Zotac Graphics Cards Pay for Themselves

[tuannguyen]

Greentech, power saving, saving the Earth, utilizing less resources--power saving features are an important feature to have these days, on any product.

Zotac Graphics Cards Pay for Themselves : Read more

 

[Pei-chen]

Go Zotac, ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI with their power saving special PCB graphic cards.

 

[doomtomb]

I like Zotac's innovations in the industry.

 

[Onus]

Very nice. These will go on my short list for future builds that don't absolutely require more graphics horsepower (they shouldn't).

 

[Onus]

...well, they will when Newegg has them. All their Zotacs now are older ones with power connectors on them.

 

[fudgeboy]

it would be so much better if it actually DID pay for itself.... oh well - back to work....

 

[KyleSTL]

Numbers time:

PCIe can supply 75W max. Let's say the 9800GT is consuming exactly that much. 40% (maximum quote power savings) of 75W is 30W savings.

30W * 2hours/day * 365days/year * 1kW/1000W = 21.9kW-hr ~= $2.20 (assuming $0.10/kW-hr)

I call B.S. Someone back me up on correct math, but 'paying for itself in power savings' is busted.

 

[siliconchampion]

@KyleSTL

What you would want to do is take 75 W and divide that by .6. this would give you the maximum power consumtion before the new power saving methods. This equals 125, so the difference would be 50 watts. (this difference represents a 40% savings from 125 watts to 75.)

Also, electricity rates are more along the average of $0.12 per kw/h.

So to correct you, the actual yearly savings amounts to a whopping $4.38.

Regardless, I'd like to see how Zotac did its math.

Also, if I am wrong, feel free to correct me.

 

[rubix_1011]

It saves more energy if you just leave the computer off.

 

[Guest]

Maybe what they meant was, after you run the numbers and realize that you are only going to save a few dollars, you wont go out at buy one, thus saving you $100+. So the card really does pay for its self

 

[830hobbes]

[citation][nom]siliconchampion[/nom]@KyleSTLWhat you would want to do is take 75 W and divide that by .6. this would give you the maximum power consumtion before the new power saving methods. This equals 125, so the difference would be 50 watts. (this difference represents a 40% savings from 125 watts to 75.)Also, electricity rates are more along the average of $0.12 per kw/h.So to correct you, the actual yearly savings amounts to a whopping $4.38.Regardless, I'd like to see how Zotac did its math.Also, if I am wrong, feel free to correct me.[/citation]

Maybe they mean that's what you'll save over the life of the computer... and assume you'll own your computer for 20-25 years...

 

[hillarymakesmecry]

Silicon has the better math.

They're also assuming you're using the card at it's potential for those two hours, when in reality about 10% of the time I spend on a computer is for gaming. The savings for my 2 hours a day would be even less.

24 hours x 50 watts X 365 days / 1000kw/w X .12 cents an hour x 2= 105.08

A 24 hour on system running folding at home with 2 cards in SLI would be $105.08. That's the only way I can see to get to $100.

I guess if you run quad SLI(not sure if it's possible with these) then the absolute max savings you could possibly get out of using these cards would be $200+ depending on your local power cost.

 

[Guest]

Why didn't they go for a Radeon 46xx series? That one is very efficient as well and has good performance!

 

[sublifer]

I'd like to see some tests on these, the 9800 in particular, does it run stable at stock speeds or did they underclock it? Will these have any overclocking potential without access to more power? How do they perform versus the regular samples?

 

[keven000]

Don't forget that $0.12 per kw/h isnt the price everywhere... on my last bill i was paying $0.0545 per kw/h so i guess i like the cards for there green side more than for my saving

 

[mr_fnord]

This is obviously oriented toward the green consumer, who is obviously not using that dirty old coal-fired grid power. When you calculate the energy cost for the typical green home equipped with off-grid solar power, environmentally friendly non-lead batteries, and a combination composting toilet and biomass backup generator then the energy costs easily exceed $1/kWh. If you add in the additional cost in photovoltaics and battery reserves that must be purchased and the added cost of all that extra granola to feed the biomass toilet then the savings are clear...

 

[mr_fnord]

[citation][nom]keven000[/nom]Don't forget that $0.12 per kw/h isnt the price everywhere... on my last bill i was paying $0.0545 per kw/h so i guess i like the cards for there green side more than for my saving[/citation]

And how much are the fees and fuel surcharges? My power company hasn't increased the base utility rate in over 15 years, and it's about $.05/Kwh, but the fuel surcharges go up consistently, and are currently $.06/kWh plus a maintenance fee that increases based on usage, which comes out to around $.13/kWh.

 

[keven000]

[citation][nom]mr_fnord[/nom]And how much are the fees and fuel surcharges? My power company hasn't increased the base utility rate in over 15 years, and it's about $.05/Kwh, but the fuel surcharges go up consistently, and are currently $.06/kWh plus a maintenance fee that increases based on usage, which comes out to around $.13/kWh.[/citation]


There is a 40 cents per day fee whatever is consume, but no maintenance or fuel fee. So that my computer is on or off i got to pay that and that's why i didn't talk about it. I'm living in Quebec City so it's nearly 100% hydro-electricity so there's no bases for them to make us pay for fuel surcharges and thanks for that!

And it's in $ca

 

[unlicensedhitman]

[citation][nom]KyleSTL[/nom]Numbers timeCIe can supply 75W max. Let's say the 9800GT is consuming exactly that much. 40% (maximum quote power savings) of 75W is 30W savings.30W * 2hours/day * 365days/year * 1kW/1000W = 21.9kW-hr ~= $2.20 (assuming $0.10/kW-hr)I call B.S. Someone back me up on correct math, but 'paying for itself in power savings' is busted.[/citation]

That's your graphics card only. Your PSU is what ranging from 500 to 750 Watts if you're running a 9600GT or 9800GT. I live in San Jose, CA and they charge about $.11/kWh. I have a 650Watt PSU with a 9800GT and I leave it on during most day for about 8 hours. That costs me about $10 a month on my electricity bill. However my total bill is only $25! W000t Go Environmental Science 10 @ EVC with Mr. G!

 

[KyleSTL]

Why didn't they go for a Radeon 46xx series? That one is very efficient as well and has good performance!

Because Zotac is a nVidia-exclusive board partner, and because the 4600 series is already efficient enough. With the way ATi designed the under-volt/clock features when the card is idle there's no reason to make a 'green' edition when some independent sights have measured it's idle power consumption to be as low as 3W.

 

[jwl3]

I highly doubt this. Every mfr. claims their products are tens of hundreds of times better than the competition. The 40% power discrepancy is too big, I'd believe them if they said they made it 10% more efficient. I mean, the engineers at the other card firms are not fools.

 

[Guest]

I believe the card is under-clocked. That would help to explain the power consumption claims. The Zotac website lists the "Eco" model as having a 550 MHz core clock and 1375 shader clock. The reference cards are clocked at 600 core and 1500 shader. I'm curious how these cards perform compared to their reference counterparts, especially in performance/watt metrics.

 

[scryer_360]

You know, until about a year ago, I'd never heard of Zotac. But here they are, building all sorts of components that go up against the big boys (Asus, eVGA, Gigabyte).

Where did they come from?

 

[judeh101]

I love Zotac, they're a great company, comparable to XFX and BFG. I RMAed my card (the 8600GT) because of a fan failure, they offered an upgrade to me, in return, they said, "Oh, we'll just send you the 9500GT graphics card if you return your 8600GT, and did we mention, we'll pay for your shipping"
I truely love zotac. I will continue to buy their products

 

[gm0n3y]

They probably meant 100 yen, not US dollars.