<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Feb 15, 2009 at 6:22 AM, Jay Summet <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jay@summet.com">jay@summet.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<br>
> A typical box for mythtv does not draw much power. A box with<br>
> efficient power supply, core 2 duo, 2g ram, single hard drive,<br>
> modest video card (7600gt or 8400gs) will draw about 65 to 70<br>
> watts at the wall (kill-a-watt) and go up to perhaps 100w if the<br>
> CPU gets going full bore.<br>
><br>
<br>
As a reference point:<br>
<br>
I have the cheapest computer I could buy from Frys:<br>
<br>
It has a Celeron D 3.2Mhz CPU in it with 1GB ram, 2 HD's and a fanless<br>
NVIDIA GeForce 7200GS graphics card. [I shutter to think about the<br>
efficiency of that power supply...]<br>
<br>
My computer alone takes 120 watts idle and goes up to approx 140 when<br>
transcoding, commflagging, watching HD, etc.<br>
<br>
The whole setup (when watching TV) takes 335 watts (TV and receiver add<br>
a lot, plus another external HD, printer, antenna pre-amp, HDHomerun,<br>
etc). When we turn the TV and DVD/Amplifier off when not in use, the<br>
computer, HD Tuner, external HD, antenna preamplifier, printer, UPS, etc<br>
take up 141 watts when idle, and around 160 when recording,<br>
trans-coding, or detecting commercials in a television show.<br>
<br>
I've estimated that this costs around $10 a month of electricity. (aprox<br>
0.10 a kW/h)<br>
<br>
This is why I've set the box to shut itself down when idle. We still<br>
have a constant drain of 36 watts for all of the other components, but<br>
thats a lot better than 140-160 continuously. The complete silence is a<br>
nice side-effect. Having to boot the computer when I want to watch TV<br>
and wait for two minutes is the trade-off.<br>
<font color="#888888"><br>
Jay<br></font></blockquote></div><br><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);">I will add another point.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"><br>
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);">I have an ASUS M3A with an AMD 5400+ CPU, 2 HD, a 6200 video card and a 80+ power supply and take 85 watts at idle. I leave it on. I would love to have a lower power draw but want the TV to go on when it is turned on. WAF a big deal here.</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"><br></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);">How long does it take a myth unit to come out of its power down state? Can it wake on a remote key command?</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"><br></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);">Allen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"><br>
</span></div>