CPU Fan Wattage..?

[dylan_m]

Hey

My Phenom II 965 CPU uses a max. of 124W, and usually uses 117.60W under load according to CPUID HWMonitor (even thought that's probably not accurate). This seems like alot of electricity as it is, but then I found out that the CPU fan actually uses a fair bit of juice too, mine states "Maximum Cooling Capacity 90 Watts". Does that mean that I'm constantly using 214 Watts on my processor alone? Seems expensive.. Can someone explain how this all works and any tips you have on saving power.

** BTW my computer's usually running BOINC, working on distributed computing projects, I want to continue using it, but don't want it to use too much power..

 

[davcon]

No it means the cooler has the capacity to effectively cool a 90W cpu.
Since your cpu is actually a 140W cpu your cooler is undersized.
The stock AMD hsf probably cools better.
PC fans use little power like 5W max.
Unless you have a really crappy psu and an old crt monitor i doubt your using more then 150W when browsing the net.
My main rig uses between 117-126W when browsing the net and listening to music with a discrete soundcard and high powered 2.1 speakers.
My case has 8 fans going as well.
I know this to be true because i'm hooked up into a ups that has power consumption software.

 

[nukemaster]

What cooler are you using?

Yeah Davcon says, the heatsink is designed to handle(dissipate) 90 watts of heat.

Luckily most of those cpus do not reach the 140watt point.

if you want an idea of the power consumption, you can go to a hardware store and grab a power utilization monitor(Kilo-Watt,Energy meter ect)

Just for an idea

X4 955BE @ 3.7 on stock voltage, ATI 4870(not that power efficient all things considered) PC ONLY, No SCREEN

My Media center dead idles at about 40. PC ONLY NO SCREEN

 

[dylan_m]

Thanks for the replies, and especially for the pictures of the power meter. Really appreciated.

And nukemaster, with the last image - what percentage of that 283W would you say is being used by the CPU and what percentage by the GPU?

 

[nukemaster]

Well, the prime95 is using just cpu. So it does not go any higher then that 182, but you have to keep in mind that the video card even at idle uses some power(best guess would be 30 watts)

It is important to know that with measurements taken at the wall, it will also see losses in the power supply. So the numbers seen can be anywhere from 10-40% higher then actual power consumption.

The power supply in use has a efficiency rating of 86-89%(80+ silver)

182 - 13% = ~158watts with prime.

Idle is good and low because the cpu(and video card) clocks down to save power when doing nothing.

So the cpu is not taking that much power(Prime).

All the rest when gaming(Just cause 2) is video and cpu together.

Just cause 2 + Prime was a peak power use test for the system.

 

[dylan_m]

Sweet, thanks.