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The Next-Gen Consoles and Power Consumption

Posted by Zonk on from the whirring-living-room-friends dept.

Ant writes "This HardCOREware review reports that the current video game console war takes an interesting twist as the power consumption levels of each of the three new consoles (Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3 (PS3), and Microsoft Xbox 360) were explored. Video game playback, DVD playback, and other console functions were tested. One of the most interesting stats were the console idle power usage: 'Wii - 1.3 watts, Wii (Connect 24 On) - 9.6 watts, Xbox 360 - 2.5 watts, PlayStation 3 - 1.9 watts. Nothing significant here; you're looking at spending about $0.20 USD a month to keep the PS3 plugged in, which isn't much. The Wii requires 10 Watts to run Connect24 (which will connect to Nintendo's online service and notify you of system updates) racking up a cost of about $1 a month which is nothing too significant, but still about 5X more than if it were just turned off. Turn Connect24 off, and it's back down to normal.'"

5 of 85 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Power drain by AKAImBatman · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why does the WII require so much bloody power for network?

    So much bloody power? 10 watts is nothing. It's the power usage of some incandescent night lights. So take your pick: Leave the Wii on, or keep the bad monsters away. :P
    --
    Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
  2. Re:Two things by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    you can do a full shutdown at any time by holding down the power button. If you hold it down for long enough,

    I know this sounds radical, but with lots of devices I hear if you pull that cord that goes to the wall outlet, the power consumption drops amazingly. You don't have to learn any weird power off tricks either.

  3. Re:While in use... by UbuntuDupe · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, now that you mention it...

    Why not ban the PS3? After all, it's wasteful, since (like with incandescents) human enjoyment of PS3s either:

    a) counts for nothing
    b) can be outright denied (mindmelds FTW)
    c) does not currently replace some other, more wasteful energy use, or
    d) has such a high environmental impact not even a huge tax could outweight the SEVERE HARMS of using it.

    Right? Is that right out of the "ban incandescents" playbook?

    --
    Apology to Ubuntu forum.
  4. And in other news... by rehtonAesoohC · · Score: 4, Funny

    Power companies are reporting that PS3 usage accounts for only 0.1% of total power consumed, while usage of Wii's and XBox360's account for 5% of power consumed.


    Disclaimer: Figures are total baloney.

  5. Re: PS3's use the least amount of power! by trdrstv · · Score: 4, Funny
    Odd summary... You point out the part that admits it's not nearly as interesting as usage stats... Wii: 18 Watts XBox 360: 185 Watts PS3: 193 Watts PC: 198 Watts

    Yes, but PS3's are the most efficient overall since the ones sitting on store shelves consume NO POWER.