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From: src@scuzzy.in-berlin.de (Heiko Blume)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Leaving computer equip. on (was: Monitor reliabilty)
Message-ID: <1990Sep19.152633.8409@scuzzy.in-berlin.de>
Date: 19 Sep 90 15:26:33 GMT
References: <1081@beguine.UUCP> <1990Sep16.084439.28861@uncecs.edu> <4349@cocoa11.UUCP>
Organization: Scuzzy Research Center (SRC)
Lines: 17

>dmimi@uncecs.edu (Miriam Clifford) writes:
>>Does a pc actually draw 200 watts?  All varieties of pc?  Does it draw that
>>much constantly?  Or is the power usage higher when the machine is actually in
>>use than it is when it is idle but on?

it doesn't. those 200 watts are needed for starting the machine in the
first place. that means the power supply must be able to spin the hard disks
up etc which can amount to many watts. to give you some numbers: i have
a 600MB hard disk that requires up to 4.5 A on 12 Volt (54 W) when it
starts up, but it just uses 2.2 A 'maximum operating current' in the
worst case. btw: 4.5 A is a lot, it's about half the power most 220 watt
power supplies can deliver on 12 V.
-- 
Heiko Blume c/o Diakite   blume@scuzzy.in-berlin.de   FAX   (+49 30) 882 50 65
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