Calculating Power Consumption Of The Entire System
In this table, you’ll find a small set of standard components that you can use as a general guideline for power consumption estimates. Standard CPUs use between 65 and 85 watts, while quad-core processors range from 95 to 140 watts.
Hard drives may vary greatly according to age and model; you can get by with 10 watts as an estimate, because drives rarely run simultaneously at full load. The maximum needed is 30 watts for a short time when booting the system; you should allow a safety buffer for this when estimating maximum power load capacity.
The chipset of a motherboard can be crucial, since integrated components such as sound, network, and additional controllers must be supplied with power. While Intel gets by with 20 to 30 watts overall, a larger SLI motherboard with an nForce chipset can easily require twice as much.
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| Component | Power Consumption (Watts) |
|---|---|
| CPU Intel Pentium 4 (Prescott) 3.2 GHz | 84 |
| CPU Intel C2D E2140-2220 | 65 |
| CPU Intel C2D E6750 | 65 |
| CPU Intel C2Q Q6600 | 95 or 105 |
| CPU Intel C2D E7200-7300 | 65 |
| CPU Intel C2D E8200-8600 | 65 |
| CPU Intel C2Q Q9300-9650 | 95 |
| CPU Intel Core i7 920 | 85 |
| CPU Intel Core i7 940 | 92 |
| CPU Intel Core i7 965 Extreme | 100 |
| CPU AMD Athlon 64 3800+ EE | 62 |
| CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ EE | 65 |
| CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ | 89 |
| CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ | 125 |
| CPU AMD Phenom X3 | 95 |
| CPU AMD Phenom X4 9100e-9350e | 65 |
| CPU AMD Phenom X4 9500-9750 | 95 |
| CPU AMD Phenom X4 9750-9850 Black | 125 |
| CPU AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black | 140 |
| Hard Drive 2.5" | 2 to 6 |
| Hard Drive 3.5" | 10 to 30 |
| DVD Drive | 5 to 12 |
| Mainboard | 20 to 60 |
| 1 Memory Module | 3 |
For a standard PC, having a powerful graphics card can easily account for 50% of the total power consumption. The values in the examples are measured liberally: the graphics card test system used has a dual-core CPU (65 nm), X38 chipset, two hard drives, and two memory modules, at 85 watts.
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| Example For A Standard PC Without Graphics Card | Power Consumption |
|---|---|
| Dual-Core CPU | 65 |
| Motherboard, Intel Chipset | 20 |
| 2 Memory Modules | 6 |
| 2 Hard Drives | 20 |
| Drive + Burner | 20 |
| Total Power | 131 |
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| Example For A Power PC Without Graphics Card | Power Consumption |
|---|---|
| Overclocked Quad-Core CPU | 130 |
| Motherboard, Nvidia Chipset | 60 |
| 4 Memory Modules | 12 |
| 4 Hard Drives | 40 |
| Driver + Burner | 20 |
| Total Power | 262 |
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Tino Kreiss
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129 CommentsComment from the forums
Inktfish Could you please add the Radeon 4830? :)
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sepuko Took the words right out of my mouth.
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since Core i7 920 has TDP = 130W, how can it consume 85W only?
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1.21 Jigawatts !!!
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nukemaster This article was due. No more you need an 800 watt psu for the 4870 , core2 quad ad 1 hard drive anymore :p
Guest11since Core i7 920 has TDP = 130W, how can it consume 85W only?The TDP is more of a design thing. Almost all of Intels initial Core2 line had a TDP of 65 watts yet many took much less power. Intel gives a worst case of that type number and does not measure every cpu.
AMD does the same thing. They listed almost all the initial Athlon 64's at 89 watts yet many did not take that or give off that amount.
zxv9511.21 Jigawatts !!!You act like you would need a small fusion reactor or maybe a bolt of lightning to get that?
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neiroatopelcc So my system actually has a too big power supply to be effective?
I'm running a 3,4ghz c2d with 5x500gb sata drives, a dvdrw and a 4870 on a p35 board.
According to the article that's not going to draw the ~400W needed to get within effective range of my corsair 620 ....Reply
cynewulf There's a mistake in the power under load for the 3870X2. It shows the same as the idle consumption. If only that were true! :D
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Inneandar The TDP (thermal design power) is meant to be a guideline for the cooling solution, not the power consumption. To qualify for a cpu with a TDP of 120W, a cooler must be able to dissipate 120W. Practically, of course, this means it is an upper bound to (sensible) power consumption.
also small note: Is it just me or is it strange to see the 260 SLI consume more than the 280 SLI. maybe in need of a beefier test scene...
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zodiacfml nice collection of data. i hope many learn from this and avoid recommending too powerful supplies.
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roofus better off with too much power supply than not enough. at least if you over-spec the power supply you leave some breathing room for any additional components.
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