FACTOR 2: YOUR PC’S COMPONENTS
Obviously, a powerful gaming PC with top-of-the-line
components will use more electricity under load than a
Chromebox with a low-power CPU.
FACTOR 3: HOW YOU USE YOUR PC
Just because your PC is a beast with a 750-watt power
supply doesn’t mean it’s going to use 750 watts all the
time. Most PCs come with power-saving features that
lower your energy usage when the computer is idle or
doing basic tasks like browsing the web.
So someone mining Bitcoin or folding@home is going
to use more power than someone typing up Word
documents, even if they did so on the exact same PC for
the same number of hours each day.
MEASURING YOUR ELECTRICITY USAGE
Since usage can vary so much from PC to PC (and
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electricity cost is to...well, measure it yourself. You can
buy a simple Kill-A-Watt meter for $15, and use it to
measure just about anything in your house.
Most PCs come
with power-
saving features
that lower your
energy usage
when the
computer is
idle or doing
basic tasks.