Windows 10: Power Usage of PC: How To Reduce It?

Why not allow the computer just to sleep and just resume for a few seconds right after you wake it up?

 

Putting my PC to sleep and then resuming it sounds like a great idea, but I need to keep Skype running.

 

I thought that since my motherboard had the label "ultra durable" that it'd last much longer than a regular home PC motherboard?

This is my motherboard: GA-P35-DS3R (rev. 1.0) | Motherboard - GIGABYTE

 

Gigabyte labels them all as "Ultra/extra durable" but that's in relation to thickness of copper leads on the MB. Chips and elements themselves are just as good or bad as by any other manufacturer.

 

Thanks.

Is it possible to estimate how much longer my motherboard will last?

Once again, here's the link to my motherboard: GA-P35-DS3R (rev. 1.0) | Motherboard - GIGABYTE

 

Hi,

That "Ultra Durable" statement should be viewed with respect of the timeline. What they're saying is : we're using solid caps and these will last longer than regular electrolytic caps etc.
It's already 9 years old so it's anybody's guess how much longer it will survive.

Cheers, *Wink

 

I don't have much money so I'd like my motherboard to last a long time.

What are some things I can do to help my motherboard last longer?

Thank you!

 

Theoretically it could last forever if run within specs. Don't overload, keep cool and with reputable PSU and there should be no problems for much longer time. Once, there was problem with electrolytic capacitors, I have changed many of them thus prolonging the life. They are all solid state now.

 

How can I monitor the temperature of my motherboard?

My power supply unit is 750W and it's made by Thermaltake.

How can I "overload" my motherboard???

 

You can monitor temperatures and other parameters by using some of many programs made for that. Many manufacturer's have own APPs or you could use some of standard ones like Cpu-id HW Monitor, AMD Overdrive for AMD products, Speccy, Aida etc.
High overclock can put a lot of stress to MB and other components. Low quality PSU can also make a mess of it.

 

I've already got the app called "CPUID HWMonitor" running.

HWMonitor displays the temperature of my other devices like CPU and graphics card, but not my motherboard?

I think my graphics card uses up a lot of power, but I'm not sure how I reduce it?

Thanks!

 

What GPU do you have ? Some are real pigs when it comes to power usage and there's not much you can do about it. The power they use would be scaled up and down with it's usage depending how much particular program/game loads it. Only way to lower it is to significantly underclock it.

 

Thanks!

My graphics card is a Nvidia GTX 460. It has 1GB of memory.

 

That's not a big power spender. don't have to worry about it.

 

My laptop has been running 24/7 for almost 6 years, and only thing that has died is the battery. Everything else is running smoothly.

If your computer is consuming too much power, then do the following:

• Make sure you have a platinum certified PSU
• remove ALL dust from computer and make sure you have proper cooling
• Get rid of your bad ass GPU
• Configure computer to use power saving scheme
• Underclock all components
• Stop/disable all non needed services

If non of the above help solve your issue, then buy newer hardware with latest components. They draw less power. Remember that high performance and low power consumption does not agree with each other. You can't get both and you have to choose components wisely.