Ramping up a greener gamer

[Onus]

My primary system is overkill for most of what I do. Other than writing, typical "household / SOHO" usage, my most demanding game is probably Sacred 2 or Oblivion, and the game I play most is Guild Wars. I'm going to ramp up my secondary PC and see how well I can game on it, because it would save as much as 100W-200W depending on load. That's the equivalent of leaving most of the lights in my house on all the time (they're CFLs), so it seems more and more like a waste.
Currently, this system is a 4850e on an ASRock 790GX, with 4GB of RAM and an 80GB HDD, running 32-bit XP Pro. The PSU is an Antec Earthwatts 380. Monitor resolution will either stay at 1440x900, or move up to 1680x1050.

I've decided on the HD4670 as the GPU to get for it. It sips power, and has been a staple THG recommendation for low-mid resolution gaming for some time now. I am also going to install a WD 640GB "Green" drive in it, and I'm going to load 64-bit Vista Home Premium on it. I will probably tape a 4GB-8GB thumb drive inside the case for semi-permanent Readyboost storage.

I suspect that its 4850e CPU will be a little weak, but I'll test first to find out. If so, I'll put in a 65W chip.

I'm not sure SSDs are quite where they need to be yet, but that's one thing I would appreciate your opinions about.

1. To maintain some level of performance, would a 64MB SSD be a good primary drive for this system? The 640GB HDD might then go in an external enclosure, to be turned on only when needed.

2. I'm not sure putting a swap file on a SSD is a good idea. Write performance can be poor, and it seems this could shorten the life of the drive. Is putting 8GB of RAM in the system and using no swap file a viable option, or does it make more sense to make the 640GB an internal drive and put it there?

Please note: I realize this can seem "penny wise and pound foolish" from a number of standpoints, including cost of components vs. utility bill reduction (payback measured in YEARS!), or minimal emission reduction vs. emissions from creating and shipping these parts. My long-term goal, however, includes installing a solar system in my current or future residence, and minimizing usage can be a key component of properly sizing such systems; hundred or thousands of $$ could be saved there. Whether or not this system even survives that long, it is part of the feasibility testing. Thank you.

 

[batuchka]

Well actually i have thought a bit about the subject of the green gamer and my 2 highlights basically are:

1. Hybrid Power via chipset+GPU combination in conjunction with Vista
2. Custom Cool n Quiet and possible undervolting via K10Stat software

So a possible configuration:

P2X3 710/720 (65W EE versions would be gold dust!)
2 X 2 DDR2 800/1066
GF8200/8300 or 750a chipset
GTX 260

I feel the addition of SSD might load games faster but won't give you actual gain in frames for games but a better GPU that powers down when not in gaming mode might save u some power hehe

 

[Outlander_04]

Have you thought about buying a paintball gun and planting a forest?

So long as the paint was biodegradable it would be a very green experience

 

[Onus]

Thanks. If I were building new, I would consider something just like that, but this is an existing system. ATI does substantially reduce the power to its cards when not in 3D mode.
A couple years ago, I was very happy to have a 7900GS, as I think it allowed me to turn all the settings up in GW. The HD4670 is well above that, so I'm optimistic that it will be satisfactory. With all settings maxed, I was getting about 38FPS on the 790GX alone, which is entirely playable, though I could see a difference, as though the video was "sandy"; very coarse, like feeling sandpaper vs. a smooth sheet of paper.
I will definitely consider the X3/720 if I need it, although the first step up there will be the 5400BE from my wife's machine, and I'll get her a PII X3 or X4.

 

[Onus]

This isn't about tree-hugging. The whole "save the planet" concept spouted by environmentalist wackos is patently absurd. In a few million years, there may be no sign that humanity was ever on this planet, but I'm sure it will be teeming with life.
Besides, being deaf in one ear I'm sure I'd be quite spattered with green (if that was the paintball color) long before I had a clue where the shots were coming from.

 

[photonboy]

Baffled.

Your current computer provides a good enough gaming experience so you wish to upgrade another system for gaming instead?

If your current system is good enough for gaming shouldn't you be looking at getting a system optimized for basic usage with specs similar to a Mac Mini (the low-end version can idle at 13 Watts) and use it for non-gaming tasks?

If I were you I'd wait and get one of the upcoming boxes with specs like this:

- Atom 330
- 2GB DDR3
- Windows 7
- NVidia 9400M (or ATI HD4350)

Other:
ReadyDrive is a useless feature. Just use the 4GB of RAM. Your RAM is likely at least 500x quicker than your USB stick. USB2 maxes out at 60MB/sec but I doubt you'd find more than 30MB/second read rates on USB sticks and your RAM is probably closer to 9000MB/second. USB flash drives also have limited reads writes; normally that's not an issue but used constantly and you'd kill it. You would not see a single bit of improvement by adding any USB ReadyDrive in a system that has 4GB (maybe 512MB).

SSD's aren't a great value yet. Maybe in another year.

At any rate, I still find your statement confusing.

 

[Onus]

The secondary system is on 24/7, and I'll use it for some basic tasks so I don't need to turn on the primary (or when I don't really have time, like a quick weather/ email/ THG check before work in the morning). I'm just wondering if I can make it "good enough" for the games I play but without jacking my power bill.
Your points are all very good though. I won't bother with the SSD. Thanks for your comments.

 

[photonboy]

Any half decent gaming rig is going to produce a lot more power. The games you want to play aren't Crysis but to play nicely requires a fair amount of power.

I still don't understand why your existing setup doesn't work. You are apparently happy with gaming on one computer but want to upgrade your 24/7 system instead to save power.

Again, why aren't you just using the Game System for games and the 24/7 current system for everything else?

 

[Onus]

I'd also like both to be able to play games as I am anticipating a nice long visit from at least one niece who plays this spring/summer.
I've just decided to try a more minimalist approach. It has become tiring to see the most expensive top performers being recommended all the time, often as a MINIMUM. I remember when I bought a 7600GT because it was a recommended card, and it was great. My resolution has changed from 1280x1024 to 1680x1050, but I (and people I know) am still playing many of the same games, or games based on the same engine. It makes me realize just how tiny the market segment for 4870X2s, and 4890s, and GTX295s, etc. really is. Who needs 202FPS? It just seems I'm not getting anything for my extra 150W, so why use it? Don't get me wrong, if I wanted to play a game that didn't get over 20-30FPS without a 4870X2, that's what I'd get. Heck, I've got an extortion refund coming; I could probably get a pair of them, and not get any grief from my wife, but I just don't need it. What do I need? That's what this is about, now and in the future.