DIGIT-ARC read-only archive · snapshot: July 23, 2026

how to decrease the power consumption of my PC

16 posts · originally from https://geek.digit.in/community/threads/how-to-decrease-the-power-consumption-of-my-pc.179348/

S
scudmissile007 Original post #1
Nov 12, 2013 at 10:45 PM
hi all, my PC config is as in my siggy. recently I bought a power meter to check the power consumption of each appliances as power bill was way beyond our normal bill for past 3-4 months, also found out the culprit. I also checked my PC power consumption through it , my PC readings were idle-180-185 watts, just as htpc 210watts and heavy gaming only GPU oced 315watts. Now I'm using PC 80-90% of time as htpc, is there any way to reduce the power consumption by undervolting the cpu. of overall consumption 55watts goes to powering monitor & speakers.
I have 4 * 120mm fans, 2 fans for cpu cooler and 3 HDD.
bssunilreddy
Nov 12, 2013 at 11:44 PM
Check your Power Meter and wiring also in your house as any wiring is coming into contact with the ground or the wall then you would certainly get 3k bills every month as I was getting for the past 6 months (see my PC config in my Siggy). So I was thinking of getting an Intel RIG instead. In my case though my house wiring was faulty and my house owner said that the whole house wiring needs to be changed.
harshilsharma63
Nov 13, 2013 at 7:16 PM
Use something else as the HTPC. That rig is by no means an efficient HTPC. I think this will reduce your bills substantially.
rijinpk1
Nov 13, 2013 at 8:35 PM
in my opinion ,you have to buy a low end pc. but you can reduce the number of cores, disable hyperthreading,enabling power saving features like EIST,C1E etc from the motherboard. also underclock gpu too. this will save some power.
harshilsharma63
Nov 13, 2013 at 8:40 PM
Just get a raspberry pi or a flash media player.
S
Nov 14, 2013 at 10:57 AM
thanks all, my PC was not the culprit refrigerator was using around 100 units/month. My question was to decrease the power consumption as its eating 100watts on idle, my cousin's PC overall consumption is around 70watts idle and 100watts including display on full usage but it's a basic config.
.jRay.
.jRay. #7
Nov 14, 2013 at 12:43 PM
Tips to decrease pc power consumption

1. Turn it off.
2. Go out.
3. Hangout with friends.
rijinpk1
Nov 14, 2013 at 1:36 PM
Tips to decrease pc power consumption

1. Turn it off.
2. Go out.
3. Hangout with friends.

that makes the pocket money to diminish :-D
harshilsharma63
Nov 14, 2013 at 3:03 PM
All you can do other than undervolting and underclocking is close background tasks and get Windows 8.
ajayritik
ajayritik #10
Apr 9, 2015 at 12:57 PM
Guys sorry for hijacking the thread but is there anyway to know how much power is being consumed by my PC?
Sorry for being a noob.
harshilsharma63
Apr 9, 2015 at 5:57 PM
Guys sorry for hijacking the thread but is there anyway to know how much power is being consumed by my PC?
Sorry for being a noob.

There is only one was of getting exact data - use a watt-meter like kill-a-watt.
bssunilreddy
Apr 9, 2015 at 9:23 PM
There is only one was of getting exact data - use a watt-meter like kill-a-watt.

Or use this to know the approx power used by your PSU:eXtreme Power Supply Calculator - The only power supply calculator trusted by PSU manufacturers and computer enthusiasts
harshilsharma63
Apr 10, 2015 at 6:13 PM
Or use this to know the approx power used by your PSU:eXtreme Power Supply Calculator - The only power supply calculator trusted by PSU manufacturers and computer enthusiasts

That will only tell you an approximation of the MAXIMUM power your PC will consume under 100% (or the specified) load. That too is not accurate.
harshilsharma63
Apr 11, 2015 at 2:13 AM
Can I get more details of what you are saying?

You need something like this-

*i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzM2WDQyNA==/z/IZ8AAOxyni9TBNg3/$_58.JPG

These get plugged into wall socket and then you plug your equipment (eg your desktop computer) into these. They then display the exact power being consumed by your equipment. They are available on ebay for ~1700.
P
player100 #16
Dec 12, 2015 at 10:07 AM
may be u hv set the gpu to high performance mode... instead of adaptive