I built my first high-performance desktop three months ago, and I've noticed my electricity usage has tripled since then! I'm not sure if there's an issue with the meter, but it's hard to think of anything else that could cause such a significant change. Here's what I've got in my setup:
- Power Supply: Super Flower LEADEX III GOLD UP 850W 80 PLUS
- Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX V2
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (4.30 GHz, 16-core)
- Storage: Samsung 990 Pro (4000 GB, M.2 2280)
- RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance DDR5 96GB (2x48GB) 6000MHz CL30
- No GPU
Aside from adjusting my usage habits, are there any BIOS or OS tweaks (I use Linux) that could help me improve energy efficiency?
1 Answer
Your CPU is likely using around 50-70W at idle, so that's already a hefty draw if you're keeping it running all the time. You might want to explore undervolting or disabling features like EXPO in the BIOS to lower power usage. Since you have a good 80 PLUS rating with your PSU, it should help with efficiency, but every little tweak counts!
I think I might try undervolting! Have you had success with it before?