Electrical Costs

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k1wi
Posts: 909
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:48 pm

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by k1wi »

Just as well here in NZ all our power is 240v ;)(only 10amp though)

This is a graph I found earlier (when I was learning about PSUs, that displays the efficiency) that goes to show the different efficiencies of different voltages, even for big name PSU makers. It also shows how using a PSU appropriate to your system (load of 50-70% of PSU rating) can maximise efficiency. Note all those hardcore users who buy 1200W PSUs and only use 400W!

Cooler Master UCP 900W

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[source:http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=3413]
Orion602
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2010 8:24 pm

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by Orion602 »

k1wi wrote:Just as well here in NZ all our power is 240v ;)(only 10amp though)

This is a graph I found earlier (when I was learning about PSUs, that displays the efficiency) that goes to show the different efficiencies of different voltages, even for big name PSU makers. It also shows how using a PSU appropriate to your system (load of 50-70% of PSU rating) can maximise efficiency. Note all those hardcore users who buy 1200W PSUs and only use 400W!

Cooler Master UCP 900W
i am thinking about this enermax REVOLUTION85+ 1250W SLI®:
http://www.enermax.com/home.php?fn=eng/ ... lv1=7&no=6

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even if this chart can be a bit exagerrated i have read very positive reviews on this one and 90% efficiency can be achieved
PlayLoud
Posts: 61
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:29 pm

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by PlayLoud »

Orion602 wrote:

Ideally yes, but the reality is electricity costs money. I live in Southern California, and I can assure you the electricity cost is noticeable. ...
did you think about buying couple of solar pannels? Southern California.. just some five 200Watt pannels on the roof and you could run powerful folding rig with very small electricity cost.

i know it can't be done everywhere, but for some it can be good option.
Two things.

1. I have heard the upfront cost of setting up solar panels is VERY expensive, and takes many years to recoup.
2. I don't own the house. Also living in So. Cal, I can't see myself becoming a home-owner, and will likely be moving from place to place as needed.

If solar panels were cheap enough, and if they could be installed in a way that was somewhat portable, and if an apartment (likely my next move) would be ok with me setting it up on their room (doubtful), I would be more inclined to do it.
Folding@home: 24/7
- RTX 4070 Ti

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PennyPincherP
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Nov 05, 2008 11:56 pm
Location: Corona, CA

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by PennyPincherP »

I'm in So Cal too and when I had 3+ 8 core systems running, my bill was over $300. I had to stop using the big screen TV's etc. If I had to questimate, I'd say it costs around $60 per month per system. :shock:
Slash_2CPU
Posts: 57
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:15 pm

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by Slash_2CPU »

$0.082 per KWh here. :D
I run 3 boxes at about 1KW total for $60/mo.
ASRock X99 WS i7-5930K @ 4.4GHz /2x GTX 970 @ 1.46GHz /4x4GB DDR4-2666
Phenom II X6 @ 3.7GHz /2x2GB DDR3-1680 /GTX 970 @ 1.40GHz
450-600K PPD @ ~850W
P5-133XL
Posts: 2948
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2007 4:36 am
Hardware configuration: Machine #1:

Intel Q9450; 2x2GB=8GB Ram; Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Motherboard; PC Power and Cooling Q750 PS; 2x GTX 460; Windows Server 2008 X64 (SP1).

Machine #2:

Intel Q6600; 2x2GB=4GB Ram; Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Motherboard; PC Power and Cooling Q750 PS; 2x GTX 460 video card; Windows 7 X64.

Machine 3:

Dell Dimension 8400, 3.2GHz P4 4x512GB Ram, Video card GTX 460, Windows 7 X32

I am currently folding just on the 5x GTX 460's for aprox. 70K PPD
Location: Salem. OR USA

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by P5-133XL »

Where I live it is $ 0.062 per KWh. I calculate a cost of $13.39 per month for a 300W system running 24x7. I have two overclocked quad core boxes (Q6600, Q9450) with two video cards each (2x 3870, 2x 9600GSO) and both fold very close to 300W each. I measured using a Killa-Watt meter but it was a while ago so I don't remember the exact numbers. I just round up and figure that I donate $30 per month to folding.

If necessary, I can hook up the meter again and give detailed HW list so people can have a precise analysis.

Just as a side note: These are high performance machines, way overclocked with dual 3d video cards and the power needs isn't even close to exceeding 500W. Think of that when people recommend 1000+ W power supplies. Unless you install the most extreme video cards, no one really needs that kind of power. It is far more important to get a quality power supply than a giant one.
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PlayLoud
Posts: 61
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:29 pm

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by PlayLoud »

Man, even if the rest of the house was dark and quiet, and I was being charged the lowest tier for electricity, it would be about double what you guys are paying.

There is a studio apartment nearby that I was thinking of moving into after I buy a newer car. The best part? All utilities (including electric) paid!
Folding@home: 24/7
- RTX 4070 Ti

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P5-133XL
Posts: 2948
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2007 4:36 am
Hardware configuration: Machine #1:

Intel Q9450; 2x2GB=8GB Ram; Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Motherboard; PC Power and Cooling Q750 PS; 2x GTX 460; Windows Server 2008 X64 (SP1).

Machine #2:

Intel Q6600; 2x2GB=4GB Ram; Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Motherboard; PC Power and Cooling Q750 PS; 2x GTX 460 video card; Windows 7 X64.

Machine 3:

Dell Dimension 8400, 3.2GHz P4 4x512GB Ram, Video card GTX 460, Windows 7 X32

I am currently folding just on the 5x GTX 460's for aprox. 70K PPD
Location: Salem. OR USA

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by P5-133XL »

PlayLoud wrote:Man, even if the rest of the house was dark and quiet, and I was being charged the lowest tier for electricity, it would be about double what you guys are paying.

There is a studio apartment nearby that I was thinking of moving into after I buy a newer car. The best part? All utilities (including electric) paid!
I live in Oregon where the Columbia River is. It is a very large river system and heavily Damed producing large amounts of relatively inexpensive electricity.

Just because it isn't producing carbon and other pollutants, do not think that dams don't have a large scale environmental impact though.
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mdk777
Posts: 480
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:12 am

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by mdk777 »

Just because it isn't producing carbon and other pollutants, do not think that dams don't have a large scale environmental impact though.
What? no free lunch and pony included? meanwhile, after passing laws requiring "renewable" energy supplies, the Senator from California sets aside major portions of the Mojave dessert as National Landmark status: preventing the development of Solar power projects. Wait, you mean you need to actually use land for Solar power?
No, no, not in my back yard. I want my power to come from magic green renewable fairy dust....... :twisted:
Transparency and Accountability, the necessary foundation of any great endeavor!
spazzychalk
Posts: 174
Joined: Sun Nov 16, 2008 6:41 am

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by spazzychalk »

PlayLoud wrote:Man, even if the rest of the house was dark and quiet, and I was being charged the lowest tier for electricity, it would be about double what you guys are paying.

There is a studio apartment nearby that I was thinking of moving into after I buy a newer car. The best part? All utilities (including electric) paid!
i used to have an apartment like that... older building master metered. they had no way to charge people seperately
Last edited by spazzychalk on Sun Jan 31, 2010 3:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Karamiekos
Posts: 33
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:27 am

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by Karamiekos »

mdk777 wrote: Wait, you mean you need to actually use land for Solar power?
No, no, not in my back yard. I want my power to come from magic green renewable fairy dust....... :twisted:
Same thing here on the east coast. They wanted to put some windmills out in the ocean because the wind is pretty steady there... but all the rich people who own expensive coastal property had a cow :roll: They even cited that the blades create subsonic waves that can give people migraines or some bs....WOW
Zakk Wylde, "Then you start firing back some cocktails."
Rigs
Phenom II 965 With 2 4850s Running BOINC
Quad 8356s Running BOINC
spazzychalk
Posts: 174
Joined: Sun Nov 16, 2008 6:41 am

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by spazzychalk »

i remeber that in massachusetts right by the kennedy compound. what could be more american than "not in my back yard"
stephenxanders
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:54 am
Contact:

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by stephenxanders »

If we will view it on a short term basis, that would not cost us so much, however if you will compute along with the years it will be costly but as P5-133XL said, it's like a donation for standford :-)
spazzychalk
Posts: 174
Joined: Sun Nov 16, 2008 6:41 am

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by spazzychalk »

you could do that with any extraneous expense. everyone throws away money here and there on things they can look back and add up. thats no way to live, you cant take it with you, although i do like to do that to smokers.if anyone looked back at the money they wasted on stuff it would be maddening. at least this expense is for something
lambdapro
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:20 pm

Re: Electrical Costs

Post by lambdapro »

I have found the electrical costs discussion very interesting. I have estimated that my nvidia machines are running about five times the efficiency of my ATI machines. So, I have added a single GTX260 to replace five 3850s and keep the same PPD here at home. I will spend around $250 instead of $1250 per year.
I was able to buy a $100 Dell GX280 with HD, OS, 512MB RAM, 2.8 GHz CPU. I added a $50 BFGTech 550W supply and a $200 GTX260 $20 more of RAM and for $370 I have a system that pays for itself in fewer than five months. In fact, I have my ATI machines set on pause when done right now.
David
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