I recently built a new PC for light gaming with an i3-10100F and a GTX 1650, but I've noticed my power bill has skyrocketed from $6 a day to $13 since I got it on the 10th of this month. I checked the power usage with a watt meter and it's showing 2.4 kWh. This seems way too high for my setup, and I'm genuinely worried that something might be wrong, possibly even dangerous. Can anyone help me figure out what's happening?
5 Answers
kWh measures power over time, so it could make sense. If your PC's been on for around 120 hours and drawing an average of just 9.6 watts, that’s pretty low. Maybe there’s a misunderstanding with how you're measuring it? Double-check the unit you're using!
Honestly, the simplest advice would be to just unplug your PC for a while until you figure this out. Better safe than sorry!
This doesn’t sound right at all. What’s the wattage rating of your power supply? A 600W PSU shouldn't be showing up that high unless there’s a malfunction somewhere.
I checked, and yeah, it’s a 600W PSU. But I’m baffled by all this—it’s really hitting my pocket!
2.4kWh on a PC shouldn’t be happening unless the power supply is way oversized. Have you looked into how often your HVAC system runs? Sometimes the additional heating can impact bills too!
Haven’t really checked that. Not sure where to even look.
If it really was using that much power, the heat would be insane. A faulty power supply is the only thing I could think of that might cause that. Realistically, your setup shouldn’t exceed 300W even under heavy use.
I’m not super tech-savvy, but I can send a pic or video to show what’s going on!
Yeah, but my bill’s still way higher, so something's off there!