Q: I need to save power because of the power bill, so I need to know how much power I am using and how long I should be using my computer. I have a - Samsung 2253BW 22" monitor - 650W CoolerMaster PSU - ECS Geforce6100PM-M2 Mobo using onboard graphics, - Phenom 9600 2.3~ Ghz CPU with huge CoolerMaster fan. - 5 slot USB PCI card. - 4GB ram on xp(3.37~GB). I will be getting an 8800GT soon, so that adds up. I think the monitor uses 45Watts, but I don't know what I can compare that to? A light bulb?
A: There are power calculators for you pc, that will give you the absolute maximum theoretical power draw like this one eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite v2.5 http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp but ymmv since your "average" power draw over a fixed amount of time largely depends on your usage, for example if you are running "folding@home" or playing games your power draw will be much higher on the average over several hours of use compared to a pc that is just a print/file server (where a lot of idle time is just waiting for user jobs) ... Taking the power calc for the monitor is also very hardware dependant, you can only hope you find a review like this one http://techreport.com/articles.x/6374/2 A good solution for you might be a real-time measuring tool like this one P4400 Kill A Watt by P3 http://www.p3international.com/products/special/P4400/P4400-CE.html it is relatively cheap P3 Kill A Watt Electricity Load Meter and Monitor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882715001&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Electronic+Gadgets-_-P3+International-_-82715001 $18 + shipping it can tell you true average power consumption and even will show you the power factor, I think it will be a good fit for your needs. cheers