Building a gaming PC

[glatt]

How many watts does the gaming video card consume? Telling us that the number is big is classic junk science. What exactly are the numbers for video cards in the past five years. Wild speculation and junk science says it is large - a useless claim because it is subjective. Honesty demands that claim include a number.

I thought we covered this.

http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/G...specifications

"Power Consumption:
up to 225W2 additional 6 pin PCIe power required"

If you don't trust the manufacturer, then how are you going to get that number? Pay for the thing and then test it? Ain't nobody got time for that.

[tw]

Originally Posted by glatt

I thought we covered this.
"Power Consumption:
up to 225W2 additional 6 pin PCIe power required"

That is not the power it consumes. That is an inflated number that customers are told. If the spec was written for a designer, it lists amperes for each voltage. Why is nobody's computer toasting bread? That question alone demonstrates wide variation between what is actually needed verses what a majority recommend.

The card may consume just over 100 watts. So we tell the computer assembler to provide a supply with an additional 225 watts. An example of why reality and what most computer assemblers recommend often varies significantly for other computer parts. We can also discuss another popular myth associated with Arctic Silver.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by tw

That is not the power it consumes. That is an inflated number that customers are told.

So how, specifically, do you find the real number?

[tw]

Originally Posted by glatt

If you don't trust the manufacturer, then how are you going to get that number? Pay for the thing and then test it? Ain't nobody got time for that.

Nobody said the manufacturer is lying. He has simply added a safety margin due to who his market is.

One can easily learn what the numbers really are by measuring. So many did that to learn their computers mostly consume around 100 watts. Most computers rarely exceed 200 watts in full load operation. One actually got his gaming computer to consume 400 watts.
What is your desktop power usage while browsing these forums?

41 watts idle - 109 watts running Prime95

Someone blamed the measuring device because numbers did not agree with popular hearsay:
I have proved Kill-A-Watt accuracy .. NOT GOOD.

at idle I was sitting at 65W and it peaked at 102W booting up.

These people obtained real world numbers. And that is the point. They got facts. Whereas most who recommend computer parts only recite popular hearsay. Always take what the majority recommend with a grain of salt. Especially when claims are subjective - not tempered by numbers. Demonstrated by the PSU is why so many myths are so often believed - ie Airborne cures the common cold or Geritol for a longer life.

If that video controller spec is useful, then it cited current (amperes) for each volt. Computer assemblers are told to get a power supply at least twice as large as necessary. A 200 watt computer needs a 400 watt supply. To avoid clogging help lines. Thermaltake may then recommend a 600 watt supply. Then consumers know they need 800 watts.