01-07-09, 01:46 PM | #11 |
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
|
Alright, new motherboard is in the computer now and everything is up and running as it should be. Hybrid sli is enabled and working amazingly well. I ended up changing some things and pulled out one of the two hard drives I had. All in all, idle consumption is down to 58W, and at the click of a button I can power up the video card to do any 3d stuff I need to.
There is still tweaking to be done. I didn't play with anything yet since I knew a new motherboard was going in and I might have to reinstall vista (which I did). So, now I'll start looking for ways to further tweak the system. Unfortunately, there arent any 64 bit vista drivers AMD's cool'n quiet. This technology dynamically steps down or up your CPU speed based upon how much processing power you need.
__________________
Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. |
01-14-09, 10:30 AM | #12 |
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
|
Well, a little more digging revealed that vista has cool'n'quiet drivers imbedded in it already. So, it is working and it is stepping down the cpu speed and voltage. Yay. I'll probably still do some tweaking with power settings, but I'm not sure how much it'll effect things.
__________________
Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. |
02-02-09, 05:48 PM | #13 |
Lurking Renovator
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Yorkshire, England
Posts: 9
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
|
It's a bit late...
The solid state drives have already been mentioned. But for quiet and low energy consumption, have a look a water cooling. The radiator sits outside the box and can use a large (relatively speaking) fan with low rpm. |
10-29-09, 01:15 PM | #14 |
Helper EcoRenovator
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 56
Thanks: 13
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
|
Have you guys looked at the FitPC2 yet? That's a pretty neat mini computer. Uses roughly 10 watts and supports HD Video.
|
10-29-09, 03:40 PM | #15 |
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
|
Got a link cholcombe?
__________________
Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. |
10-29-09, 05:25 PM | #17 |
Supreme EcoRenovator
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,154
Thanks: 14
Thanked 257 Times in 241 Posts
|
If you're looking for another PC to use for basic office work, web browsing, and multimedia, check out the Beagleboard.
BeagleBoard.org - default
__________________
To my surprise, shortly after Naomi Wu gave me a bit of fame for making good use of solar power, Allie Moore got really jealous of her... |
10-29-09, 05:41 PM | #18 |
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
|
That fit pc 2 is quite a nice little package. It seems somewhat decently priced too.
The beagleboard is pretty cool too and quite cheap.
__________________
Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. |
10-29-09, 07:03 PM | #19 |
Home Improvement Goon
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Moose Jaw, SK, CA
Posts: 96
Thanks: 0
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
|
I recentli bought a Mac mini and a 23inch LCD. Idle power usage is 30W (13W for the Mac and 17W for the monitor). I did look at laptops for even better usage but screens are just too small - besides, I already have a laptop. You can also install Windows or Linux via Bootcamp on the Mac if you really need to.
|
10-19-11, 01:52 AM | #20 |
Super Moderator
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Posts: 964
Thanks: 189
Thanked 111 Times in 87 Posts
|
I recently came across this page:
VIA EPIA Mini-ITX motherboard... ...or My Quest for a Quiet Computer It's more about reducing noise than power consumption, but the two usually go hand-in-hand. It's about a low-power motherboard.
__________________
Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog. |
Tags |
computer |
|
|