Software needed for measuring the power consumed by the computer

[Dashi]

Does anybody knows software that measures the electric power consumed
by the computer?

 

[contrex]

Does anybody knows software that measures the electric power consumed
by the computer?

Are you serious? Why don't you just measure the AC current with an
ammeter?

 

[Bill Bowden]

Are you serious? Why don't you just measure the AC current with an
ammeter?

That's difficult to do since the duty cycle is short and the peak
currents are high. The line just feeds a couple rectifiers that only
cunduct when the line voltage exceeds the filter cap voltage, which
may be only a few degrees of the cycle. So, you get large current
pulses and lots of dead time which ampmeters don't read very well.

-Bill

 

[contrex]

That's difficult to do since the duty cycle is short and the peak
currents are high. The line just feeds a couple rectifiers that only
cunduct when the line voltage exceeds the filter cap voltage, which
may be only a few degrees of the cycle. So, you get large current
pulses and lots of dead time which ampmeters don't read very well.

-Bill

Ok, then, how about a "trusty $30 Kill-A-Watt meter"?

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000353.html

but -

SW Technology measured a Dell Dimension 4600 at 190W using a "low-cost
clamp-on ammeter"...

http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partne...loads/computer/ReducingPCPowerConsumption.pdf

http://tinyurl.com/2h2aen

So have the energystar gov people got it wrong?