Ok I can see the savings if you are able to use a lower wattage power supply.
But if I have a 200 Watt power supply on my desktop don't I use 200 watts of AC electricity all the time even if I only have 60 watts of DC devices sucking power on the other side? So does this really change anything for the normal user?
I might be wrong in my analysis of power supplies, if I am let me know.
yes, that's incorrect. a 200-watt power supply is capable of sourcing 200 watts total into all the electronics it drives (including the couple of watts it uses to drive its own circuitry), it does not mean it consumes 200 watts all the time.
this is easily seen if you connect a power supply and turn it on with no computer ... if it consumed 200 watts just sitting there doing nothing, it would have to ultimately generate 200 watts of heat, which you could probably fry potatoes with, but it doesn't get that hot :)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kevin @ Jul 23rd 2007 1:56PM
Ok I can see the savings if you are able to use a lower wattage power supply.
But if I have a 200 Watt power supply on my desktop don't I use 200 watts of AC electricity all the time even if I only have 60 watts of DC devices sucking power on the other side? So does this really change anything for the normal user?
I might be wrong in my analysis of power supplies, if I am let me know.
eqsf @ Jul 23rd 2007 2:08PM
yes, that's incorrect.
a 200-watt power supply is capable of sourcing 200 watts total into all the electronics it drives (including the couple of watts it uses to drive its own circuitry), it does not mean it consumes 200 watts all the time.
this is easily seen if you connect a power supply and turn it on with no computer ... if it consumed 200 watts just sitting there doing nothing, it would have to ultimately generate 200 watts of heat, which you could probably fry potatoes with, but it doesn't get that hot :)
NHAnimator @ Jul 23rd 2007 2:58PM
Baked or french fries?