How much does our computer really consume?
Table of contents:
- Processor Power Consumption
- Graphics card, the most demanding component
- RAM
- Hard drives and SSD drives
- Other components to consider
- Consumption of the entire system and recommended source
One of the dilemmas that the user faces when mounting a new equipment is the energy consumption and therefore the power supply that he will need. Choosing a less powerful source is going to bring us serious problems and if we take too powerful we will be spending a lot of money unnecessarily. We are going to make an estimate of the energy consumption of the most common components to see how much electrical power we need.
Index of contents
Processor Power Consumption
Let's start with one of the processors most used by gamers, the Core i7 7700K, this one has an approximate power consumption of 91W at full performance making it a good benchmark. The AMD Ryzen run between 65W and 95W depending on the model, while the Core i7-E and Core i9 can go to 140-150W.
Core i7 7700K: 91W
Graphics card, the most demanding component
We go to the graphics card that is the component that consumes the most of the computer in general, this is so when it is working because in idle conditions it consumes very little energy. As a reference we take the GeForce GTX 1080 which has an approximate consumption of 180W when it is working at full capacity. If we look at other common cards we have that the GeForce GTX 1070 consumes 150W, the GeForce GTX 1060 consumes 120W and the Radeon RX 580 and RX 570 consume 180W and 150W approximately.
GeForce GTX 1080: 180 watts.
RAM
RAM has a very low power consumption, in the case of DDR4 memory we have an approximate power demand of 5W for each module. The most common is to have two modules mounted although many users use four of them, we only have to multiply and we have a good approximation of their consumption.
Two DDR4 RAM modules: 10 watts
Hard drives and SSD drives
Hard drives also consume very little power, especially in the case of SSDs that have a requirement that does not usually exceed 2W at full performance. The mechanical disks or HDD if they need more energy although the figures tend to be between 5W and 9W per disk depending on their capacity
One HDD + one SSD: 11W
Other components to consider
In a computer there are more components that need power to function, among them we have the motherboard, the keyboard, the mouse and the fans. If these components include lights, their consumption will be somewhat higher but it will still be very low, we can make the following estimate:
- Z270 motherboard: 10W Illuminated keyboard: 8W Mouse: 2W Three 120mm fans: 10W
Consumption of the entire system and recommended source
Arrived here we can already make an estimate of the total consumption of our system, we just have to make the sum of all the values seen before and we will have the total.
Total equipment consumption = 91W + 180W + 10W + 11W + 10W + 8W + 2W + 10W = 322W
As we see our equipment consumes approximately 322W, a fairly low figure for a fairly high-end system with components that offer excellent performance. This means that with a 400W source we have enough but it is better to leave a margin of safety so it would be better to opt for a 500W model, with this we ensure that we have more than enough in case of a higher consumption peak. than normal or in case we want to change some component for a more powerful one.
We recommend you read the best power supplies on the market
We must also take into account that the power supplies usually work at their maximum efficiency with a load of around 60-75%, with this we have that a 500W source will be perfect for this equipment and the price would not be too high. The 500-550W sources are usually one of the most popular and recommended.
- Model designation: Arendo energy cost measuring instrument / electricity meter / energy cost meter Use: measurement and calculation of energy consumption and the costs of connected devices / effectively saving current and money / faithfully determining the current consumption of electronic devices in the home and office Electrical voltage: 230 V AC 50 Hz | maximum current: 16 amps | maximum power: 3, 680 W | power supply: 2 batteries type LR44 | transient overvoltage: CATII | relative humidity of the air: up to 30 C: maximum 80% / 30-40C: maximum 50% | height above sea level: up to 2000 mIndicators and control elements: time / energy / cost indicator as well as reset / up / cost keys, energy & set | Display: V (electrical voltage), A (electrical current), Hz (frequency), power factor, overload + W (overload limit in W), W (power) + kWh, costs + kWh + guide + Kg. CO + costs | temperature: 5 C to 40 CDimensions: 15 x 7.6 x 7.6 cm | color: white | weight (measuring instrument): 200 g / total weight including accessories + packaging: 245 g | Scope of supply: Arendo energy cost measurement instrument
One of the best choices is be quiet! Straight Power 10. Have you tried to measure the consumption of your computer? What did you think of our article? We want to know your opinion. We also leave you a cheap consumption meter to measure your computer from the wall.
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