How much power does my computer consume?

Posted by BA on Feb 12, 2010 in Uncategorized | 46 comments

This is a typical question every eco friendly minded person asks himself. I cannot tell you exactly but here are a few general guidelines that will tell you how much power your computer generally consumes.
Keeping it very simple, there are two main components of a computer that take most of the power. A screen and the CPU box (that contains most of the electronics of your computer).  So we will have different power consumption ranges for these two components.

Power consumption for Computer Screens

In general, the power consumption is higher for CRT monitors. The older fat monitors and TVs are all CRTs. You can read more about the CRT here. The flatter, thinner and lighter monitors take lesser power and are eventually more green and eco friendly. These could be LCD, TFT, LED or Plasma monitors and have their own different properties, but in general they consume power lesser than a CRT. Following is a very general comparison:

So an obvious option is to ditch your CRT and move on with a lower power variant, most popular are the LCD monitors.

Power Consumption for CPU

If you have a desktop computer, your CPU will comprise of several parts and all these parts will determine how much power your PC will consume. Moreover, what operation you are performing on the computer will also determine the power consumption. As a rule of thumb, a typical desktop computer consumes around 300 Watts. If you want to know about your desktop, try to find the power supply inside your CPU box and the sticker will show the total power of the machine as shown in the image below.

Following is an example of a typical 300 Watts desktop power-supply side sticker:

In case you have a laptop, the power consumption is much lowe. I’ll be posting something about it in my next post.

Power saving for green computing

Posted by BA on Feb 10, 2010 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Green computing is about environment friendly ways of computing including materials used in construction, ways of use to improve power efficiency and conserve resources and once the divce has reached the end of useful life, dispose It off or recycle it in an environment friendly manner.

While we will discuss other aspects on the blog as well, we will continue to emphasize on power saving for home computing and computing in small to medium enterprise. In larger organizations, the power conservation is based on the similar principals but will need different equipment.

We will keep a close eye on power consumption of different electronic equipments around you especially equipment related to home computing including monitors, CPU boxes, network equipment, speakers etc.

So stay tuned for power efficient computing and other related posts on basitali.com

Take a photo and buy the item from Amazon. Just amazing!

Posted by BA on Feb 7, 2010 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Amazon shopping app fro BlackBerry

Amazon.com has long been optimized for mobile experience but today I came across this interesting app by Amazon.com for BlackBerry devices. You simply go to http://www.amazon.com and it offers you to download the app. The app is simple to install and use. It has normal options of searching products, reading descriptions, viewing reviews and checking out product photos and eventually buying it right there and then fromt he app.

The feature that impressed me a lot is called “Amazon Remembers”. The feature allows you to take a photo of an item that you want to purchase and Amazon suggests a product same or similar to it.

Here’s how it actually detected my BlackBerry charger

The app showed me the number of steps I need to perform to make the feature work. I grabbed my BlackBerry charger and took a photo right away to see how it works.

OMG! Its dead accurate. There is definitely sitting there identifying items for us

Go-Green – What is it all about?

Posted by BA on Feb 5, 2010 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Go -Green, you must have heard the slogan and might be practically working on the idea as well. Go-Green is a movement, a frame of mind or a philosophy that is very much concerned about the environment. Environmentalism is another name for going green. The philosophy has been promoted throughout the ages but has gone intense in the current times and there is a whole set of guidelines to be followed in every walk of life that eventually reduces or eliminate the effect of our ways on the environment. Eco friendly ways of life are our social responsibility that not only help keep the environment as it is, does not cause negative effects on environment but also helps us in several ways like saving money and time, improving our health and reducing negative impacts on our health and lives and making businesses more profitable.

If you have been reading my blog, I’ve always been talking about technology, computing, electronics, gadgets, internet, online services and other related things. We will talk about the green aspect of all these things and the life-style surrounding them.

We will be talking about the computers and how to go green with computing. How to go for eco-friendly internet use and which gadgets are more environment friendly. We will also look at different appliances at home and will replace them with new more energy efficient ones. We will talk about energy saving and more energy efficient alternatives. So stay tuned for all-new-more-green 2010 on BA’s Brain Waves