does it make a difference if i change a crappy PSU to a better PSU especially for lowering the electric bill?

[Newblesse Obblige]

My PC was built(or rather came from a bundle) 5 years ago when Skylake just came out. MY PC has a i5 6400 but only with its iGPU because the PC was meant for family use only yet it is rarely used until last year(2019) where my school works (excel, word, and GIMP) requires a PC rather than Tablets like iPad and Galaxy tab that were enough when i was in junior high. The PSU came with is a generic PSU with ketchup and mustard cables with no PCIe power connector at all. I(we) had no issue with this C4 bomb throughout these years but because of the human malware, Im always at the PC. recently, my mom told me to lessen the use of the computer because the bill is higher than before(i doubt it is because of my PC smh). since im planning to upgrade my PC into a gaming PC little by little, this is the perfect opportunity to upgrade my PSU to a better one. Im planning to buy the Seasonic S12iii 500w or the 550w because the price is very close. Do you think it makes a difference if i change the my C4 bomb PSU to a better PSU especially for lowering the electric bill?

[Haro]

I mean. Better efficiency curve will probably reduce it. Not by a lot. And I don't know it'll change much afaik.

 

Edited July 19, 2020 by TofuHaroto

[GoldenLag]

21 minutes ago, 5GigaaHertz said:

Im planning to buy the Seasonic S12iii 500w or the 550w because the price is very close. Do you think it makes a difference if i change the my C4 bomb PSU to a better PSU especially for lowering the electric bill?

if you are only really changing to reduce the electric bill, you should probably look at lower wattage PSUs. 

 

where you located? perhaps be able to grab a system power 9 400w. 

 

edit: like it doesnt make a lot of sense to change a PSU due to the electric bill, as it makes a minor difference. 

[manikyath]

it depends.. but best case scenario.. it'll still take well over a year to get return on investment.

 

my home server (desktop with some modifications..) went from about 80 bucks per year running 24/7, to about 40 bucks per year in power draw, going from a unit that was just bareley 80+ bronze, to 80+ titanium, spending most of its time in the worst possible spot on a power supply's efficency curve.

 

now that i think of it.. i've had the above power supply a few years now.. and if i had done it for efficiency alone, i'd still not have made ROI...

 

EDIT: should clarify.. the only reason that jump in cost is so big, is because the bronze unit had basicly 1980's levels of effiiciency at the usual load of the system.

[porina]

Savings from more efficient PSU will be there, but how much value you get from it depends on your usage pattern too. Making up some numbers for illustration, say a generic PSU is 70% efficient, and you replace it with one that is 85% efficient. Say the PC components without considering PSU losses consumes average 250W under gaming load. With the PSU efficiency considered, the 70% one would be taking 357W from the wall socket, and the 85% one 294W. That's a 63W difference. In the UK I'm charged 15p (US$0.19) per kWh. The saving from running the more efficient PSU over the lesser one assuming the computer was running 24/7 would be about $105 saving over a year. If you don't run 24/7, of course that saving will be reduced accordingly. Also if you're not running intensive loads, that'll use less too. Plus it doesn't consider power usage outside of the main unit, which would mostly be the monitor.

 

I'd suggest one possible way around this is to buy a power meter. They're not that expensive, and you can see exactly how much power your system is taking from the wall. If you know the rate you are charged electricity, combined with how long you use the computer, you can work out how much electricity you are using and work out the cost of that usage. Beyond that is a different discussion you'll have to have at home.

[Gorilla Warfare]

S12III is a piece of junk, not even manufactured by Seasonic. Look for a better option. Savings on your bill will be very minimal.

[Newblesse Obblige]

54 minutes ago, Gorilla Warfare said:

S12III is a piece of junk, not even manufactured by Seasonic. Look for a better option. Savings on your bill will be very minimal.

does it make a difference if i get a better PSU? like a 80 plus Gold PSU?

[Juular]

Here's calculator, courtesy of @OrionFOTL, go figure for yourself.

http://www.orionpsudb.com/efficiency-calculator

[GoldenLag]

7 hours ago, Gorilla Warfare said:

S12III is a piece of junk, not even manufactured by Seasonic.

i mean thats not the standard for how good a PSU is. 

 

the ax1500i isnt made by Corsair, but its still one of the best PSUs for the consumer market. and can be argued to be the "best" unit on the market. 

 

also if you dont like things from RSY, ive got bad news in regards to a significant portion of seasonics lineup....... S12iii is a perfectly ok unit, not great, but neat low end budget unit. 

6 hours ago, 5GigaaHertz said:

does it make a difference if i get a better PSU?

in regards to the power bill, not really. 

 

if you are chasing each and last penny on the power bill from a office PC. turn the brightness down, and it will likely have a bigger impact. 

 

if not, i guess the best you can really do efficiency wise is get something like the 300w TFX 80+ gold from bequiet, or Pure power 11 400w from bequiet. honestly tho its a waste of money. 

[Newblesse Obblige]

2 hours ago, GoldenLag said:

i mean thats not the standard for how good a PSU is. 

 

the ax1500i isnt made by Corsair, but its still one of the best PSUs for the consumer market. and can be argued to be the "best" unit on the market. 

 

also if you dont like things from RSY, ive got bad news in regards to a significant portion of seasonics lineup....... S12iii is a perfectly ok unit, not great, but neat low end budget unit. 

in regards to the power bill, not really. 

 

if you are chasing each and last penny on the power bill from a office PC. turn the brightness down, and it will likely have a bigger impact. 

 

if not, i guess the best you can really do efficiency wise is get something like the 300w TFX 80+ gold from bequiet, or Pure power 11 400w from bequiet. honestly tho its a waste of money. 

so the short answer is no, not a bit?

[TVwazhere]

15 hours ago, 5GigaaHertz said:

so the short answer is no, not a bit?

For normal users, no.

 

As yet another example, ITNOS is my Folding@home computer that runs 24/7 (always on, always using 100% of my GPU power unless I set it to use less) that at one point ran a 970 and a 750ti (this is the only AB comparison I have, you'll see why in a second). The previous unit was a bronze rated efficient unit. Using a Kill-a-Watt meter (which measures power from the wall) There was almost a 20 watt difference between the Bronze rated one and the platinum rated one. 

 

Now, I pay about 11cents/kwh. The PSU cost about $100. Assuming I didnt change out anything at that time nearly a year ago, i'd still not have made my money back on the PSU upgrade, meaning I didnt save much at all  on a worst case usage. The key factor is how much you use it in a day, and how much you pay. 

 

You dont upgrades PSU's for gaming to get better efficiency, you do it for better protections and more stable power. 

[Newblesse Obblige]

8 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

You dont upgrades PSU's for gaming to get better efficiency, you do it for better protections and more stable power. 

this was also my conclusion after reading the replies in this thread i made.