Win My HTPC Build: Featuring Aeon MQ4, Windows Media Center, and Dolphin / PCSX2!
#16
(2012-12-23, 08:31)AmericanAl Wrote: Oh sorry! I didn't see your post. I've never measured power draw before, any ideas of how I should going about doing it?

easiest method to measure your power consumption is using a cheap watt meter.
something like that i.e.: Link
although it's not the exactest method it gives you an idea of how many power is used in each different usage state...
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#17
(2012-12-23, 10:54)QLink Wrote:
(2012-12-23, 08:31)AmericanAl Wrote: Oh sorry! I didn't see your post. I've never measured power draw before, any ideas of how I should going about doing it?

easiest method to measure your power consumption is using a cheap watt meter.
something like that i.e.: Link
although it's not the exactest method it gives you an idea of how many power is used in each different usage state...

Alright, I'll ask around and see if anyone I know can lend me one, or I'll buy one when I get my next paycheck and I'll let ya know!

*EDIT*
Quick update, don't use Bing Desktop for the background. They just updated it to show you news once every few hours, and it's very invasive. Interrupts a ton of things. Bleh...
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#18
Alright, double post to update with power draw findings!

I got my Kill-A-Watt in last night, and set it up. Note, I ran each state for a good few minutes, and just got a general range of what I saw on the Kill-A-Watt.

Here's what I got (Measured in Watts):

Idle / Off (1-2W): Due to powering USB items.
Startup: 80-100W
Idle: 50-60W
XBMC - 60-80W (It stayed relatively the same during Movie / Music playback, and when on the main screen)
Windows Media Center (Recorded / Live TV): 70-75W
Gaming (Tested with XCOM: Enemy Unknown, at max settings and 1080p, running via Steam Big Picture, which was launched from XBMC's advanced launcher): 120-200W
Emulator (Dolphin Emulator, playing Skyward Sword at the same settings shown in the thread on the Dolphin forums): 200W

Some Notes:
Older Xbox / PS3 systems ranged at 150-200W of draw. The newest models draw about 80W.
Our TV itself draws 200W, so that should show you how old our TV is. On average, the HTPC is more efficient than it is.
Blu-Ray / VHS / DVR systems can draw about 20-30W at load, a bit less while idling.
Cable Boxes are the worst offenders media center wise. Some cable boxes draw 90W when they are supposedly "off".

So, It's not the most "Green" system, but it's a lot better than what we replaced by using the HTPC. Remember, when gaming I can also record TV shows, and unlike a 360/PS3, games will be able to render at high / ultra settings, at 1080p, at 60fps. I thought XCOM would look comparable to consoles, but it looked much better.

Surely if you didn't want to push the emulator so much, you wouldn't need to OC the CPU and GPU, and you could save some energy.

In a day or two I'll edit this post with kWH ratings.
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#19
big thanks for your power draw update...

your values are imho quiet good for the used hardware ...
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#20
(2013-01-05, 23:33)QLink Wrote: big thanks for your power draw update...

your values are imho quiet good for the used hardware ...

No prob! I was interested myself. The Gigabyte 660Ti and the 3570k are really efficient for what power they put out. Heck, my next PC build might just be an exact copy of this one, but for my office / main PC :p
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