Power Usage when Folding

[Chos3n]

OK, I just started to Fold with you guys, and I have that question that pretty much everyone have in mind...

Have you seen a difference on your Hydro Bills?

Seriously, I love the fact that I can put my computer to good use... but I am very limited on my budget (bought a house alone, fiancee is finishing school...) So, I don't want to end up like this Winter when I got a bill of 660$ and another one of 440$ ...

Considering I have a Corsair 750 Watts + GTX 260 Core 216, will I see a major difference? Also, when I use the High Performance Client, it only uses my GTX 260 Core 216 right, that way saves some power usage and still produce a nice result at the end of the day.

Anyways, a quick question from a newcomer to folding

[SKYMTL]

Folding with that setup will probably result in a power output of around 300W-400W which isn't all that much. Will you see an increase in your hydro bill? If you monitor it like a hawk, then yes. Otherwise, expect an increase of a few bucks at most.

[Chos3n]

Originally Posted by SKYMTL

Folding with that setup will probably result in a power output of around 300W-400W which isn't all that much. Will you see an increase in your hydro bill? If you monitor it like a hawk, then yes. Otherwise, expect an increase of a few bucks at most.

Yeah, really my budget is on the edge... I have a perfect balance in my Budget. I wouldn't mind some couple of bucks but let's say 30 - 40$ more, that's half my groceries budget for a week...

Anyways thanks for sharing your experience SKYMTL, but I want to heard from other Folder too!

[SKYMTL]

$30-$40 is extreme. By a few bucks, I mean under $10.

[chrisk]

Renter here so I don't really know *hopes landlord does not join HWC forums*. I did look for good efficiency in a PSU, hence the pricey Revolution PSU I bought a short while back.

[Chos3n]

Originally Posted by chriskwarren

Renter here so I don't really know *hopes landlord does not join HWC forums*. I did look for good efficiency in a PSU, hence the pricey Revolution PSU I bought a short while back.

Yes, I just changed my power supply to a Corsair TX750, it is certified T80 Plus. It's probably much more optimized then my Ultra 700 Watts crappy power supply ...

[SKYMTL]

Here is an example of a highly overclocked and pretty power hungry system:

EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 55nm Superclocked Edition Video Card Review

Say 250W to even it out.

That means 250W = 0.25 kWh

0.25 x 24 hours = 6 kWh / day

6 x 30 days = 180 kWh / month

180 x 0.08 $/kWh = $14.40 / month


This can naturally be decreased by underclocking the core and overclocking the shaders.

[trayton]

I was also curious about this as I have soon to be 3 machines

Will hopefully build tonight :
QX6850
Asus Maximus Formula II
Noctura CPU HS
P&C 1000W PSU
9800 GTX OCX
150GB Raptor HD
DVD ROM
Asus Xonar DX2

Another Build Tonight
E8400
PK5-V
OCZ GamersXtreme 700W
8800 GT 512MB OC2
Seagate 500GB HD
DVD ROM
Creative Audigy2 ZS

Current System
Q6600
P5N-D
OCZ GamersXtreme 700W
8800 GT 512MB OC2
Seagate 500GB HD
DVD ROM
Creative Audigy2


How much power will I be using if they fold when I'm not using them. I usually leave the computers on 24/7 anyway but they just idle (before I started folding this month).

[Chos3n]

Originally Posted by SKYMTL

Here is an example of a highly overclocked and pretty power hungry system:

EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 55nm Superclocked Edition Video Card Review

Say 250W to even it out.

That means 250W = 0.25 kWh

0.25 x 24 hours = 6 kWh / day

6 x 30 days = 180 kWh / month

180 x 0.08 $/kWh = $14.40 / month


This can naturally be decreased by underclocking the core and overclocking the shaders.

Oh then, it's not that bad. The computer would take more power when you play games . When I run this client, my CPU shouldn't be used right?

Thanks for this extensive details, I can actually use them as a guideline now. So it would like you said come to extra bucks...

[Gellidius]

On April 17 i installed an energy meter to check power consumption on my pc.

So far, with the cpu working 24/7 at 100% capacity, and the gtx280 doing the same (except for the last week, as the gtx is gone for repairs),
my electrity cost is approx. $6.75

Check this thread:Energy Meter