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Reject console rest mode and pc idling to burn less coal
- Thread starter ZOONAMI
- Start date
Melchiah
Member
Yeah, it's not the upper case 10W like the OP mentions, when you're not downloading patches, or supplying power to USB ports. Setting the latter off alone decreases the consumption by 6.3W, like the article linked in the OP mentions.
Since I don't keep apps suspended, it's 2.4W for me most of the time, when it's not downloading. I prefer to use the rest mode, so the game's are already patched when I want to play them.
To the "we should all stop gaming and driving cars then" dumbdumbs: There's a difference between necessary and unnecessary power consumption. To play videogames it's necessary to consume power, having your console on rest mode 24/7 is unnecessary. Driving a car to get around might be necessary, have it running while grocery shopping to keep the AC running is unnecessary. All those things add up and we're not talking about eliminating carbon emissions but limiting them as much as possible.
Just some quick calculations, if you left a PS4 on rest mode 24/7 it would contribute 36kg of co2 emissions equivalent
Now if we assume everyone of 40 million PS4 users did that it would be 1,440,000,000 kg or 1.44 million tonnes, more than the annual output of Algeria.
These are made on some steep assumptions but i wanted to point out what would happen if all PS4 owners thought keeping the system on 24/7 didn't matter
Now if we assume everyone of 40 million PS4 users did that it would be 1,440,000,000 kg or 1.44 million tonnes, more than the annual output of Algeria.
These are made on some steep assumptions but i wanted to point out what would happen if all PS4 owners thought keeping the system on 24/7 didn't matter
SeeNoWeevil
Member
Being on Neogaf is necessary? No, it's a nicety. As is having your console having massive updates already installed over your slow Internet connection in Rest mode.
old manatee
Banned
My ps4 is always in standby because every time I use it I then need to charge the controller and usb headphones.
wipeout364
Member
The grids are built to supply steady power output increasing output at high demand times In predictable manner. Coal and natural gas plants are the most versatile at rapid changes but really we are talking hours to change. Things that use low power in an erratic way are not going to have any real effect. If you want to make a difference keep your air conditioner off during a heat wave or keep your house temp lower in a freeze. Those rapid change demand events really screw the power system and lead to wasted production.
Woffls
Member
I kept all my stuff on standby until Xbox and PS4 turned up because I just assumed that their idle consumption would be quite high. Now I have them on a separate group of consoles that I turn off at the wall when not in use.
My PC is on most of the day because I'm using it. I'm running a 5820k so the power draw is unfortunately going to be high, but I always run it on power saver if I'm not gaming. If I leave the room for more than 5 minutes I'll hibernate the system. Overnight it's always hibernated or off. If I go away, everything in my room is off at the wall.
My PC is on most of the day because I'm using it. I'm running a 5820k so the power draw is unfortunately going to be high, but I always run it on power saver if I'm not gaming. If I leave the room for more than 5 minutes I'll hibernate the system. Overnight it's always hibernated or off. If I go away, everything in my room is off at the wall.
Rumblebones
Banned
Turn your shit off if you're not using it, people, it's that simple.
Suburban Thug
Member
I think you are missing the point. It's one thing to hop on neogaf for an hour or so and actively post but another to walk away from the computer leaving your monitor/tower running. The other examples the poster gave were excellent but you failed to acknowledge them.
Edit: SeeNoWeevil edited their post, it was originally just the first sentence about neogaf.
Seriously though - between W10 and an SSD, who actually needs to put their PC into sleep unless it's a media server?
I'm on the desktop in less than 10 seconds.
Melchiah
Member
I use the Xperia charger for both. No need to supply power to the console's USB ports for that.
SeeNoWeevil
Member
To someone else, Neogaf is completely unnecessary and having the servers up is total waste of resource. Just like Rest mode is completely unnecessary to some.
I mean, if you have fast Internet, sure. Turn off Rest Mode.
TheRedSnifit
Member
I think this is something people are missing.
How much fuel is consumed depends on how much the grid operators think you're going to use, not how much you actually use. When there's excess power on the grid, the grid frequency increases, and all devices on the grid use slightly more power to balance this. If power usage drops considerably they'll start reducing output, but something as incredibly small as turning your PC or PS4 off as opposed to putting it in rest isn't going to register as even a blip to them, even if everybody does it.
"Every little bit counts" isn't the case here.
LordOfChaos
Member
This post kind of encouraged me to use rest mode more, heh...When i read this the first time I thought the PS4 (pro, but presumably similar to any) rest mode power draw was ridiculous at 50 watts, but I now see that's only when it's actively downloading
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-playstation-4-pro-review
10 watts, and then subtract:
"Supply Power to USB Ports": 6.3W
"Stay Connected to the Internet"/"Enable Turning On of PS4 from Network": 2.4W
"Keep Application Suspended": 1.2W
And you have a highly frugal console. Phew. And my charge controllers is set to 3 hours, that's the bulk of even the low 10 watts.
I'm all for saving the ice caps, but other habits will far exceed a 2 watt console with all the above off.
Seems like even the Pro wasn't able to move all downloading to the ARM chip for even lower power though, eh.
Transistor
Banned
I'm 100% wind and solar for my electricity. I've switched over to electric appliances instead of natural gas for this reason. I'm looking at an electric car, too. Only non-renewable i have is my natural gas furnace, but I live in Houston so I don't use it that much.
Inferno313
Banned
I didn't realize that doing this precludes someone from doing that.
Of course not, my point is theres plenty of ways to save energy. The important thing is do something.
Quick napkin math. If you run with USB unpowered at around 4wh then you're using about 35kwh and emitting about 70 pounds of CO2 over the year.
That's equivalent to eating about 5 pounds of meat, which is about 2℅ of your annual meat consumption.
I'm not trying to say you shouldn't do it, especially if it isn't really an inconvenience to you. But it's important to put things into perspective. If you're interested in reducing your carbon footprint, your efforts would be best spent trying to do so efficiently.
That's equivalent to eating about 5 pounds of meat, which is about 2℅ of your annual meat consumption.
I'm not trying to say you shouldn't do it, especially if it isn't really an inconvenience to you. But it's important to put things into perspective. If you're interested in reducing your carbon footprint, your efforts would be best spent trying to do so efficiently.
Tal Shiar Agent
Banned
I have the USB charging set to turn off after 3 hours and I don't suspend games, so most of the time my PS4 is using 2.4 watts in rest as well.
I always turn off my PC but, dang, PS4 Rest Mode is so useful for charging controllers for two hours after finishing, and then switching off the USB power, and I never suspend games.
Also, didn't some Reddit user do some tests on PS4 to show that Rest Mode doesn't use as many Watts as advertised? (Don't know how old the test was.) If I knew it used a lot of power in Rest Mode I would definitely stop using it.
Also, didn't some Reddit user do some tests on PS4 to show that Rest Mode doesn't use as many Watts as advertised? (Don't know how old the test was.) If I knew it used a lot of power in Rest Mode I would definitely stop using it.
nelsonroyale
Member
I think you are attacking a straw man. Have you got any reasonable data to back that assertion up?
My example I expect is fairly typical of those who care about such things: I love my food. I like meat (well the high quality variety), but I probably eat meat a couple of times a month nowadays because of my concerns over the ethical and ecological impacts of meat production. That has been a sacrifice on my part. I don't travel abroad as much as I can (once a year now), that is a choice. In fact, my aim is one major flight a year. I have reduced the amount of electronic gadgets I buy, anything new is a replacement for the old, which I sell/recycle. I don't own a car and don't ever intend if possible (I rent when I need it for work). I have also very much orientated my work and study towards these issues, where all things being equal there are lots of other areas I would like to explore. These are all conscious choices related to things I enjoy and care about.
None of this is simply my preference, but it is related to squaring my practice with the bigger issues I seeing going on in the world. I would prefer that society created new norms and pathways so that practicing a more ecologically sensitive way of living was easier. It is still far shittier at the moment than it could be.
To that same point though... Is it necessary to have the latest patch/firmware update at all times? If you have slow internet and you're playing a multiplayer game, then maybe you could minimize usage by using rest mode only when you know you'll be gaming later. If you have dinner plans the next day/work to do--I would assume most people don't play games seven days a week. Being more thoughtful toward your indulgences can help, plan your gaming sessions in advance, etc.
If it's a single player game, I would guess most patches aren't something that 99% of us need the minute they're released and you could plan to download it the next day/night.
Not exactly. You determine if it checks for updates or something when it's off. You notice it does that if the red light on the console turns yellow. I honestly don't know if it even does anything as I've always had to download updates when I booted up the respective game I was about to play.
sechsterangriff
Member
Some replies on this thread... This "i've got mine f** you" mentality is really depressing...
I'm sure we could all do much more to save energy and leave a smaller footprint, but at least we should strive to do these little things that are far from being "sacrifices".
Of course one person alone won't make much difference, the point it is for more people to become aware and change their habits. Then it really starts to make a difference.
I'm sure we could all do much more to save energy and leave a smaller footprint, but at least we should strive to do these little things that are far from being "sacrifices".
Of course one person alone won't make much difference, the point it is for more people to become aware and change their habits. Then it really starts to make a difference.
Milly Osworth
Member
With your attitude this thread is pointless.
I'd only ever use standby mode for something like downloading and that's only something I do rarely, generally I'd just download as I was using the console.
I don't have things switched on if they don't need to be on, I also switch them off at the mains when they're not being used. I'm really not fan of waste of any form so I do what I can minimise it.
I don't have things switched on if they don't need to be on, I also switch them off at the mains when they're not being used. I'm really not fan of waste of any form so I do what I can minimise it.
AtomicShroom
Member
Meh. In Canada we have hydro-electricity which is clean and produces more electricity than we know what to do with it. I'll keep using Rest mode thankyouverymuch.
SweetJohnnyCage
Member
Of course it's ok, but criticizing others who don't share your opinion invalidates your position.
My power supplier does a monthly energy audit, and compares my usage (anonymously) to those in the area around me. I actually really appreciate it, as a benchmark.
Obviously any help is still help, but my life experience (and some coursework in environmental sciences) tells me that slight variations in personal usage patterns on its own like this are unlikely to have a meaningful impact on things like global carbon output, but any signal to hardware manufacturers that efficiency is a priority can have cascading effects.
Honestly, if this is an issue that matters to you (and it should), writing to-the-point letters/emails to mass-market manufacturers about your concerns can have more effect than you may think. People within those companies often have environmental initiatives they're trying to push, but they need outside "ammo" to support those positions. Compared to social media interactions, a direct letter is probably 100x more potent because its a channel so few take the energy to pursue.
Obviously any help is still help, but my life experience (and some coursework in environmental sciences) tells me that slight variations in personal usage patterns on its own like this are unlikely to have a meaningful impact on things like global carbon output, but any signal to hardware manufacturers that efficiency is a priority can have cascading effects.
Honestly, if this is an issue that matters to you (and it should), writing to-the-point letters/emails to mass-market manufacturers about your concerns can have more effect than you may think. People within those companies often have environmental initiatives they're trying to push, but they need outside "ammo" to support those positions. Compared to social media interactions, a direct letter is probably 100x more potent because its a channel so few take the energy to pursue.
A few questions! Please answer if you can.
- Where are the best information resources for energy conscious gamers?
- Is PC gaming a bad idea, given the hefty power consumption of 'gamer PCs' ?
- How should rechargeable devices be treated? Should people avoid handhelds because of their use of rechargeable batteries, or is it better because they're low power?
- How can people best review their power usage?
I often see a lot of very outdated best-use advice from the 90s presented as energy efficient, such as always doing a full PC shut down, or unplugging all chargers, etc.
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Now do some calculations if the whole country of America made some mandatory changes to increasing the gas mileage in vehicles and other corporate buildings.
The Albatross
Member
Nah, OPs original post had nothing in it, and then when people made passive defenses of using rest mode/sleep, OP got upset that people were "coming out of the woodwork to derail his thread..." or something.
He updated the post after that with some more useful info.
I'm not convinced that the 10 watts of energy that my PS4 or X1 uses is killing the planet or leading to the ice caps melting in 20-30 years, or well, I'm not convinced enough to stop using standby mode. The standard iPhone uses 1kWh when charging, which is 100 times the amount of a console, the 10 watts of a console in standby is fairly low. So, I suppose, if you don't charge your iphone 1 day a week, then you can run your console in standby mode for several weeks and your impact is negligible.
When you consider that other actions start in standby mode like console updates, installing games, and other actions that I'd otherwise have to do while the console is in full power mode, the difference becomes more negligible for me.
Too busy at work trying to save energy in Scotlands public sector atm.
I'm sure that would have a much bigger impact but they elected an anti science monster. Plus why not both?
forknknife
Banned
I will change it, OP. Good thread.
I keep my PC on all the time, I do shut down my tv that I use as a monitor though. But even when I sleep my PC stays on. But I don't drive a car, I walk to store and I walk to work. I don't travel by airplane to a vacation, I use very little lighting, my sound system has been off for few years straight since I've only been using headphones with PC, my consoles aren't even plugged in and so on. So I comfort myself with thinking that all this balances it out if not even more.
And why my PC is always on someone might ask, all of my hobbies and interest are done with a PC pretty much. Games, movies, TV, music, news and such I consume on my PC. Also many of my social links are through PC, I wan't to be "available" in IRC and Steam for my friends even when i'm sleeping. Also as someone who often has trouble sleeping, being able to get up and go to browse web for awhile or chat with a friend is a thing I appreciate. And ofcourse downloads, I usually do at night while sleeping. Though I just updated my connection so it's not all that necessary anymore.
And why my PC is always on someone might ask, all of my hobbies and interest are done with a PC pretty much. Games, movies, TV, music, news and such I consume on my PC. Also many of my social links are through PC, I wan't to be "available" in IRC and Steam for my friends even when i'm sleeping. Also as someone who often has trouble sleeping, being able to get up and go to browse web for awhile or chat with a friend is a thing I appreciate. And ofcourse downloads, I usually do at night while sleeping. Though I just updated my connection so it's not all that necessary anymore.