Why Do Some PCs Consume More Energy or Electricity Compared to Other Computers?

One of the many concerns in using a computer is its power consumption. Many would probably say that the biggest contributor to their electric bill is most likely the computer. However, not all PCs use up the same amount of electricity. Office PCs which use the most basic of all applications don't consume a lot of energy. However, gaming PCs which run at extremely high graphics settings with the latest computer technologies can reach up to a thousand watts. Here are some of the factors that contribute to the energy consumption of a computer.

The power supply is the one responsible distributing power to the PC. If you have observed, computer power supplies have a maximum output depending on the brand and model. The more wattage your power supply can distribute, the higher the tendency is to use up more electricity especially if you use your PC extensively.

Probably the 2 greatest contributors to power consumption, among the integral components of a computer, are the processor and the video card. The processor's power requirements depend on the processor type such as its brand, technology and how many cores it has. If you use your computer heavily such as for 3D rendering or games, the processor works extra hard thus, it requires more power.

The same principle happens to a video card but it is utilized mainly for PC games. If you need better graphics, your video card will need more power to process graphics data. This is usually the most power-hungry computer component when used. If you're familiar with overclocking, you need to increase the power to the video card and the processor further.

Power consumption also depends on the number of drives you have such as your hard drives, DVD or CD-ROM drives or even Blu-ray. Just remember, they have mechanical components that require more power unlike solid-state devices such as the memory.

Your PC comprises of several other devices aside from the integral components. You need to have a monitor and peripherals such as the mouse and the keyboard. Aside from that, you may also have a powerful speaker, printer, scanner, camera, modem or router and so on. A lot of these devices require a separate power source other than the computer's power supply. Therefore, those are in addition to the power the PSU (Power supply unit) distributes.

Let me focus on the computer monitor for a bit as it also contributes considerably to your overall power consumption. You would most likely consume more power if you have a CRT (tube-based) monitor than an LCD. Our electric bill at home actually went down significantly after I switched from a 17" CRT monitor to my current 19" LCD. Most monitors have power saving features so utilize them as much as possible.

Plugging in your USB devices especially those that need additional power such as USB printers, scanners and portable hard drives need extra power as well. The same thing applies to cellular phones or mobile devices that you can charge using your computer's USB ports.

So there you have it. Those are the basic contributors to a computer's overall power consumption. It really depends on the components you have installed and how you use the PC. Bringing a computer down to its knee by playing video games at extremely high resolutions with excellent graphics quality, with all cores running coupled with overclocking and running 2 video cards at the same time will most definitely take its toll on your electric bill. On the other hand, a single-core PC which is only used for word-processing or the internet uses significantly less power.

Sources:
Wikipedia - Power Supply Unit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_supply_unit_%28computer%29

Wikipedia - Computer Monitor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_monitor