June 7, 20233 yr Hi all! I am upgrading my Unraid server (power supply died, good excuse to refresh everything!) and I am looking to build a power-efficient system. I am wondering if there are any resources on Motherboard power draw? It seems there is lots of info to find on PSUs, CPUs, GPUs, HDDs etc - but motherboard power draw seems to be overlooked somewhat, and it seems some Mini ITX boards can draw as little as 5W, while some feature heavy boards draw upwards of 70W - making a pretty significant difference to overall consumption. Also I am not sure if motherboard power draw is affected by load, or if it is consistent under load/idle? The only real list I can find is hardwareluxx google sheet, which compares various low power systems: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LHvT2fRp7I6Hf18LcSzsNnjp10VI-odvwZpQZKv_NCI/edit#gid=0 This has some good info - but when choosing a board it would be great to be able to compare power draw - does anyone have any suggestions? For reference, I am primarily looking at 10th gen Intel, with 6 SATA ports or more - but thats not really the point of this post. Thank you all!
June 8, 20233 yr If more function/feature ( IC chips ) provide by mobo, then it draw more power, i.e. 10G onboard, Thunderbolt, PCIe multiplier .... . If it capable maximize the CPU, it also consume more power in VRM (voltage regulator modue) and proportional to power usage of CPU. In general, mobo power usage won't a key factor.
June 8, 20233 yr 11 hours ago, Kawada13 said: This has some good info - but when choosing a board it would be great to be able to compare power draw - does anyone have any suggestions? Welcome! More related to available BIOS settings and their implementation. Also depends on the quantity and individual power draw of attached devices. Maximum power savings can be achieved by allowing the CPU into the deepest possible C-state mode (at idle), disabling every unneeded circuity on the motherboard and running it with as few of attached devices as possible, including cooling fans. Edited June 8, 20233 yr by Lolight
June 8, 20233 yr Author Hi! Thank you! I understand the CPU needs to enter a C state and that of course any attached devices will mean more power draw, but from what i can tell, reading a variety of posts etc, motherboards own power draw can very quite heavily. I was just wondering if there was any resources/reviews/comparisons of motherboard power draw. Thanks! Quote
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