calculating system power consumption

D

dmehling

Member
I'm trying to figure out how much power my computer uses. I have looked at a couple of online calculators and I am getting about 600 watts. It is an Alienware gaming computer, but I don't play any games. The only reason I have such a high performance PC is for voice recognition. However, when I run my voice recognition program and other programs, the CPU usage in task manager rarely goes above 20%. It's usually 5 to 10%. So, what I'm not sure about is if the 600 watt figure I got from the online calculator is average power usage, or the amount of power being used when playing a game or some other program that really taxes the processor and video card. It seems hard to believe that I would be averaging 600 watts when the system seems so quiet and doesn't seem to be working that hard.

In case these details are relevant, here are some of the main components:
i7 920 processor
nvidia gtx 580
12 gb ddr3 6 dimms
7200 RPM hard drive
about 4 PCI express cards
about 5 USB devices, none relying upon external power
not sure about fan size: might be 120 mm
does have some kind of liquid cooling system, not exactly sure what it is
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Just because you have a 600 watt power supply doesn't mean its using 600 watts at any given time. The computer will only use as much as it needs. You have a gtx580 video card. You definately don't need that for voice recognition. You are probably barely using 250 watts would be my guess.
 
D

dmehling

Member
I didn't say it was a 600 watt power supply. I don't actually know what capacity power supply I have. It's just that the online power consumption calculator said it was 600 based on my components.
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
If you were using your video card for gaming and maxing it out then its possible but not probable. Maximum wattage of the gtx 580 is 244 watts but again that if maxed out playing a game. You are no where close to using that much if not gaming at all. So again, you are close to my original figure of 250 to about 300 in my opinion.
 
StrangleHold

StrangleHold

Moderator
Staff member
I would say under (full) load your system might pull 400W. I quality 500W would run fine. Think Nvidia recommends a 600W for a GTX580 or even online power supply calculators would probably say 600W. The reason, Nvidia or online power supply calculators have no idea of what power supply might get. They cover their butt if you get a low quality OEM or no name power supply.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top