Reducing the Power Consumption of Overclocked PCs

babyshiori writes "Now, that must sound pretty inane. After all, overclockers employ all kinds of power-guzzling methods to improve their CPUs' overclockability. However, there are many good reasons to do so. In this guide, we will not just look at theoretical tips on reducing power consumption in overclocked PCs, we will also look at how well they work in real-life situations. Best of all, we are shown why they will improve our PCs' power efficiency without any real loss in performance. Start doing your part in saving the planet now!"

Comments

Not saving the planet

[Anonymous Coward]

Energy conservation isn't about saving the planet - the planet doesn't care. It's about saving humans. We'll all die out and the planet will quite happily go on without us.

Saving the world

[maxume]

If you are really worried about it and you drive, drive less.

1 gallon of gasoline = 131 megajoules = ~36 kilowatt hours.

Waving hands around about efficiency and so forth, that's 1 kilowatt hour of energy per mile driven. So that's 5-20 hours of computer use (assuming between 50 and 200 watts, 500 watts is still 2 hours) per mile driven. Using a more efficient computer is good, but finding a way to not drive 5 miles a day is a considerable amount better.

(If you aren't worried about it, that's fine, but if you are worried about it, for god's sake, do the easy, effective things before you start telling people about the difficult, pretty much a wash things that you are doing.)

Re:Saving the world

[CastrTroy]

Another solution would be to get a cheap lowpower laptop and use that whenever you don't required the full power of your overclocked gaming rig. When you're playing games, if you really thing you need the power, then feel free to use it. Otherwise, if you're just browsing slashdot, a $500 laptop would probably do the job just as well.

Re:Saving the world

[MilesAttacca]

On the other hand, think of all the energy that goes into producing all the new computers out there, from mining and refining the often-hazardous materials, to making chips, assembling circuit boards, packaging, and shipping. I can't do the math, but it might be more environmentally friendly to just stick with one computer that can do everything you could possibly want, than to buy two and alternate.

The best solution I can think of (without completely ridding yourself of computing machines, and going off to milk some cows) is to satisfy yourself with a single, old laptop that you bought used. But who on Slashdot would do that? I know I couldn't.

Re:Saving the world

[Anonymous Coward]

$500 buys you a lot of kWh. Buying a second computer will likely cost you more money than you'll save. From a "green" point of view, you have to compare the environmental impact of the extra kWh you're consuming vs the environmental impact of producing a laptop. Again, most likely the extra kWh are a better choice.

Re:Saving the world

[hairyfeet]

Or you could do as I did and pick up an older PC that was probably going to end up in the dump for little to no cost and use that when you aren't gaming/compiling. I am typing this on a circa 2000 HP Pavilion mini-tower with a 1.1Ghz Celeron that i picked up for a song because the bad case design caused the little CPU to overheat due to lack of airflow. After pulling one of my bosses "white trash specials" and taking the side off and cooling it with a box fan(which also circulates the room air and helps me lower my AC usage) I am able to keep my 3Ghz off when not gaming/transcoding video while still enjoying my surfing without heating up my whole apartment and thus helping to further lower my AC needs.

And let's face it,when all you are doing is basic Internet stuff you really don't need much power. I am able to surf,watch Youtube,etc. And with 6 programs currently in the tray and a half dozen tabs open it is still responsive and using,let's see---an average of 8.9% on CPU and a little over 300Mb out of 512Mb,not including the Windows 2K system cache. And while I don't have to pay utilities as everything is included in my rent so I can't give you exact figures, just from the much lower reliance on the Window AC unit I'm sure it is making a difference. And it certainly makes it more comfortable for me from a heat and noise standpoint. So if you want to lower power usage I'm sure there are plenty of older machines out there headed for a landfill that could get a second life as your Net box. Just pick up a cheap KVM and you're good to go.

Start doing your part in saving the planet now!

[Anonymous Coward]

I've been hearing a lot of this kind of fluff during earth week.

If you really wanted to save the planet, you wouldn't be overclocking your computer at all or buying a new car because it was hyrid. You would be beating what you have already consumed until it fell apart from overuse.

Most of these "earth saving" techniques seem like nothing more than feel good consumerism. Eco this and green that. Nothing more than words.

And if your computer was burning 24/7 in the development of new energy technologies or new effiencies you would really be saving the planet. And all these real efforts at saving the planet are going to require technology and huge amounts of energy use and chemicals and industry and all that supposedly evil stuff.

Re:Start doing your part in saving the planet now!

[Spoke]

If you really wanted to save the planet, you wouldn't be overclocking your computer at all or buying a new car because it was hyrid. You would be beating what you have already consumed until it fell apart from overuse. Unfortunately, it isn't always better to beat what you have already consumed until it falls apart. Whether or not it's better to beat something into the ground until it is not longer usable or repairable or to buy the latest high efficiency model depends on:

1. The impact of manufacturing said item.
2. How many fewer resources said item consumes during use.

This analysis is called a life cycle analysis.

For example, your typical computer consumes much more energy during manufacture than during use. So for this case, using what you already have as long as possible is better.

Another example, your typical automobile, consumes much more energy during use than during manufacture (especially once you consider how much of your average automobile is recycled). In this case, trading in your gas guzzler for something which consumes less fuel is typically worth while, especially considering that your old vehicle is not likely to go to the scrapyard until it really is ready to fall apart from overuse or totaled.

Obviously items which do not consume energy during use are best used until unusable.

Re:slashdotted

[nigelo]

Summary:

Save power on your overclocked PC by not overclocking it.

Also, reducing the power consumption of your PC will reduce the power consumption of your PC by JiggaWatts per Fortnight.

Conclusion:
A meaningful way to save power/money is:
Turn off your computer at the power strip, and go out for a conditioning bike-ride, and be ready to bike-commute.
Certainly, do not waste your time using your computer to complain about not being able to read the article.

"Read the article" - what are you thinking?

Re:eat meat !!

[Anonymous Coward]

Pita Gyros ftw!

Let your fan run faster.

[leuk_he]

If your fan runs faster, your cpu temperature is lower, resulting in less current leakage.