One of the questions that some PC owners have to answer is the question of how much power a computer consumes . Modern realities are such that people spend more and more of their free time on screens of electronic devices - smartphones, tablets and, of course, personal computers and laptops. For some, games are interesting, for others, social networks, but the third simply likes to learn news from the pages of Internet resources. Thus, the answer to the question of how much a computer spends energy is very in demand. Different sites offer methods for calculating the power consumed by the system. However, for a novice user, they are too complex, since they require an understanding of what a video card is, how many cores in the central processor and how many chips on the RAM module. On the other hand, in order to determine how much energy the computer consumes, it really does still need to have some knowledge. In this article, we will consider the most accurate way to calculate energy consumption. With due care and a desire to understand everyone will be able to answer the question about how much electricity the computer consumes.
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The amount of power consumed by an electrical appliance is determined by the sum of the energy consumption of all the working units of which it consists. As you know, a computer is a complex system that includes a motherboard, RAM, drive, CPU, video card and auxiliary devices. The latter include fans of cooling systems, a mouse with a keyboard and, of course, a monitor. These are the main components, without which full-fledged work is impossible. Considering the question of how much electricity a computer consumes, it is first of all necessary to take into account them.
Direct measuring method
You can find out how much power a computer consumes in several ways. The most accurate data gives a direct measurement of energy consumption. To do this, you need an ammeter and a voltmeter. All multimeters have these functions, so there are no difficulties with finding the right instruments. Since this operation is associated with work on conductive parts, it should be performed with caution, not forgetting about isolation, even temporary. First, an extension adapter is prepared. It is a mains plug with two wires removed. One is attached to any plug of the computer power supply plug , and the break of the other is connected to an ammeter (current measurement mode in amps, not milliamperes!). The free end also attaches to the other end of the computer power cord plug. The following diagram should be obtained: the mains plug - the wire - the computer's fork contact on one line and the mains plug - the conductor - the ammeter - the wire - the plug from the computer system - on the other. After assembling the whole design, the plug is plugged into the socket and the computer power button is pressed. The ammeter will show the amount of current consumed. When you run complex applications, it will be higher, but no more than some specific value. After this, it is necessary to measure the voltage in the network with a voltmeter and multiply its value by the current consumed by the computer. This will be the power in watts. For the average system, its level will not exceed 300-400 watts.