Will using @home software cause a jump in our electricity bill?

[Rickster]

Hi all,

Ive decided to get involved in the @home projects specifically Folding@home and SETI@home but im worried it will use a lot of power and affect the monthly bill.

The PC specs are:

PC 1

-Intel I3-3220 @ 3.3gHz While running SETI@home @ 35 Watts and 1.076Volts on the core
-CPU based GPU
-1XHDD

PC 2

-Intel I5-2500K @ 3.3gHz while running Folding@home @ 74 Watts and 1.114Volts on the core
-GTX 460
-5xHDD

 

[Crowley]

Trade in your Nvidia cards for some AMD goodness and start mining bitcoins

 

[HavocXphere]

Yes it will affect power usage.

With those PCs the effect...just eyeballing it...should be about the same as running an extra 100W lightbulb. Heavily dependent on hardware though. Generally the more modern & powerful the PC the worse the effect.

e.g. mine idles at like 100W but triples under load. I'm sure we've got okes here where it'll spike power usage 5x.

As for choice of direction...rather focus on the folding one imo. We all want to find aliens sure...but the folding one is solid. Running both on same PC is a bad idea btw.

Trade in your Nvidia cards for some AMD goodness and start mining bitcoins

Disagree. You'd need to spend serious bucks to buy a hardcore graphics card...and then you'll still get the sht kicked out of you by FGPAs running at 1000x the speed of your fancy new card. And thats ignoring mining bot-nets...

Unless you're hardcore the bitcoin mining game is over imo.

 

[Farmboy]

Okay so asumig they use what you posted above it will be something lie this:
Total 35 + 74 = 109 W
Running for 24hours in a day: 24 x 109 = 2616 W
Times 30 days: 30 x 2616 = 78 480 W
Thus 78 480 ÷ 1000 = 78.48 Kwh per month

Now I don't have eskom so I am not sure what you pay per kwh but I know around here it is R 0.36 per kwh
So: 0.36 x 78.487 = R 28.25 per month.
Hope it helps

 

[Crowley]

Disagree. You'd need to spend serious bucks to buy a hardcore graphics card...and then you'll still get the sht kicked out of you by FGPAs running at 1000x the speed of your fancy new card. And thats ignoring mining bot-nets...

Unless you're hardcore the bitcoin mining game is over imo.

it depends on if you are seriously gunning for bitcoins or not. I'm taking it easy and mining with a 5850 and at times I even forgot that it was mining. My power consumption didn't go up as my card isn't overclocked and my PC is on 24/7 in any way. I've been mining for a while now and sold my bitcoin for 5200 last weekend which would have offset any additional electricity usage in any way. In a few months when bitcoins go up in price again I will sell another one and make some pocket money. (By the way, they are going for $696 per bitcoin at the moment)

 

[Rickster]

Trade in your Nvidia cards for some AMD goodness and start mining bitcoins

This whole bitcoin thing is very confusing to me, i think a year ago i did try it but it brought my PC to a standstill, mouse was slow and my antivirus had a fit.

So I uninstalled.

PS, what would the rate of Coin my PC could produce, Specs are in the signature.

 

[HavocXphere]

it depends on if you are seriously gunning for bitcoins or not. I'm taking it easy and mining with a 5850 and at times I even forgot that it was mining. My power consumption didn't go up as my card isn't overclocked and my PC is on 24/7 in any way.

'tis not true my friend. Modern GFX cards have a power saving mode. Mine runs on 300mhz in a desktop environment but shoots to 880mhz the second I do something that actually needs gfx power. That jump is easily good for 100W+, if not 200W. Yes your PC is running 24/7 anyway but not all types of "running" are created equally.

bitcoin for 5200 last weekend which would have offset any additional electricity usage

Perhaps you off set the cost. In truth it was still a disaster though...you invested resources (opportunity cost) and you took a significant risk. The risk adjusted return will be negative...by quite a bit.

 

[Africaner]

Okay so asumig they use what you posted above it will be something lie this:
Total 35 + 74 = 109 W
Running for 24hours in a day: 24 x 109 = 2616 W
Times 30 days: 30 x 2616 = 78 480 W
Thus 78 480 ÷ 1000 = 78.48 Kwh per month

Now I don't have eskom so I am not sure what you pay per kwh but I know around here it is R 0.36 per kwh
So: 0.36 x 78.487 = R 28.25 per month.
Hope it helps

36cent for a kilowatt hour? Which country are you from?
"Fully Indexed contract prices for
power produced by Renewable
IPP's as contracted by the SA
government (2012 prices)
Concentrating solar power (CSP):
R2,51 per kWh Solar photo-voltaic (PV): R1,65 per kWh Wind: R0,90
per kWh Small hydro: R1,03 per
kWh Eskom Production Price
(2012): R0.31 per kWh Eskom
Average Selling Price (2013/14):
R0.65 per kWh http:// www.dailymaverick.co.za/
article/2012-10-31-major-
milestone-for-ipps-and-renewable-
energy-in-south-africa-but-at-
what-cost#.UaiV59iP331 http://
www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/n...eases-of-8-between-2013- and-2018-2013-02-28 "

 

[Farmboy]

It is a agricultural tarrif they get here if im not mistaken. But the line costs are 5000 to 8000 zar a month without putting a light on.

I only have solar power so I can be mistaken. I know it will be difrerent there.

The way to go:

 

[Batista]

It is a agricultural tarrif they get here if im not mistaken. But the line costs are 5000 to 8000 zar a month without putting a light on.

I only have solar power so I can be mistaken. I know it will be difrerent there.

The way to go: View attachment 84230

nice panels, love your blog too lol

 

[Farmboy]

nice panels, love your blog too lol

Thank you. I use about 400 kwh per month and then there is still a lot that gets thrown away during the day.