This summary of the video was created by an AI. It might contain some inaccuracies.
00:00:00 – 00:12:49
In the video, the creator, Nick, investigates the energy consumption and cost of running his computer setup after receiving a higher-than-usual power bill. Using a Rio Rand power meter to measure usage, Nick discovers that his Ryzen 7 3700X-based system consumes 0.765 kWh over three hours of typical use, costing around five cents in British Columbia, Canada, where the electricity rate is seven cents per kWh. He contrasts these costs with those in cities like Toronto, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, London, and Melbourne, showing significant global variations.
Nick highlights the particularly high electricity costs on small islands, such as the Solomon Islands, and suggests alternative, more economical hobbies like paddleboarding. He extends his analysis to the annual costs of gaming PCs, multi-monitor setups, and the implications of leaving computers idle. For instance, keeping a dual-monitor setup idle could lead to an annual cost of $69.39 in BC, with much higher costs in places like Miami ($109.05) and the Solomon Islands ($842.69).
To reduce unnecessary expenses and environmental impact, Nick advocates for using power settings in operating systems to control when computers and displays go to sleep. He likens idle computers to idling cars in terms of wastefulness and environmental harm. Concluding, he discusses improving air quality and cost efficiency through proper settings adjustments and briefly mentions a fun fact about coin flipping and his new 27-inch 1440p monitor.
00:00:00
In this part of the video, the creator received a higher-than-usual power bill and decided to investigate how much energy their computer setup consumes. They purchased a Rio Rand power meter from Amazon to measure the power usage. The computer being tested includes a Ryzen 7 3700X CPU, an Aourus X570 motherboard, 32GB DDR4 RAM, multiple SSDs, a cooling system, and an NVIDIA 3080ti GPU, powered by a 850W Corsair HX850 PSU. The test focuses on a modest setup by only plugging the PC and the main 1440p ASUS monitor into the power meter. The creator plans to use the computer for three hours for activities like video editing and gaming to measure the wattage. The power meter will provide cost per KWh, current wattage, and accumulated energy usage in KWh.
00:03:00
In this part of the video, the creator reviews the energy consumption and cost of running a computer for over three hours, involving activities like video editing, web surfing, and gaming. They reveal that the total energy consumed was 0.765 kilowatt-hours, costing approximately five US cents. They compute an estimated annual cost of around $19.55 based on local electricity rates in BC, Canada, which are relatively cheap at 7 cents per kilowatt-hour. For comparison, they examine costs in other locations: Toronto at $25.13, Chicago at $36.30, Miami at $30.71, San Francisco at $86.56, London at $53.05, and Melbourne at $39.09, illustrating significant variations in electricity expenses globally.
00:06:00
In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the high electricity costs associated with PC gaming on various islands, emphasizing that it’s particularly expensive in places like the Solomon Islands. They suggest avoiding PC gaming on small islands due to these high costs and propose alternative hobbies like paddleboarding which might be more economical and beneficial for health. The video then shifts to discussing the annual electricity consumption for a moderate to high-power consuming PC, indicating it could be significantly higher for those gaming for several hours a day with multi-monitor setups. The speaker conducted a test showing increased power usage with additional peripherals. They further explore the cost of running a PC while idle, finding it relatively inexpensive per hour but noting the cumulative cost over a year if left on continuously.
00:09:00
In this segment, the speaker discusses the cost implications of leaving computers on idle. By observing running dual monitor setups, the speaker calculates an annual cost of $69.39, which is equated to wasting money that could be otherwise used for upgrades like additional RAM. The cost varies by location: $24.4 daily in Toronto, $109.05 in Miami, $128.87 in Chicago, $307.32 in California, and up to $842.69 in the Solomon Islands. This wasteful practice also contributes to pollution and carbon emissions. To mitigate this, the speaker suggests using power settings in operating systems to manage when the computer goes to sleep or the display turns off. They compare idling a computer to leaving a car engine running unnecessarily, which is both costly and environmentally harmful.
00:12:00
In this segment, Nick concludes his points on cost-saving and air quality improvements through simple settings adjustments. He briefly mentions a fun fact about the flipping of American versus Canadian quarters, and transitions to discussing his new 27-inch, 1440p monitor, mentioning its specific model number.