Is there a way to disable the startup sound?

[The Monkey]

Well done, sir.

 

[duervo]

That's assuming they were referring to a MBP with an 85W adapter. They only said "computer". I'm interpreting it that they were using the $45/month as an example of what could be saved each month, not necessarily any sort of definitive statement for a specific system. Their point being: You save electricity by turning your system off

For example, I have a dual Xeon X5650 system at home, with a dedicated graphics card in it. The PSU in that system is rated for 1500W max.

I could easily spend over $45/month to keep that powered on 24/7 under load.

 

[switon]

RE: MBP vs dual Xeon...

That's assuming they were referring to a MBP with an 85W adapter. They only said "computer". I'm interpreting it that they were using the $45/month as an example of what could be saved each month, not necessarily any sort of definitive statement for a specific system. Their point being: You save electricity by turning your system off

For example, I have a dual Xeon X5650 system at home, with a dedicated graphics card in it. The PSU in that system is rated for 1500W max.

I could easily spend over $45/month to keep that powered on 24/7 under load.

Hi duervo,

Thanks for the reply, and ...

Ah, yes, but I was basing my back-of-the-napkin computations on the fact that vpro uses MBPs and most of the above posts were talking about a 2010 MBP, including the post by vpro. In addition, the difference between sleep mode and turning off is significantly less than the difference between full power and off. I suspect that even for your dual Xeon the power consumption during sleep mode is less than 85W -- yes or no? Remember that the original comment was with regards to saving $45/month by turning off the computer instead of just allowing it to sleep. I think that saving $45/month by turning off your computer when not in use versus allowing it to go into sleep mode is a considerable overestimate --- but this is just my opinion based upon my back-of-the-napkin calculation.

In other words, for most individuals using MBPs as their computers, the money saved by switching them off at night instead of allowing them to sleep is negligible when compared to the potential trouble/reduced lifespan that might arise from the stress (thermal and otherwise) induced by switching them off instead of letting them sleep. Once again, just my opinion...but I really don't think that the average user is going to see a $45/month electricity savings by switching off their MBP at night... vpro may, but the average user probably not. I just didn't want the "average user" to go away from this discussion thinking that if he/she turns off their computer at night then they will save $45/month on their electricity bill.

Regards,
Switon

P.S. By the way, running your dual Xeon at 1500W 24/7 for 30 days would cost $129/month at average residential electricity prices. Is it possible that your dual Xeon with GPU card can actually pull 1500W 24/7 for 30 days? The question is, how much power does it pull when it is sleeping versus when it is off? This is the power savings that corresponds to vpro's $45/month by switching off the computer instead of letting it sleep.

 

[adjeff8]

Hi The Monkey,

Let's perform a quick back-of-the-napkin calculation to see what the maximum possible cost would be, shall we?

Let's say that the MBP uses 85W of power (the AC power brick rating), 24 hours a day, for 30 days. The electric power used certainly must be less than this, and most likely is much less than this, but we are out to calculate the maximum amount. The highest price for residential electric power in the USA is currently $0.36/kWh, the average price is $0.12/kWh. Using these numbers we compute:

(85W x 24h/d x 30d/month / 1000W/kW) x $0.36/kWh = $22.03/month

(85W x 24h/d x 30d/month / 1000W/kW) x $0.12/kWh = $7.34/month


So, in Hawaii running a MBP at full steam 24/7 (I think this is impossible, actually, as I don't believe the MBP ever pulls a full 85W, but we are calculating the maximum possible cost) would cost $22/month, while the average residential electric bill would be $7.34/month.

Now these are maximum costs, calculated assuming the computer is pulling full power at 85W 24/7 for 30 days. The difference between the power used during sleep mode and the zero power used if it is turned off is, of course, much lower than these maximum costs. So I believe The Monkey's comment is valid.

Switon

I'm not smart enough to come up with Switons calculations...But I do know that if you give your iPhone a full charge once every day it costs 42¢ a year. And a iPad $1.24 a year. So it's unlikely this guy is saving anywhere near $45 per month, or even $45 per year

 

[MisterKeeks]

(I don't want to mute the sound before every shutdown).

if you mute your system volume before shutting down it will not make the chime when it starts up.

Not the biggest help...