Electricity is getting more expensive. But how can you save electricity on your computer? MeinMMO presents the best tips.
Electronic devices like computers or consoles consume electricity. Many devices are now designed to consume very little and become increasingly efficient.
However, it’s still different with a gaming PC or a console. Because PCs, PS5s, or Xboxes are not made for “saving electricity.” Instead, a gaming PC should provide you with the best possible performance while gaming, and for that, the processor and graphics card will push to their maximum.
However, with a few small tips and tricks, you can reduce your power consumption and save money in the process.
You can read how much electricity your PS5 consumes in the following article:
Utilize Power Saving Options in Windows 10 and Your Monitor
The fastest and easiest way to save electricity is through the power-saving settings on your computer.
In Windows 10/11, you select the option “Edit Power Plan” in the Start menu and access the corresponding menu. Here you can set when the monitor or computer should turn off.
For example, if you are shopping and forget to turn off the computer, the PC will automatically enter standby after a certain time, thereby saving valuable electricity. You should definitely take advantage of the option to have the monitor turn off after a certain idle time.
Additionally, many monitors have a built-in energy-saving function. The monitor will turn off by itself after a while.
Important keyboard shortcuts in Windows 10/11 that every gamer should know
Purchase an Energy-Efficient Power Supply
The power supply in a PC is responsible for supplying power to your components. Without a power supply, no part of your PC could work. When buying a new PC or power supply, you should pay attention to how efficient your power supply is.
What does efficiency mean? Your system consumes 300 watts of electricity, but your power supply draws 375 watts from the wall outlet. The 75 watts that do not reach your PC are lost. If you now divide 300 watts by 375 watts, you get the efficiency: 0.8 or 80%.
The more efficient your power supply, the less energy is lost as heat. Because nothing else happens with the missing 75 watts.
Disconnect Unnecessary Devices from the Computer
If you do not need devices at the moment, turn them off. This includes:
- Printers
- Lights
- USB hubs
- Speakers
These are all devices you may not need at the moment and only consume electricity. For example, if you mostly use your headphones, you can turn off the unnecessary soundbar or speakers.
Set Up Undervolting
Undervolting is about finding the ideal maximum clock rate for your graphics card. For that, the voltage supplied to the graphics card is reduced.
If you reduce the voltage too much, it can lead to system instability and crashes. So you should plan time to set the perfect values for you.
The benefits should also be clear to you: you are helping the environment and, above all, saving money through reduced consumption. Depending on the settings and graphics card, you can save up to 40 watts.
Additionally, the graphics card produces less heat, which makes the fans run quieter.
You can read how much undervolting benefits you in a detailed column on undervolting on GameStar.
Activate Radeon Chill with AMD Graphics Card
Radeon Chill is a type of “smart” frame limiter. As soon as you make no keyboard input or mouse movement in the game, your graphics card lowers the FPS to a minimum value set by you. Once action occurs, the performance is increased again. In this way, you can save electricity and also reduce the thermal load on your graphics card.
You can activate the function directly through the AMD Adrenalin software. Here you go to the gear icon in the upper right and select the “Graphics” tab. In the next window, you can activate “Radeon Chill”.
Simply Turn Off Your Computer When You Don’t Need It
Simply turn off your gaming PC when you don’t need it. Do you want to take a long shower, go shopping for the weekend, take a short nap, or do your dailies in Pokémon: Unite on the Switch? Then turn off the computer as it only consumes unnecessary electricity.
The same goes for nighttime: if you are not gaming all night, you can give your computer a break and turn it off. Modern systems with SSDs start in under 20 seconds, so you don’t lose much time. You can read more reasons why you should turn off your computer at night in the following article:
