My computer upgrade

For interesting topics. But remember this is a Linux Forum. Do not post offensive topics that are meant to cause trouble with other members or are derogatory towards people of different genders, race, color, minors (this includes nudity and sex), politics or religion. Let's try to keep peace among the community and for visitors.

No spam on this or any other forums please! If you post advertisements on these forums, your account may be deleted.

Do not copy and paste entire or even up to half of someone else's words or articles into posts. Post only a few sentences or a paragraph and make sure to include a link back to original words or article. Otherwise it's copyright infringement.

You can talk about other distros here, but no MX bashing. You can email the developers of MX if you just want to say you dislike or hate MX.
Message
Author
User avatar
JayM
Qualified MX Guide
Posts: 6793
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2019 4:47 am

My computer upgrade

#1 Post by JayM »

I came into a bit of a windfall of unexpected extra money this month. Some of it's earmarked for getting the doggies their annual vaccinations and for the August utility bills but there was a bit left over, enough for me to be able to order a (used but tested good) AMD Phenom II X4 925 rev. C2 2.8GHz quad-core 95W CPU and a new Deepcool Gamma Archer cooler with a 120mm fan. I should get them both within 17 days, then the fun starts! I haven't swapped out a CPU in many years but I plan to do it myself now that I already have the 600W PSU installed. The total including shipping and delivery is ₱1726 or around US$33.41/€30. This will give me a slightly faster processor speed and two more cores plus 6MB of L3 cache which my current CPU (a 2.6GHz Athlon 64 x2 5000+) lacks. I've already checked and verified that my motherboard supports this CPU. I just hope it doesn't negatively impact my electricity bill, though if I understand correctly the wattage rating of CPUs isn't their power consumption per se, it's the maximum heat that can be generated before the CPU shuts itself down.
Please read the Forum Rules, How To Ask For Help, How to Break Your System and Don't Break Debian. Always include your full Quick System Info (QSI) with each and every new help request.

User avatar
Eadwine Rose
Administrator
Posts: 11894
Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:10 am

Re: My computer upgrade

#2 Post by Eadwine Rose »

Ohhh exciting!!

Do keep us posted.. and take pics. If not for us then for yourself, always fun :)
MX-23.2_x64 July 31 2023 * 6.1.0-18-amd64 ext4 Xfce 4.18.1 * 8core AMD Ryzen 7 2700
Asus TUF B450-Plus Gaming UEFI * Asus GTX 1050 Ti Nvidia 525.147.05 * 2x16Gb DDR4 2666 Kingston HyperX Predator
Samsung 860EVO * Samsung S24D330 & P2250 * HP Envy 5030

User avatar
JayM
Qualified MX Guide
Posts: 6793
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2019 4:47 am

Re: My computer upgrade

#3 Post by JayM »

Good news: per cpuboss.com the Phenom only consumes around 6W more power on average than the Athlon, which is like a single LED light bulb so it shouldn't impact my electricity bill that much, and it runs at around the same temperature. It will probably run even cooler thanks to that huge new fan and heat sink vs. my current OEM cooler.
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-Phenom-II-X ... 64-X2-5000
Please read the Forum Rules, How To Ask For Help, How to Break Your System and Don't Break Debian. Always include your full Quick System Info (QSI) with each and every new help request.

User avatar
Eadwine Rose
Administrator
Posts: 11894
Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:10 am

Re: My computer upgrade

#4 Post by Eadwine Rose »

If you want to make up for the extra use.. turn it off ten minutes earlier or so ;)



If you are going to do what I did (double the PSU wattage capacity), yeah then you are going to make a dent.
MX-23.2_x64 July 31 2023 * 6.1.0-18-amd64 ext4 Xfce 4.18.1 * 8core AMD Ryzen 7 2700
Asus TUF B450-Plus Gaming UEFI * Asus GTX 1050 Ti Nvidia 525.147.05 * 2x16Gb DDR4 2666 Kingston HyperX Predator
Samsung 860EVO * Samsung S24D330 & P2250 * HP Envy 5030

User avatar
JayM
Qualified MX Guide
Posts: 6793
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2019 4:47 am

Re: My computer upgrade

#5 Post by JayM »

Eadwine Rose wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 4:43 am If you want to make up for the extra use.. turn it off ten minutes earlier or so ;)

That reminds me of my dog Sweetie. She likes to sleep next to me, and if I'm staying up too late on the computer to suit her (darn those funny British panel shows on YouTube! Quite Interesting, Would I Lie To You, 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown) she starts nagging and begging me to go to bed so she can sleep too. "Turn the computer off and go to bed, papa!"

If you are going to do what I did (double the PSU wattage capacity), yeah then you are going to make a dent.
I already more than doubled my PSU out of necessity, remember? My 250W (Edit: I looked at it more closely and it was 450W) one died on me one afternoon, or at least the 5V supply did as the fans still ran, and I had to install the 600W one that was in what's become my parts computer. (Which reminds me, it has an almost new CMOS battery in it too. I may as well swap those when I have the case open.)

In your case I doubt if it's the PSU. Just because it's rated at, say, 600W doesn't mean that it's consuming that much power all the time, it's just how much maximum power it's capable of providing. In your case I suspect it's more due to your GPU plus all those fans and things (I think I read online that the Ryzen CPUs actually consume less power than these old AM2/AM2+/AM3-socket CPUs, so unless you're overclocking it, which I don't think you are, or making a lot of snapshots, your CPU probably isn't drawing all that much power.) Although a PSU itself does consume (read: waste) some power, how much depending on its efficiency. (Mine's a cheap Xtyle brand plain-vanilla 600W PSU, not one of the new, fancy intelligent power supplies. But it was what I already had, it had low hours on it, and it seems to work.)
Last edited by JayM on Sun Aug 18, 2019 4:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
Please read the Forum Rules, How To Ask For Help, How to Break Your System and Don't Break Debian. Always include your full Quick System Info (QSI) with each and every new help request.

User avatar
Eadwine Rose
Administrator
Posts: 11894
Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:10 am

Re: My computer upgrade

#6 Post by Eadwine Rose »

JayM wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:09 am
Eadwine Rose wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 4:43 am If you want to make up for the extra use.. turn it off ten minutes earlier or so ;)

That reminds me of my dog Sweetie. She likes to sleep next to me, and if I'm staying up too late on the computer to suit her (darn those funny British panel shows on YouTube! Quite Interesting, Would I Lie To You, 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown) she starts nagging and begging me to go to bed so she can sleep too. "Turn the computer off and go to bed, papa!"
Same here with Doerak, my cat. He starts whining. He loves to sleep all day but there is a set time (roughly) for bedtime!



I already more than doubled my PSU out of necessity, remember? My 250W one died on me one afternoon, or at least the 5V supply did as the fans still ran, and I had to install the 600W one that was in what's become my parts computer. (Which reminds me, it has an almost new CMOS battery in it too. I may as well swap those when I have the case open.)
Ah yeah, indeed. And might as well!


In your case I doubt if it's the PSU. Just because it's rated at, say, 600W doesn't mean that it's consuming that much power all the time, it's just how much maximum power it's capable of providing. In your case I suspect it's more due to your GPU plus all those fans and things (I think I read online that the Ryzen CPUs actually consume less power than these old AM2/AM2+/AM3-socket CPUs, so unless you're overclocking it, which I don't think you are, or making a lot of snapshots, your CPU probably isn't drawing all that much power.) Although a PSU itself does consume (read: waste) some power, how much depending on its efficiency. (Mine's a cheap Xtyle brand plain-vanilla 600W PSU, not one of the new, fancy intelligent power supplies. But it was what I already had, it had low hours on it, and it seems to work.)
True indeed. But regardless, I won't notice much of a difference since I pay too much monthly to begin with, which leaves me with a nice return at the end of the contract year. That return might be a wee lower, but it is still nothing really compared to all the other power using stuff in the house.
MX-23.2_x64 July 31 2023 * 6.1.0-18-amd64 ext4 Xfce 4.18.1 * 8core AMD Ryzen 7 2700
Asus TUF B450-Plus Gaming UEFI * Asus GTX 1050 Ti Nvidia 525.147.05 * 2x16Gb DDR4 2666 Kingston HyperX Predator
Samsung 860EVO * Samsung S24D330 & P2250 * HP Envy 5030

User avatar
JayM
Qualified MX Guide
Posts: 6793
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2019 4:47 am

Re: My computer upgrade

#7 Post by JayM »

Eadwine Rose wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:12 am
True indeed. But regardless, I won't notice much of a difference since I pay too much monthly to begin with, which leaves me with a nice return at the end of the contract year. That return might be a wee lower, but it is still nothing really compared to all the other power using stuff in the house.
Your electric utility must charge based on an average annual consumption or something like that, which may cost more per month but it makes it easier to plan your budget, especially in the winter when the daylight is less and you consume more power. You know exactly how much your bill is going to be, winter or summer. The Visayan Electric Company where I live just charges by my actual usage every month according to the meter readings.
Please read the Forum Rules, How To Ask For Help, How to Break Your System and Don't Break Debian. Always include your full Quick System Info (QSI) with each and every new help request.

User avatar
Eadwine Rose
Administrator
Posts: 11894
Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:10 am

Re: My computer upgrade

#8 Post by Eadwine Rose »

They read my meter once a year and then calculate what I have paid vs what I am owed.

They determine a monthly fee, calculated upon the past year. I usually up that a bit to make sure harsh winters and hot summers are covered as more power is consumed during those times.

I once had to pay hundreds extra, that is not happening to me again, that is for sure. So I pay too much to make sure I am covered in that area.
MX-23.2_x64 July 31 2023 * 6.1.0-18-amd64 ext4 Xfce 4.18.1 * 8core AMD Ryzen 7 2700
Asus TUF B450-Plus Gaming UEFI * Asus GTX 1050 Ti Nvidia 525.147.05 * 2x16Gb DDR4 2666 Kingston HyperX Predator
Samsung 860EVO * Samsung S24D330 & P2250 * HP Envy 5030

User avatar
timkb4cq
Developer
Posts: 3186
Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 4:05 pm

Re: My computer upgrade

#9 Post by timkb4cq »

PSUs are switching power supplies so they use power roughly in proportion to demand regardless of their max rating.
The roughly is because they aren't 100% efficient and the efficiency varies somewhat with the load. Generally they're most efficient at 50% load and least efficient at very low loads. A 600w 80% efficient PSU might be only 65% efficient with a 60 watt load.

I think you've sized pretty well for efficiency.
HP Pavillion TP01, AMD Ryzen 3 5300G (quad core), Crucial 500GB SSD, Toshiba 6TB 7200rpm
Dell Inspiron 15, AMD Ryzen 7 2700u (quad core). Sabrent 500GB nvme, Seagate 1TB

User avatar
JayM
Qualified MX Guide
Posts: 6793
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2019 4:47 am

Re: My computer upgrade

#10 Post by JayM »

Thanks, Tim. Considering I'm just using the onboard GPU and only have two case fans there's not a whole lot in this system consuming a lot of power right now, so there should be plenty for the "new" processor. I'm also thinking of getting an external PCI-E video card for it, as well as (perhaps) a PCI-E USB3.0/SATA III combo card. After that it will be a 20-22" 1080p-capable LED monitor, and I'll have my "new" computer! (Meanwhile my 1280x1020 17" monitor will have to do. I'll just set it aside as a spare whenever I'm able to get a new one.) I just want to be able to watch 1080p movies without having to rescale them to 720p first to prevent them from lagging or buffering in VLC. This PSU should have enough power for all of these. I never overclock the CPU either, nor do I enable turbo-boost. I usually run it with the BIOS's power-saving profile, in fact.
Please read the Forum Rules, How To Ask For Help, How to Break Your System and Don't Break Debian. Always include your full Quick System Info (QSI) with each and every new help request.

Post Reply

Return to “General”