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Possible Duplicate:
How can I calculate power consumption of my PC in Watt?

I'm living with my parents. My dad was complaining that because of my excessive computer usage , he had to pay huge electric bill. I think its not because of my PC. So, I want to calculate how much power exactly is my computer consuming.

I've read the label on my (450W) Power Supply. It reads:

-------------------------------------------------------------
| DC Output | +5V | +12V | +3.3V | SB +5V | -12V | +5V 3.3V |
-----------------------------------------------------------
| 450W      | 45A | 19A  | 28A   | 2A     | 0.8A | 240W max |
-------------------------------------------------------------

But it doesn't make any sense at all!

DC Output power is 450W that must be equal to 5*45 + 12*19 + 3.3*28 + 5*2 + !@$@#$

I don't understand what is SB there in the 4th column and what to do with the -12V and the information in the last column. Even if I don't consider them, its not coming out to be 450W. What exactly does these ratings mean? How much power is my PC consuming?

Community
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claws
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3 Answers3

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The power supply has a max output of 450W. Each rail (+12V, +5V etc) shows the voltage and max current, it doesn't indicate that you are actually using that much.

It is unlikely to consume the full 450W, the peak is probably a bit lower. The real consumption is dependent on what you have plugged in inside the case, and what you are doing.

Surfing the web would probably consume the lowest amount of power. Playing video games would consume the highest.

The only way to be certain what it is drawing is to use something like a kill-a-watt meter that sits between the plug and the wall socket and reads the actual power consumed (approximately).

Paul
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The output and voltages mentioned are the different cables internally from the power supply to your devices in your PC (usually called 'rails').

The 450W is the maximum wattage it'll support, it will not be using that much. (else you would soon notice problems!)

What devices you have, number of them etc will 'draw' a certain wattage from the PSU, there are many online tools for working it out (some high-end system builders will check to make sure their PSU is powerful enough).

If you know your system specs then try running it through any of the following:

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
http://www.coolermaster.outervision.com
http://support.asus.com/powersupply.aspx
http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html
http://www.journeysystems.com/power_supply

HaydnWVN
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In North America they sell and even rent/loan a device called a Kill-A-Watt meter. You simply plug th device into the wall and then plug the computer (or whatever) into the device. It displays the power consumption and other info. Several are listed here Power Monitors I used it on a desktop Sony I have and while the power supply is 200W it was normally consuming less than 100W

Dave M
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