Reducing The Power Consumption Of Overclocked PCs

[Dashken]

Now, that must sound pretty inane. After all, overclockers employ all kinds of power-guzzling methods to improve their CPU's overclockability. However, there are many good reasons to do so.

In this guide, we will not just look at theoretical tips on reducing power consumption in overclocked PCs, we will also show you how well they work in real-life situations. Best of all, we will show you why they will improve your PC’s power efficiency without any real loss in performance.

Here's a quote from the article :-

"Just by using these two tips, you can radically reduce the power consumption of your PC. The first step tackles the processor's power consumption when it idles while the second step attacks its power consumption under load. Together, they will really bring down your overclocked PC's power consumption. Do your bit for the planet - start using these two tips today!"

Link : Reducing The Power Consumption Of Overclocked PCs

[Mac Daddy]

Nice article some good information in there. Five or 6 years ago over clockers were a minority but things have changed. And the times change with it. I leave for work with a 31 percent O/C on my CPU. How much do I need it while I am not here ?

Good job guys

[Cerberus]

Referencing page 3, Step #1 : Turn On EIST, C1E Or Cool'n'Quiet

"For those who are worried about the spiralling cost of electricity, this tip alone can save you quite a bit of money. Using my overclocked PC as an example, enabling EIST or C1E would save me about 13 megawatts of power a month if I just run the processor at 3.4 GHz without overvolting. When running at full 3.9 GHz, I would save about 26 megawatts a month."

Power use over time is referred to in watt/hours and typically billed in kilowatt/hours (kw/hr). A savings of 18 watts of power equals .018 kw/hrs. Say the computer is run 24/7 all month.
31 (days) * 24 (hrs/day) = 744 (hrs/month)
.018 kw/hrs * 744 hrs = 13.392 kw/hrs

This would make your "13 megawatts of power a month" actually a 13.392 kw/hr savings and "26 megawatts a month" a 26.784 kw/hr savings.

Otherwise, a very nice article.

[ivybat]

Do take note that it is possible that these power saving features may reduce the stability of your overclocked PC. So, it would be good practice to re-certify your overclocked PC using your favourite stress-testing program, e.g. Prime 95. Personally, I have not encountered any problems with EIST or C1E.

It's interesting, I never have had problems with these features before either, but everything I hear about them is a horror story. It seems like the multiplier difference you pointed out earlier probably has a lot to do with it: consistent, dramatic increases in clock will probably knock your computer off its feet, if for no other reason than the obscenely fast and huge increase in temperature that results in raising the clock and going to full load at the same time.

It's nice that people are starting to write green articles more often, if for no other reason than to help us all save a little green.

Cheers

[Chai]

Originally Posted by ivybat

It's interesting, I never have had problems with these features before either, but everything I hear about them is a horror story. It seems like the multiplier difference you pointed out earlier probably has a lot to do with it: consistent, dramatic increases in clock will probably knock your computer off its feet, if for no other reason than the obscenely fast and huge increase in temperature that results in raising the clock and going to full load at the same time.

It's nice that people are starting to write green articles more often, if for no other reason than to help us all save a little green.

Cheers

Yup, I hear nothing but horror stories too. Maybe the CPU is not stable when EIST is turned on, lack of voltage. You can't actually stress test with Prime 95 when EIST is turned on, unless you specifically change the multiplier to 6x and voltage to simulate EIST.

I tried using EIST when I changed the multiplier from the default 8x, and I couldn't boot into Windows. That could be another reason.

Anyway you brought up a good point, I will update the article.

[Zenphic]

I didnt read through the article yet, but undervolting the processor is a very overlooked thing amongst overclockers. Sure you can bump your voltage all the way up 1.5V immediately and be sure that you can overclock really high, but efficiency is a better idea. I myself am running my E2160 at 2.5 Ghz @ 1.06V. That's way lower than the stock voltage and I'm getting a boost in performance. The power savings should be nice.

[CALLOFDUTY05]

Nice article Dashken.Will come in handy when OC'ing.

[jarome]

Originally Posted by Cerberus

Referencing page 3, Step #1 : Turn On EIST, C1E Or Cool'n'Quiet

"For those who are worried about the spiralling cost of electricity, this tip alone can save you quite a bit of money. Using my overclocked PC as an example, enabling EIST or C1E would save me about 13 megawatts of power a month if I just run the processor at 3.4 GHz without overvolting. When running at full 3.9 GHz, I would save about 26 megawatts a month."

Power use over time is referred to in watt/hours and typically billed in kilowatt/hours (kw/hr). A savings of 18 watts of power equals .018 kw/hrs. Say the computer is run 24/7 all month.
31 (days) * 24 (hrs/day) = 744 (hrs/month)
.018 kw/hrs * 744 hrs = 13.392 kw/hrs

This would make your "13 megawatts of power a month" actually a 13.392 kw/hr savings and "26 megawatts a month" a 26.784 kw/hr savings.

Otherwise, a very nice article.

Power is billed in kilowatt-hours, not kilowatts/hour
so the savings is 18 watts * 744 hours/1000, which is 13.392 kilowatt-hours. At 10 cents/kwh, thats a savings of $1.33 a month.You will not get rich on this.

But it does multiply if you have to use air conditioning to remove the heat.

[Adrian Wong]

Hey guys, yeah, my mistake. It's not megawatts but actually kilowatt-hours.

Thanks for noticing it and letting me know about it.

Correcting it now. +rep to the both of you.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Chai

Yup, I hear nothing but horror stories too. Maybe the CPU is not stable when EIST is turned on, lack of voltage. You can't actually stress test with Prime 95 when EIST is turned on, unless you specifically change the multiplier to 6x and voltage to simulate EIST.

I tried using EIST when I changed the multiplier from the default 8x, and I couldn't boot into Windows. That could be another reason.

Anyway you brought up a good point, I will update the article.

Actually, I don't think switching to 6x multiplier can simulate EIST. The problem with EIST, if I'm not mistaken, is not the low multiplier but rather the transition from high to low multipliers and back again.