Desktop PC vs. Laptop Power Consumption

Q: Key Point 3: My computation was this -- a typical laptop would max...

My computation was this -- a typical laptop would max out at 90watts in power consumption while a mid-range desktop PC (with a discrete GPU) would use up to around 500watts.

Abe Olandres August 13, 2011 · 2 min read

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I remember there was a time when the electric bill in my pad went over Php14k, almost double the usual amount I pay on regular months. We use a lot of electrical devices, including 2 desktop PCs and a number of laptops so I thought of doing a simple experiment.

For about a month, I would not touch one of the desktop PCs in my room and use a laptop instead (even for the more task-intensive and gaming routines) and see how much would that affect the total power consumption.

My computation was this — a typical laptop would max out at 90watts in power consumption while a mid-range desktop PC (with a discrete GPU) would use up to around 500watts. If you include a large monitor, that’s another 50 watts.

Assuming the computer is on and running for about 12 hours a day, that’s 550watts x 12hours/day x 30days/month to give you a total of 198kW.

For a laptop, that’s just 90watts x 12hours/day x 30days/month for a total of 32kW.

The difference of 166kW amounts to about Php2,158 for the whole month (electricity rate pegged at Php13/KWhr). In a year, you can actually save enough money to buy another laptop. If you use a netbook instead of a full-sized laptop, that’s around 40watts/hour of power consumption and could drop your bill by another Php234 per month.

If you also have aircon in your room, the heat dissipation coming from the PC could add to the power consumed by the aircon to cool the room to the desired temperature (though there’s no way for me to figure that one out).

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

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168 Comments

Epstein · 15 years ago

Guys, ever heard of approximation?

Wakocoke · 15 years ago

yuga’s approximation is way too off lol

Wakocoke · 15 years ago

550watts constant consumption? maybe his midrange desktop is running Crysis with 6990 and i7 at 1600p with 16x AA LOL

goodha · 15 years ago

ang tanong ay kaya ba ni yuga hindi gumamit ng desktop for 30 days?lol

qwertbvcxzi · 15 years ago

desktop is so versatile,not like laptop so fragile. In my desktop I can download torrent for 1 week. unlike laptop

becky · 15 years ago

Good point! dami kase parts ng Desktop eh pag laptop all in one na! I had my Neo Laptop for about 3 yrs already at buhay pa!

jarod_0122 · 15 years ago

Been using my Acer 5052 laptop atleast 8 hours a day for 4 years and 3 months. No problem whatsoever. Battery is always plugged in and still run for 1 1/2 hr but once a month I let it drain.I just placed it on laptop cooler with cover open.I say keeping it cool is the key to its long life and I can say that I have saved enough money from the electric bill that I could afford to buy a new one to replace it.(pag nasir :p)

Kenetsu · 15 years ago

Guys, don’t forget the Mac Mini!!!

mike · 15 years ago

the article clearly said “max out” at those power consumptions. the parameters (eg 12hr a day at 30day usage) were also given. the article just says that if you work on the same parameters then you end up saving that much. now if anyone uses his pc lightly using less power or perhaps for a shorter period of time then naturally the difference in consumption using either laptop or pc would be smaller. so cmon people nobody is wrong here.

Mark · 15 years ago

you may want to read some of the replies again. we are pointing out that even if it maxes at a specific number, it doesn’t mean it will draw THAT much all the time.

to me more accurate, yuga must provide the average consumption (not the maximum, unless his rig DOES consume 550 watts the whole 12 hours, then put that number in his equation.

also, maybe yuga could be more specific by stating what his definition of a “midrange” desktop PC is, what the specs are.

Noir · 15 years ago

Basically what Mark said as well as

There are points in the article that are just not conclusive enough to support.

PSU wattage is not the right way to check power consumption. A Buyer can have as much as 1000 watts and only use less than Half(~500) for his rig.There are several reasons why enthusiasts buy high wattage PSUs but I wont go there.

Mark · 15 years ago

“a mid-range desktop PC (with a discrete GPU) would use up to around 500watts.”
Proof? Source?

“Assuming the computer is on and running for about 12 hours a day, thatâ€™s 550watts x 12hours/day x 30days/month to give you a total of 198kW.”

WTH. dude, even if a PC does peak consumption at 550W, it doesn’t mean it draws 550 watts all the time! so your assumption and computation, unless you prove otherwise with hard data, is in error.

Noir · 15 years ago

I am sorry but this article is misleading.

All/Most Desktops does not consume 100% of their PSU wattage.

Just like laptops, desktops also save power when necessary. GPUs downclock as well as CPUs, total power consumption is still high when compared to laptops but not as much as your computation turns out to be.

We have 2 Desktops and 5 laptops in our home and our electricty bill is only in the 4.5K range.

I suggest that you correct the computation. A lot of people are being misled. (AND a lot of PC enthusiasts are also angry)

lilwayne · 15 years ago

it’s a mac G4 way back in 2007. P40K preowned (original price 54k). then a samsung blackjack 24K. the laptop bogged in 2009. the cellphone got held up after a few months of joyful texting. hayz.

Jose · 15 years ago

a little out of topic, but I wonder how much would you save if you use one of those solar chargers for your phone, tablet and laptop. I figured if you leave the solar charger out in the sun for the day to charge its batteries and use it to charge your devices at night. How much would you save? Is it worth the cost of the solar charger? Wonder if anyone has done a comparison?

new · 15 years ago

This is outrageous! A typical MID-RANGE PC does not consume 500 watts all the time. My PC at idle is using ~120 watts, and on full-on gaming around ~350 watts. I verified this using a digital watt-meter.

Specs are: i7 860 (non-oc’d), ATI 5870, 22 inch monitor, back-lit keyboard, Logitech X540 5.1 speakers and a bunch of high-performance cooling fans.

I think that is a pretty high-end system. YugaTech indicated that a MID-RANGE system consumes 500 watts. Maybe there is something wrong with the rig to consume that MID-RANGE PC a lot of power.

Pusang Kulog · 15 years ago

Stopped using desktops in my house 2 years ago. I had an MSI laptop as desktop replacement But I think I will try whatever is the newest AMD APU this coming December. Miss playing RPGs for the last 2 years…

Name: · 15 years ago

power consumtion efficiency goes to LAPTOP.

BUT

Desktop:

Upgradability (Easier in all aspect).
Performance (Desktop is cheaper at high performance)
Maintenance
Safety (Laptops are prone to be stolen)

For short: People who prefer laptops over desktop are the rich ones.

bryan_mmx · 15 years ago

wow, so you are saying those in the squatters are rich?

Noir · 15 years ago

@Name

I agree with you except with the last part

You forgot about portability in laptops

@Bryan

Not necessarily rich most like because Laptops are portable. Laptops in the 20K area are already capable enough more most tasks.

Dan · 15 years ago

bad comparison, desktop outperforms laptop in many aspects, such as durability, upgradability, and even with performance even if both has the same specifications, laptop cannot simply take the beating of a desktop, not to mention I haven’t seen a laptop server do you?

bryan_mmx · 15 years ago

I wouldn’t say it’s a bad comparison. read the title, yuga is comparing their power consumption, not overall. though it’s a given that laptops prevails in this category since those processor are built for mobile technology. then again there’s always an exchange, in this case, performance was given up to maximize energy efficiency.

dans · 15 years ago

I understand your article, however, the comparison of laptop consumption of power against a desktop is pointless, for one, desktop’s devices are totally different, therefore it requires more power. what you’ve done is you compared a truck with a motorcycle gas consumption, to compare laptop’s small power supply unit to a desktop PSU’s unit is like comparing a gas tank, it’s psu unit size should tell a tale of its power requirements. – so yeah, it’s a bad comparison.

Name: · 15 years ago

This info will mislead other people. Oh no.

But still, laptops are high maintenance and if your GPU or display or MoBo fails, big big problemo. Desktop is still better to use and much efficient overall.

bryan_mmx · 15 years ago

and about the heat dissipation for air conditioning, if you wished to know, there’s a way to solve it though you’ll need tables (heat load of an average PC, the table I used in college I think was referring to a Pentium 2.XD). and the more people in the room the bigger the heat load too. lamps and bulbs dissipates heat too. if your ambient temperature is high then more power is consumed too.:D

bryan_mmx · 15 years ago

sir, there are digital wattmeter that allows you to calculate actual consumption of laptop and desktop. I tried that and compared. for my core i5 laptop, it goes as low as 18watts in eco mode and around 24watts in balanced mode. for my desktop (core2quad) it goes as high as 40watts if I remember correctly. i believe netbook will go lower than 15watts.

but the difference is, while it took 8-9 secs to open up MS word (starter edition) in a netbook, it only takes 2 seconds in a desktop (student edition). also, what normally took a blink to render solidworks in desktop takes 4-5 seconds in my core i5 laptop (high performance) so I’d still keep a desktop to work with solidworks and photoshop, a laptop at the office for programming PLCs and HMIs, and a netbook to surf the net when I get bored in meetings.XD

bryan_mmx · 15 years ago

my bad, not 40 watts. i forgot actually. I’m gonna check it again.

pgk7 · 15 years ago

i agree with you bro. around 40-70watts for desktop. it goes like this 550watts divided by the max voltage of the psu which is 12 volts, so 550/12 thats around 46watts. im using a watt meter for my pc having a 700watts psu and discharges a max of 60watts of power consumption.

pgk7 · 15 years ago

sorry for the values i indicated. i was looking at the lcd power consumption. just plugged in my pc at watt meter and it displays 402watts.

bennix · 15 years ago

A very helpful observation. Sa tinging ko depende din cguro sa pag-gamit mo kasi kahit laptop man ay magastos din sa power if laging babad sa gaming and movies.Tapos ang laptop madalas madaling mag-deteriorate ang battery if laging nakasaksak.

Sa desktop set ko naman sa bahay, pinagtatangalang ko nag redundant na fan para maka-save tpos mas mainam pag LCD na monitor ang gamit kasi energy saving sya compared to CRTs.

Yun lang…tipid…tipid patayin pag di ginagamit…:)

Lee · 15 years ago

while it is true that a laptop consumes a lot less power than a desktop, the comparison is a bit unrealistic/exaggerated, how many times do you think you maximize the power usage of your laptop/desktop? The price difference between the power consumption of a laptop and desktop is probably a lot less than the example given, if we are going to consider the usage of an average person.

tipler · 15 years ago

a mid-range desktop will NOT use 500watts. my i5 and 6950 with lcd monitor uses 250watts tops on load.

icesaiah · 15 years ago

nice comparison…

I should start saving money to buy a laptop! ^_^

John · 15 years ago

Please don’t hate desktops. With the ITX Motherboard platforms, they are a total power saver than their predecessors. Powered with processors from Intel (Atom) and AMD (Bulldozer), power consumption will never be an issue again. However, AMD looks promising with their Bulldozer line because it can provide the same power consumption and proc size compared to Atom with double of its processing power. Atom is definitely saving power but lacking on the performance.

I still use desktops because I believe that laptop’s hardware is more fragile than desktop’s.

ross · 15 years ago

that’s right ako desktop din talaga madalas ko gamitin especially sa games

new · 15 years ago

Here is my AMD Zacate rig, measured by APC PowerChute, almost the same results using my OMNI Wattmeter (sorry, have not yet made a screenshot of the OMNI result).

http://i56.tinypic.com/2aro1y.png

Been using this as my all-around HTPC for about 5 months and I’m very pleased with the results for this kind of power consumption.

1080p/720p MKV with DTS 5.1/6.1 audio playback, no lag via XBMC.

ross · 15 years ago

pero yari ka naman kung parati mo ginagamit ung laptap pag nasira ang mahal naman ng maintenance at parts

Mike · 15 years ago

My Laptop is 1 year and 3 months old, I can say that kawawa lagi, pero kaya nmn, running mysql,mssql 2k5 and 2k8, visual studio 2k5. samahan mo pa ng games. asus k42j i3 1gb video and 4gb memory

mcometa · 15 years ago

Ahhhh this is nice!

Iyan Sommerset · 15 years ago

Actually, building energy-efficient PCs has been somewhat of a sub-hobby of mine. There are a few energy-efficient, low-power solutions available locally, and much more “out there”.

If building an energy-sipping desktop look no further than AMD’s Athlon/Sempron LE lines or Intel’s Desktop Atoms. They eat up way less energy than a full Core iX/Phenom and yet are fast enough for basic office tasks, surfing, even flash gaming, etc. Try to stick to 5400rpm HDDs, as few sticks of RAM as possible and onboard GPU. Use a USB optical device so it doesn’t eat up power when you don’t need it and stick to an LED-backlit LCD screen. We don’t have much choices in the way of low-power PSUs in-country so stick to a nice brand’s 300w offerings and below, or if you can get your hands on one, a low-power alternative like PicoPSU, etc.

I’ve actually managed to assemble a few of these that are rated at a maximum draw of around 50w (including 15.6″ LED-backlit screen) full load, running Ubuntu well and Win7 (bells and whistles off) decently.

One nice thing about low-power PCs is that they don’t heat up as much so you don’t need to spend additional electricity with active cooling solutions and thus end up with a more quiet system.

Of course, gaming rigs are an entirely different matter altogether. :P

wes · 15 years ago

I used Omni’s wattmeter (900 bucks in Ace Hardware) to measure actual wattage consumption of different computers in our office from the plug:

Low-end netbook â€“ 15 watts
Mid-range laptop â€“ 30 watts
Low-end desktop (no videocard) â€“ 40 watts
Mid-range desktop (2-core, cheap videocard) â€“ 150-200 watts
High-end desktop (4-core, premium videocard) â€“ 150-400 watts

CRT monitor â€“ 40 watts
LED monitor â€“ 15 watts

I recorded the actual wattage consumption of other non-computer appliance here too:
http://filipinofreethinkers.org/2011/03/25/earth-hour-2011-shocking-facts-and-figures/

watrboy · 15 years ago

very true.. before my power consumption is 7-8k.. now its down to 3-4k.. same almost 50%..

Leo Bien Durana · 15 years ago

Nice little comparison, you got there sir Abe.

Wakocoke · 15 years ago

new desktop processors automatically underclock their frequency if task is not that demandint (ie web browsing, office work etc)

also there are energy efficient monitors, mine is LG e2360v around 30 watts of energy consumption

it is given that laptop consumes less energy but performance wise, desktop miles ahead

Dan · 15 years ago

@Abe

Hehehe.. :) I only realized this once I had my watt meter on hand. The volt-ampere vs watt ratings are much higher when power factor is lower than 1. As our kuntador doesn’t distinguish between the two, it’ll just keep shoving electricity regardless of how efficient or ineffecient our wirings are.

This is kinda sad, coz a laptop will normally only need 28W to 30W for normal operations, but is pulling way more electricity due to that power factor thingy. >_<

tonio · 15 years ago

hi dan, where did you buy your watt meter? i’m interested on getting one

Dan · 15 years ago

@IC Deadpipol

You can try RMClock. This is the software I use to lock throttling down to minimum, and adjust accordingly if necessary. So my units are all on power saver mode all the time.

you can also use this to underclock the CPU, for even further savings :)

Dan · 15 years ago

Interesting article, Abe. Glad you brought this one up.
I’ve been eagerly monitoring power consumption at home, particularly that of my desktop and laptop. Using a watt meter, I was able to adjust usage accordingly. A typical laptop will consume around 40 to 50W (depending on activity). I’ve never seen my laptop reach near its 90W (adapter rating) even when pushing the laptop to the extreme (discreet gpu).

My netbook only uses 18W, peaking at 21W at full speed.

We do need to keep in mind, the Power Factor. Anything less than 1 will mean additional consumption, so a power factor of 0.5 will mean that my netbook’s 18W consumption will actually be 36vA (I think this is the one we’re getting charged by Meralco), kinda wasteful. So whatever your computer is rated at, if your power factor is less efficient, then it could potentially consume double the amount of electricity that it needs.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 15 years ago

@dan -thanks for the clarification, Dan. Didn’t really listen to my EE class back in college. :p

Nika · 15 years ago

Naku, if Mom reads this lagot ako. I still use a desktop since laptops are still a bit pricey. Can you recommend an affordable laptop that can handle Photoshop/Paint Tool SAI well?

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 15 years ago

@nika – a Core i3 with 2GB of RAM laptop can do PS fairly well.

Cyberius · 15 years ago

Did you use a wall power meter? Im just concerned about how accurate your readings were. BTW a 500 watt power supply doesn’t max out @ 500 watts. If that happens your pc will crash. Try it yourself setup a crossfire system with a 500 watt power supply.

Its not that im saying that a pc has cheaper power consumption. It really depends on what you use it for. If you’re just browsing around and not playing games a laptop would do just fine.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 15 years ago

@cyberius – I used Joulemeter. My Power Supply is 650 watts.

Patricia · 15 years ago

try joulemeter to see an estimate of your machine’s watt consumption, and granola to save energy :)

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 15 years ago

@patricia – wrote about joulemeter here before: http://www.yugatech.com/blog/freewares/joulemeter-computes-pc-power-consumption/

eonzerimar · 15 years ago

Sir Abe, if your rate for electricity is accurate?
then its nearly impossible to open a net shop? regardless of number of units? or is it just Manila/Urban city rate?

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 15 years ago

@eonzerimar – it’s Metro Manila rate

Name: IC DeaDPiPoL · 15 years ago

anyone know if there is a local store selling Kill A Watt (monitors power consumption of a device)

Previously I relied on CPU Throttling under LM9~11 but under Windows its a tad bit difficult since I don’t know a program that can adjust the CPU Throttling on the fly under Windows 7 (other than setting CPU % on Power Options)

IIRC there was also an ITX motherboard from ZOTAC that relied on an AC Adapter (identical to a laptop) with an Intel Atom CPU and Nvidia ION GPU handling the video decoding which would be sweet when used on an Internet Cafe

new · 15 years ago

ACE Hardware sells one like this for about Php 1k: http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s272/erikdabest/TipidPC/OmniWattmeter.jpg

jin · 15 years ago

Hmmm I was explaining this to my parents. We have a 32inch LCD TV and a netebook PC and they are still using the 23inch colored TV and a Desktop with CRT monitor. Mas malaki daw kasi mag consume yun kasi mas malaki daw ung monitor and the worst is I am paying the bills. I could show this to them! :)

techjunkeez · 15 years ago

thanks for the reminder. this is definitely true.

phiLLip · 15 years ago

Even though you have a 500watts power supply, it doesn’t really consume that much power (the actual power consumption). It only means that you can support a system with 500watts or lower consumption.

you should use a watt meter so that you could see the actual power consumption straight from the plug/outlet

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 15 years ago

@phiLLip – point taken, that’s why I also used the maximum power on the laptop for the computation (assuming both the laptop and the desktop maximizes power usage).

Dhan · 15 years ago

nice comparison sir Abe. but although a typical desktop could run for about 12hours without heat issues, that’s another story for a laptop running for the same amount of time.

Running a laptop without a decent/great cooling solution that long while plugged-in could result in decrease of the laptop’s lifespan.

Just my thoughts though ^^

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 15 years ago

@dhan – a good cooling pad would easily solve that. Besides, most laptops nowadays have great power management policies built into the system.

Num Lock · 15 years ago

Hi Abe, by the numbers is it advisable to use laptops on net cafe due to high electricity costs. I will just use kensington lock for security.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 15 years ago

@Num Lock – essentially, yes if it’s just for surfing, chatting or video. However, some customers would want the size benefits of a larger monitor for gaming and other stuff.

I was actually thinking nettops (dual-core Atom processors) for that one which could still be under 100watts.