Computer Power Usage
This table lists actual power readings in watts from various desktop, notebook, and netbook systems in common use at the University. Obsolete systems are listed in a separate table.
General notes: all testing was with networking on (Ethernet for desktops/Ethernet and Wi-Fi for notebooks), native screen resolution, and a fully charged battery (except for the battery charging category where the results are recorded at less than 80% charged). Moderate use was tested by using the latest release versions of the graphical clients for Folding@Home or SETI@Home, running in full screen mode. 'Clean' or 'dirty' status listed after the operating system gives an indicator as to the amount of applications, middleware, and data loaded on the desktop or notebook at the time of testing. Finally, * marks a specification currently being tested.
Approximate Desktop Power Usage In Watts
| Make & Model | Basic Specifications | Off (plugged in) | Boot (peak) | Moderate Use (range) | Quiescent (5 minutes of no activity) | Sleep |
|
Apple iMac/Intel 21.5-inch (purchased late 2012) |
Core i5, 8.0 GB RAM, 1.0 TB hard drive, OS X 10.8.2 (clean) |
1 | 60 | 52-56 |
44 (18 w/ LCD in sleep) |
1 |
|
Apple iMac/Intel 21.5-inch (purchased late 2011) |
Core i5, 4.0 GB RAM, 500 GB hard drive, OS X 10.7.4 (clean) |
1 |
105 |
92-96 |
88 (38 w/ LCD in sleep) |
1 |
|
Apple iMac/Intel 27-inch (purchased late 2009) |
Core i5, 4.0 GB RAM, 1.0 TB hard drive, OS X 10.7.4 (clean) |
1 | 177 | 141-147 |
130 (73 w/ LCD in sleep) |
1 |
|
Apple iMac/Intel 24-inch (purchased early 2009) |
Core 2 Duo, 4.0 GB RAM, 640 GB hard drive, OS X 10.6.2 (clean) |
1 | 141 | 146-154 |
88 (42 w/ LCD in sleep) |
1 |
|
Dell Optiplex 9010 All-in-One 23-inch (purchased late 2012) |
Core i7, 8.0 GB RAM, 500 GB hard drive, Windows 8 Pro (clean) |
1 | 61 | 43-45 | 43-44 | 1 |
|
Dell Optiplex 9010 w/ Dell LCD (purchased mid 2012) |
Core i7, 8.0 GB RAM, Windows 7 Ultimate (clean) |
1 | 48 | 66 | 20-22 | 1 |
|
Dell Optiplex 990 w/ Dell LCD (purchased mid 2011) |
Core i7, 8.0 GB RAM, Windows 7 Professional (clean) |
1 | 86 | 33-37 | 28 | 1 |
|
Dell Optiplex 980 w/ Dell LCD (purchased mid 2010) |
Core i7, 4.0 GB RAM, Windows 7 Professional (clean) |
1 | 66 | 64-71 | 46-61 | 1 |
|
Dell Optiplex 780 w/ Dell LCD (purchased late 2009) |
Core 2 Duo, 4.0 GB RAM, Windows 7 Professional (clean) |
2 | 108 | not tested | not tested | 1 |
|
Dell Optiplex 760 w/ 19-inch Dell LCD (purchased late 2008) |
Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GB RAM, 160 GB/7200 RPM hard drive, UltraSharp 1907FPV display, Windows 7 Ultimate (clean) |
1 | 116 | 95-111 |
81-83 (50-52 w/ LCD off) |
1 |
|
Lenovo ThinkCentre M91 w/ Lenovo LCD (purchased early 2012) |
Core i7, 8.0 GB RAM, Windows 7 Professional (clean) |
1 | 88 | 50-68 | 40 | 1 |
Approximate Notebook/Netbook Power Usage In Watts
| Make & Model | Basic Specifications | Off (plugged in) | Boot (peak) | Moderate Use (range) | Sleep | Battery Charging (powered on) |
|
Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch "Retina" (purchased mid 2012) |
2.5 GHz Core i5, 8.0 GB RAM, 256 GB solid state drive, OS X 10.8.3 (dirty) |
1 | 50 | 49-53 | 1 | 53 |
|
Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (purchased mid 2009) |
2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo, 4.0 GB RAM, 256 GB solid state drive, Mac OS 10.5.8 (dirty) |
1 | 52 | 58-60 | 1 | 56-60 |
|
Dell XPS 12 12.5-inch (purchased late 2012) |
2.6 GHz Core i5, 8.0 GB RAM, 256 GB solid state drive, Windows 8 Pro 64-bit (dirty) |
1 | 21 | 38-40 * | 1 | 66-71 |
|
Dell Latitude E4200 12-inch (purchased late 2008) |
1.4 GHz Core 2 Duo, 3.0 GB RAM, 128 GB solid state drive, Windows Vista Business 64-bit (dirty) |
1 | 48 | 38-40 | 1 | 66-71 * |
|
Dell Latitude XT2 XFR 12-inch (tested early 2010) |
1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GB RAM, 64 GB solid state drive, Windows Vista Business 32-bit (clean) |
1 | 37 |
28-32 |
1-2 |
49 |
|
Dell Inspiron Mini 10 10-inch (purchased late 2009) |
1.6 GHz Atom, 1.0 GB RAM, 160 GB hard drive, Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit RTM (clean) |
1 | 21 | 19-21 | 1 | 34-35 |
|
Lenovo ThinkPad X100e 11.6-inch (tested early 2010) |
1.6 GHz Athlon, 3.0 GB RAM, 250 GB hard drive, Windows 7 Professional 32-bit RTM (clean) |
1 | 21 | 19-21 | 1 | 68-70 |
|
Lenovo ThinkPad T400s 14-inch (tested mid 2009) |
2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo, 3.0 GB RAM, 250 GB hard drive, Windows Vista Business SP2 (clean) |
1 | 25 | not testable | 1 | 47-53 |
|
Lenovo ThinkPad T410s 14-inch (tested mid 2010) |
2.4 GHz Core i5, 4.0 GB RAM, 128 GB solid state drive, Windows 7 Ultimate RTM (clean) |
1 | 59 | 39-58 | 1 | 35-67 |
Approximate Obsolete Desktop Power Usage In Watts
| Make & Model | Basic Specifications | Off (plugged in) | Boot (peak) | Moderate Use (range) | Quiescent (5 minutes of no activity) | Sleep |
|
Apple iMac/Intel 20-inch (purchased early 2008) |
Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GB RAM, 320 GB hard drive, Mac OS 10.6.2 (clean) |
1 | 105 | 117-118 |
72-73 (56 w/ LCD in sleep) |
1 |
|
Dell OptiPlex 755 w/ 19-inch Dell LCD (purchased late 2007) |
Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GB RAM, 160 GB/7200 RPM hard drive, UltraSharp 1906FPV display, Windows Vista Business (clean) |
1 | 115 | 126-130 |
89 (57 with LCD off) |
2 |
|
Apple iMac/Intel 17-inch (purchased early 2006) |
Core Duo, 1.0 GB RAM, 160 GB/7200 RPM hard drive, Mac OS 10.4.9 (clean) |
1 | 72 | 60-61 | not tested | 3 |
|
Dell OptiPlex 745 w/ 19-inch Dell LCD (purchased mid 2006) |
Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GB RAM, 100 GB/7200 RPM hard drive, UltraSharp 1907FPV display, Windows Vista Enterprise (clean) |
1 | 145 | 111-133 | not tested | 2 |
|
Dell OptiPlex 745 w/ 19-inch Dell LCD (purchased mid 2006) |
Athlon X2, 2.0 GB RAM, 100 GB/7200 RPM hard drive, UltraSharp 1907FP display, Windows XP Professional SP2 (clean) |
1 | 151 | 108-138 | not tested | 3 |
|
IBM ThinkCentre M52 w/ 19-inch IBM LCD (purchased mid 2006) |
2.8 GHz Pentium D 820, 1.0 GB RAM, 160 GB/7200 RPM hard drive, UltraSharp 1703FP display, Windows Vista Enterprise (clean) |
1 | 200 | 156-194 | not tested | 1 |
|
Apple iMac/G5 20-inch (purchased early 2005) |
2.0 GHz PowerPC G5, 1.0 GB RAM, 250 GB/7200 RPM hard drive, Mac OS 10.3.9 (clean) |
1 | 110 | 112-113 | not tested | 4 |
|
Apple PowerMac G5 w/ 20-inch Apple LCD (purchased mid 2005) |
dual 2.0 GHz PowerMac G5, 1.5 GB RAM, 160 GB/7200 RPM hard drive, Cinema Display, Mac OS 10.4.9 (dirty) |
1 | 52 | 48-49 | not tested | 2 |
|
Dell OptiPlex GX620 w/ 17-inch Dell LCD (purchased mid 2005) |
3.6 GHz Pentium 4 521, 1.0 GB RAM, 160 GB/7200 RPM hard drive, UltraSharp 1704FPV display, Windows XP Professional SP2 (clean) |
2 | 167 | 164-170 | not tested | 5 |
|
Dell OptiPlex GX270 w/ 17-inch Dell LCD (purchased mid 2003) |
Pentium 4, 1.0 GB RAM, 100 GB/7200 RPM hard drive, UltraSharp 1703FP display, Windows XP Professional SP1 (clean) |
6 | 150 | 104-162 | not tested | 4 |
|
Dell OptiPlex GX260 w/ 17-inch Dell LCD (purchased mid 2003) |
2.0 GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB/7200 RPM hard drive, UltraSharp 1703FP display, Windows XP Home SP2 (clean) |
1 | 93 | 104-162 | not tested | 5 |
Approximate Obsolete Notebook Power Usage in Watts
| Make & Model | Basic Specifications | Off (plugged in) | Boot (peak) | Moderate Use (range) | Sleep | Battery Charging (powered on) |
|
Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (purchased early 2008) |
2.5 GHz Core 2 Duo, 4.0 GB RAM, 250 GB/5400 RPM hard drive, OS X 10.5.6 (dirty) |
1 | 52 | 55-58 | 1 | 41 |
|
Lenovo ThinkPad X300 13-inch (purchased early 2008) |
1.2 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GB RAM, 64 GB solid state drive, Windows Vista Business SP1 (dirty) |
1 | 25 | 38-40 | 1 | 38-44 |
|
Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (purchased mid 2006) |
2.16 GHz Core Duo, 2.0 GB RAM, 100 GB/7200 RPM hard drive, Mac OS 10.4.9 (dirty) |
1 | 59 | 26-38 | 2 | 76 |
|
Dell Latitude D420 12-inch (purchased mid 2006) |
1.06 GHz Core Solo, 1.0 GB RAM, 40 GB/4200 RPM hard drive, Windows Vista Ultimate (clean) |
3 | 28 | 23-26 | 1-4 | 51 |
|
Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet 12-inch (purchased late 2005) |
1.5 GHz Pentium M, 1.5 GB RAM, 40 GB/4200 RPM hard drive, Windows XP Tablet SP2 (dirty) |
1 | 24 | 19-20 | 2 | 51 |
