88 |
| Dell PE 600SC (2.4 P4) | $.25 | 2.5 | $91.25 | $26.04 | $.41 | 4.1 | $149.65 | $42.71 |
| Dell PE 600SC (3.06 P4) | ||||||||
| Dell PE 500SC (1.1 Cel) | $.20 | 2.0 | $72.80 | $20.84 | $.60 | 6.0 | $218.40 | $62.50 |
| Dell PowerEdge 4400 | $.63 | 6.3 | $229.95 | $65.63 | $.76 | 7.6 | $277.40 | $79.17 |
| Dell PowerEdge 2850 | ||||||||
| Dell PowerEdge 2650 | ||||||||
| Dell PowerEdge 2650 #2 | ||||||||
| Dell PowerVault 220S | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | ||||
| Dell PowerVault 132T | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | ||||
| Dell 705N NAS | $.60 | 6.0 | $219.00 | $62.50 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
|
Monitors |
||||||||
| WinBook 17" LCD | $.30 | 3.0 | $109.50 | $31.25 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| WinBook 15" LCD | $.25 | 2.5 | $91.25 | $26.04 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dell 1700 FP LCD | $.13 | 1.3 | $47.45 | $13.54 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dell 172 FP LCD | $.24 | 2.4 | $87.60 | $25.00 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dell 1502 FP LCD | $.13 | 1.3 | $47.45 | $13.54 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Samsung 17" LCD 171V | $.13 | 1.3 | $47.45 | $13.54 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dell 15" Trinitron CRT | $.46 | 4.6 | $167.90 | $47.92 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dell 17" Trinitron CRT | $.49 | 4.9 | $178.85 | $51.04 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dell 21" Trinitron CRT | $.24 | 2.4 | $87.60 | $25.00 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
|
Complete Systems |
||||||||
| C9 w/s w/15" LCD | $.55 | 5.5 | $200.75 | $57.29 | $.67 | 6.7 | $244.55 | $69.79 |
| C9 w/s w/17" LCD | $.60 | 6.0 | $219.00 | $62.50 | $.72 | 7.2 | $262.80 | $75.00 |
| Shuttle w/17" LCD | $.59 | 5.9 | $215.35 | $61.46 | $.65 | 6.5 | $237.25 | $67.71 |
| Home Built w/17" LCD | $.72 | 7.2 | $262.80 | $75.00 | $.87 | 8.7 | $317.55 | $90.63 |
| MAC dual-867Mhz G4 | $.49 | 4.9 | $178.85 | $51.04 | $.52 | 5.2 | $189.80 | $54.17 |
xx is the current test being run..........dP
C9 Workstation Config - VIA M9000 m/b, 256M RAM, IBM 7200rpm 40G HD, Red Hat Linux 8.0
C9 Server Config - VIA M9000 m/b, 512M RAM, 2 x WS 120G 7200 rpm HD, Red Hat Linux 8.0
Shuttle SV25 Config - Intel PIII/1.2G (Tualitin) w/256K Cache, 256M RAM, WD 27G 7200 rpm HD
DIY Intel P4 2.2G 400M FSB, 2xIBM 75G 7200 rpm HD, 512M RAM, GigaByte GA-8IDX m/b
DIY AMD 3000+ - AMD Athlon 3000+ 333Mhz FSB, 1.5G RAM, 2 HD, 2 Optical drives
DIY AMD 2400+ - AMD Athlon 2400+, ASUS 256M RAM, 20G
DIY AMD 1800+ - AMD Athlon 1800+, 20G HD, 512M RAM, DVD, CD-RW
DIY PIII/667 - 256M RAM, 20G
DIY Cube Server - P4 2.4G, 2xWD 120G JB HD, 1G RAM, FreeTech FlexATX m/b
DIY Cube Server - same as above with 3.06G CPU
MAC G4 - 2x867Mhz, 1.25G RAM, 60G HD, 75G HD, 17" Studio LCD monitor
Dell PowerEdge 400SC (3.06) - Intel 3.06G 533Mhz FSB, 1G RAM, 40G HD, 160G SATA, DVD, ATI All-in-Wonder 9600 - 5% test, CPU temp 122º F, 100% test 158º F -- using MotherBoard Monitor 5.4.3
Dell PowerEdge 400SC#2 (3.06) - Intel 3.06G 533Mhz FSB, 128M RAM, 40G HD, DVD, ATI PCI basic video card - 5% test, CPU temp 109º F, 100% test 161º F -- using MBM 5.4.3
Dell PowerEdge 400SC#3 - same config as above, but "turned off". Everything is plugged in, but powered off. - Interesting that is the PC is still drawing power at a rate of $.02 a day. The 2,500 hour number is actually the "inverse" or how much it costs in a year to leave your computer turned off after the work day.
Dell PowerEdge 400SC#4 - Same as above, Intel P4 3.06 CPU swapped
for 2.26G CPU
5% test, CPU temp 120º F, 100% test 131º F
-- using MBM 5.4.3
Dell PowerEdge 400SC (2.8) - Intel 2.8G 800 FSB, 1G RAM, 40G HD, 100G HD, DVD, DVD-RW, ATI Dual Head
Dell PowerEdge 600SC (2.4) - Intel 2.4G 400Mhz FSB, 512M RAM, 2x100G HD, CD-ROM
Dell PowerEdge 600SC (3.06) - Intel P4/3.06G, 533Mhz FSB, 512M RAM, 2x100G HD, CD-ROM
Dell PowerEdge 500SC - Intel 1.1G Celeron, 20G HD, 128M RAM
Dell PowerEdge 4400 - Dual PIII/866Mhz, 1.5G RAM, 6x36G SCSI RAID 5
Dell PowerEdge 4300 - Dual PIII/600, 1G RAM, 6x36G RAID 5
Dell PowerEdge 2300 - Dual PII/400Mhz, 512M RAM, 4x18G RAID 5
Dell PowerEdge 2650 -
Dell PowerEdge 2650 #2 -
Dell PowerEdge 220S - SCSI attached drive enclosure for a max of 14 drives. 7 drive config tested.
Dell PowerEdge 132T - SCSI attached auto-loader tape drive, 160G/320G capacity.
Dell Optiplex GX270 - P4 2.8G, 40G, 512M RAM
Dell Optiplex GX240 - P4 1.8G, 20G, 256M RAM
Dell Optiplex GX150 - PIII/933, 20G, 256M RAM
Dell Latitude C810 Laptop - Intel 1.13G, 512M RAM, 30G HD, 14.1" LCD, Cisco Wireless NIC
Dell Inspiron 5000 Laptop - Intel 750Mhz P3, 512M RAM, 20G HD, 15" LCD
Dell Inspiron 2650 Laptop - Intel P4M 2.0G, 256M RAM, 30G HD, DVD/CDRW, 15" SXGA
Shuttle & Home Built w/17" LCD - the LCD is a Samsung 171V.
Methodology: My methods may not have been the most
rigorous from a scientific perspective, but I believe they simulate
"real world" results.
- The monitoring device is from
Advanced Micro Products, Inc. and is called the Energy$Teller.
The new version of the product is at
Green Culture.
-
SetiatHome is used to simulate the 100% load on the CPU.
- At "Idle Load", the OS was set to leave the desktop active, no
screen saver, and nothing was running except the normal things that
load at start up. In particular, I have loading: ZoneAlarm,
McAfee, WinAmp quick launch, QuickTime quick launch, Task Manager,
and the LAN activity Icon.
- No power saving features or functions where enabled during any of
these tests. I may redo them with the power saving features
enabled to see what the comparisons are.