Screen Saver

4/May/2008 10:30

How much of my computer's resources does a standard screen saver use? I
assume that it uses no9ne -- or close to none -- when I choose "none".

Sincerely,

Barry Karas

Ken
Sun May 04 08:24:57 PDT 2008

On Sun, 4 May 2008 10:40:29 -0400, "Barry Karas"
<barrykaras1234@comcast.net> wrote:

> How much of my computer's resources does a standard screen saver use? I
> assume that it uses no9ne -- or close to none -- when I choose "none".


Sorry, I'm having trouble understanding this question. Since your
screen saver runs only when you are not using the computer, why should
you care how much of your computer's resources it uses?

And if you choose "none," then there is no screen saver running to use
any resources.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Barry
Wed May 07 02:04:30 PDT 2008

I'm just curious. Perhaps I should have used "energy" instead of "resources?

Barry Karas
***********************************************************
"Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
news:h5lr14548rg0dl3jfh7sh898ll932cggb8@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 4 May 2008 10:40:29 -0400, "Barry Karas"
> <barrykaras1234@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> How much of my computer's resources does a standard screen saver use? I
>> assume that it uses no9ne -- or close to none -- when I choose "none".
>
>
> Sorry, I'm having trouble understanding this question. Since your
> screen saver runs only when you are not using the computer, why should
> you care how much of your computer's resources it uses?
>
> And if you choose "none," then there is no screen saver running to use
> any resources.
>
> --
> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
> Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Ken
Wed May 07 09:25:43 PDT 2008

On Wed, 7 May 2008 05:04:52 -0400, "Barry Karas"
<barrykaras1234@comcast.net> wrote:

> I'm just curious. Perhaps I should have used "energy" instead of "resources?


You mean electrical power? It takes power to have an image on the
screen, but whether that image is your desktop or a screen saver
doesn't change the amount of power.



> ***********************************************************
> "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
> news:h5lr14548rg0dl3jfh7sh898ll932cggb8@4ax.com...
> > On Sun, 4 May 2008 10:40:29 -0400, "Barry Karas"
> > <barrykaras1234@comcast.net> wrote:
> >
> >> How much of my computer's resources does a standard screen saver use? I
> >> assume that it uses no9ne -- or close to none -- when I choose "none".
> >
> >
> > Sorry, I'm having trouble understanding this question. Since your
> > screen saver runs only when you are not using the computer, why should
> > you care how much of your computer's resources it uses?
> >
> > And if you choose "none," then there is no screen saver running to use
> > any resources.
> >
> > --
> > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
> > Please Reply to the Newsgroup
>

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Barry
Tue May 13 03:57:23 PDT 2008

I am one of those that keeps my computer running when I am not using it. I
want to know about how much energy I am using.

I realize that you cant actually DO the calculation, but I would like to
know how to do the calculation. I am sure (well almost sure) that once I
have the formula, I can then plug in my variables and get an answer.

Barry Karas
******************************************************************************************************
"Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
news:3ul324ti467neqqjguk77n5uasum96f6rc@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 7 May 2008 05:04:52 -0400, "Barry Karas"
> <barrykaras1234@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> I'm just curious. Perhaps I should have used "energy" instead of
>> "resources?
>
>
> You mean electrical power? It takes power to have an image on the
> screen, but whether that image is your desktop or a screen saver
> doesn't change the amount of power.
>
>
>
>> ***********************************************************
>> "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
>> news:h5lr14548rg0dl3jfh7sh898ll932cggb8@4ax.com...
>> > On Sun, 4 May 2008 10:40:29 -0400, "Barry Karas"
>> > <barrykaras1234@comcast.net> wrote:
>> >
>> >> How much of my computer's resources does a standard screen saver use?
>> >> I
>> >> assume that it uses no9ne -- or close to none -- when I choose "none".
>> >
>> >
>> > Sorry, I'm having trouble understanding this question. Since your
>> > screen saver runs only when you are not using the computer, why should
>> > you care how much of your computer's resources it uses?
>> >
>> > And if you choose "none," then there is no screen saver running to use
>> > any resources.
>> >
>> > --
>> > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
>> > Please Reply to the Newsgroup
>>
>
> --
> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
> Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Ken
Tue May 13 08:01:10 PDT 2008

On Tue, 13 May 2008 06:57:47 -0400, "Barry Karas"
<barrykaras1234@comcast.net> wrote:

> I am one of those that keeps my computer running when I am not using it. I
> want to know about how much energy I am using.
>
> I realize that you cant actually DO the calculation, but I would like to
> know how to do the calculation. I am sure (well almost sure) that once I
> have the formula, I can then plug in my variables and get an answer.


I'm far from an expert on this, but I believe that you can get a very
approximate answer at best.

My guess is that if you keep the monitor turned off when you're not
using it, you probably use something like 2-3 kwh per day.

But wait for someone who knows more about this than I do to answer.



> ******************************************************************************************************
> "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
> news:3ul324ti467neqqjguk77n5uasum96f6rc@4ax.com...
> > On Wed, 7 May 2008 05:04:52 -0400, "Barry Karas"
> > <barrykaras1234@comcast.net> wrote:
> >
> >> I'm just curious. Perhaps I should have used "energy" instead of
> >> "resources?
> >
> >
> > You mean electrical power? It takes power to have an image on the
> > screen, but whether that image is your desktop or a screen saver
> > doesn't change the amount of power.
> >
> >
> >
> >> ***********************************************************
> >> "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
> >> news:h5lr14548rg0dl3jfh7sh898ll932cggb8@4ax.com...
> >> > On Sun, 4 May 2008 10:40:29 -0400, "Barry Karas"
> >> > <barrykaras1234@comcast.net> wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> How much of my computer's resources does a standard screen saver use?
> >> >> I
> >> >> assume that it uses no9ne -- or close to none -- when I choose "none".
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Sorry, I'm having trouble understanding this question. Since your
> >> > screen saver runs only when you are not using the computer, why should
> >> > you care how much of your computer's resources it uses?
> >> >
> >> > And if you choose "none," then there is no screen saver running to use
> >> > any resources.
> >> >
> >> > --
> >> > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
> >> > Please Reply to the Newsgroup
> >>
> >
> > --
> > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
> > Please Reply to the Newsgroup
>

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Unknown
Tue May 13 08:56:56 PDT 2008

Get the power ratings from the specs or the tags on the equipment.

"Barry Karas" <barrykaras1234@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:jdadnXLcaNOO6bTVnZ2dnUVZ_jGdnZ2d@comcast.com...
>I am one of those that keeps my computer running when I am not using it. I
>want to know about how much energy I am using.
>
> I realize that you cant actually DO the calculation, but I would like to
> know how to do the calculation. I am sure (well almost sure) that once I
> have the formula, I can then plug in my variables and get an answer.
>
> Barry Karas
> ******************************************************************************************************
> "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
> news:3ul324ti467neqqjguk77n5uasum96f6rc@4ax.com...
>> On Wed, 7 May 2008 05:04:52 -0400, "Barry Karas"
>> <barrykaras1234@comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>>> I'm just curious. Perhaps I should have used "energy" instead of
>>> "resources?
>>
>>
>> You mean electrical power? It takes power to have an image on the
>> screen, but whether that image is your desktop or a screen saver
>> doesn't change the amount of power.
>>
>>
>>
>>> ***********************************************************
>>> "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
>>> news:h5lr14548rg0dl3jfh7sh898ll932cggb8@4ax.com...
>>> > On Sun, 4 May 2008 10:40:29 -0400, "Barry Karas"
>>> > <barrykaras1234@comcast.net> wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> How much of my computer's resources does a standard screen saver use?
>>> >> I
>>> >> assume that it uses no9ne -- or close to none -- when I choose
>>> >> "none".
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Sorry, I'm having trouble understanding this question. Since your
>>> > screen saver runs only when you are not using the computer, why should
>>> > you care how much of your computer's resources it uses?
>>> >
>>> > And if you choose "none," then there is no screen saver running to use
>>> > any resources.
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
>>> > Please Reply to the Newsgroup
>>>
>>
>> --
>> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
>> Please Reply to the Newsgroup
>
>

Swifty
Tue May 13 22:33:39 PDT 2008

Barry Karas wrote:
> I am one of those that keeps my computer running when I am not using it. I
> want to know about how much energy I am using.

In the UK it is now easy to get simple energy use meters. I'm fairly
sure you can get them to plug into your wall socket, then plug your
entire PC system into the meter.

I'd be interested to try this myself, but I'm scared that the meter
would melt - I have about 20 devices plugged into the socket by my desk.
I should have labelled the plugs - I can't account for all of them now.

--
Steve Swift
http://www.swiftys.org.uk/swifty.html
http://www.ringers.org.uk

Swifty
Tue May 13 22:40:04 PDT 2008

Unknown wrote:
> Get the power ratings from the specs or the tags on the equipment.

That will only tell you your peak usage, and probably not even that. A
display in power saving mode may use only 1W; when active, perhaps 60W,
but I'd bet that any rating plate would show a larger number, maybe
100W. And does that take into account any losses in the power brick,
typical on LCD's?

Apparently, a large waste of power is from power bricks left plugged
into the mains, but not actually doing anything. Mobile phone chargers
are the chief culprit here. I use a wind-up phone charger; consequently
my right arm is bigger than my left, so I look a little like a lobster.

--
Steve Swift
http://www.swiftys.org.uk/swifty.html
http://www.ringers.org.uk

Unknown
Wed May 14 10:04:59 PDT 2008

He said he leaves it powered on so he needs to know power consumption when
on, versus powering off.
Read his post.
"Swifty" <Steve.J.Swift@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:%23V4y4TYtIHA.4772@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Unknown wrote:
>> Get the power ratings from the specs or the tags on the equipment.
>
> That will only tell you your peak usage, and probably not even that. A
> display in power saving mode may use only 1W; when active, perhaps 60W,
> but I'd bet that any rating plate would show a larger number, maybe 100W.
> And does that take into account any losses in the power brick, typical on
> LCD's?
>
> Apparently, a large waste of power is from power bricks left plugged into
> the mains, but not actually doing anything. Mobile phone chargers are the
> chief culprit here. I use a wind-up phone charger; consequently my right
> arm is bigger than my left, so I look a little like a lobster.
>
> --
> Steve Swift
> http://www.swiftys.org.uk/swifty.html
> http://www.ringers.org.uk

Swifty
Thu May 15 22:51:39 PDT 2008

Unknown wrote:
> He said he leaves it powered on so he needs to know power consumption when
> on, versus powering off.
> Read his post.

And in what way would a simple power meter, which you plug between the
system and the wall socket, and which says something like "This device
is using 197.1 Watts" fail to meet that objective? They are freely
available, at least in the UK, where energy saving is now fashionable.

When "off" it will probably say something like "This device is using
27.3 Watts", at least if it's anything like my system with about 10
power bricks.

Actually, my system uses about 0.1 Watts when it is off, because the
system unit is plugged into the master socket of an intelligent strip
that powers off all the other sockets/devices when the master socket
stops drawing power. I'm guessing that my system unit uses some
minuscule amount of power even in the "off" state.

--
Steve Swift
http://www.swiftys.org.uk/swifty.html
http://www.ringers.org.uk

Unknown
Sat May 17 09:41:12 PDT 2008

Read the first line of your previous post.
"Swifty" <Steve.J.Swift@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:OGwyrjxtIHA.5500@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Unknown wrote:
>> He said he leaves it powered on so he needs to know power consumption
>> when on, versus powering off.
>> Read his post.
>
> And in what way would a simple power meter, which you plug between the
> system and the wall socket, and which says something like "This device is
> using 197.1 Watts" fail to meet that objective? They are freely available,
> at least in the UK, where energy saving is now fashionable.
>
> When "off" it will probably say something like "This device is using 27.3
> Watts", at least if it's anything like my system with about 10 power
> bricks.
>
> Actually, my system uses about 0.1 Watts when it is off, because the
> system unit is plugged into the master socket of an intelligent strip that
> powers off all the other sockets/devices when the master socket stops
> drawing power. I'm guessing that my system unit uses some minuscule amount
> of power even in the "off" state.
>
> --
> Steve Swift
> http://www.swiftys.org.uk/swifty.html
> http://www.ringers.org.uk