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Power Consumption per year for cMP

L

LEOMODE

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 14, 2009
565
57
Southern California
I want to convince my wife that cMP doesn't consume as much power as she thinks (she doesn't like the size of the computer, the bulkiness, so she is wondering why I'm still keeping this ancient looking machine lol).

But on the same token, I was wondering what if cMP does consume decent amount of power for the electric bill?

My spec is below in my signature, and I'm wondering, what is the idle, average, max, and sleep-mode power consumption, how power hog it is compared to other electronics/laptops such as QHD monitors, TVs, MacBooks, Surface Pros, and lastly how much difference does this make compared to machines written above.

Thanks so much.
 
LEOMODE said:
I want to convince my wife that cMP doesn't consume as much power as she thinks (she doesn't like the size of the computer, the bulkiness, so she is wondering why I'm still keeping this ancient looking machine lol).

But on the same token, I was wondering what if cMP does consume decent amount of power for the electric bill?

My spec is below in my signature, and I'm wondering, what is the idle, average, max, and sleep-mode power consumption, how power hog it is compared to other electronics/laptops such as QHD monitors, TVs, MacBooks, Surface Pros, and lastly how much difference does this make compared to machines written above.

Thanks so much.
Click to expand...
Idle, about 140-150 watts - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201796

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3969/apple-mac-pro-mid-2010-review/7

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/

Your local power costs are a big factor - in California it could cost $490/year just idling.
 
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I had a Kill-A-Watt connected to my Mac Pro briefly and it would fluctuate between 170-200W at idle or with a bit of light internet surfing. I have all my PCI-e slots and hard drive bays filled and I have two CPUs.

Just for comparison, if memory serves me correctly, I think my 2009 Mac Mini was pulling about 17W.
 
LEOMODE said:
But on the same token, I was wondering what if cMP does consume decent amount of power for the electric bill?
Click to expand...
The Mac Pro consumes a lot of power whether idle or in use. Also consider the thermal output. In summer, it'll also raise your cooling load quite a bit on top of the power draw. Some configurations put out over 1000 BTU/hour and most idle at about 500 BTU/hour.
There's no comparison in the Mac Pro's power usage to that of portable computers. Even a Mac Mini uses far less power at full load than an old style Mac Pro does at idle.
For comparison, Mac Mini power consumption and thermal output data is here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201897
 
pastrychef said:
I can confirm that the air conditioner needs to be cranked up higher in the summer with a Mac Pro in the room.
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How posh. Us plebs just open a window! ;)

Might be also worth considering that the 27" 5K iMac idles at 63W: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201918

So even though your ageing Mac Pro likes to guzzle at the power output, it's not really that bad. Especially if you're putting it to work and it makes money for you.
 
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BillyBobBongo said:
How posh. Us plebs just open a window! ;)

Might be also worth considering that the 27" 5K iMac idles at 63W: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201918

So even though your ageing Mac Pro likes to guzzle at the power output, it's not really that bad. Especially if you're putting it to work and it makes money for you.
Click to expand...
Agree with your last paragraph, but as for the iMac comparison, remember that it includes the display. The Mac Pro specs do not.

OP, your best bet it to buy a Kill A Watt and make your own measurements. Way too many variables to guess at your annual consumption.
 
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So, if I don't even put my 2010 to sleep (just display off), it's pulling 150 constantly?

I like to leave it on, as I use it as a house server among other things... but at that price, would make sense to get a mini just to use for that...
 
LEOMODE said:
My spec is below in my signature, and I'm wondering, what is the idle, average, max, and sleep-mode power consumption, how power hog it is compared to other electronics/laptops such as QHD monitors, TVs, MacBooks, Surface Pros, and lastly how much difference does this make compared to machines written above.
Click to expand...

Apple lists the power consumption for all of their computers. Here is the Mac Pro:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201796

Just look up the wattage for whatever you want to compare it to. But I'll tell you right now that it uses much more power than a Mac Mini, and WAY WAY more power than any portable computer meant to run off of a battery like a Surface Pro.

How much of a difference it makes depends on how much electricity costs for you, and that varies significantly. I remember looking at California's electricity rate and thinking that it must have been a decimal-point-typo because it was almost 10x as much as my electricity costs. But no, it really just costs that much.
 
Obioban said:
So, if I don't even put my 2010 to sleep (just display off), it's pulling 150 constantly?

I like to leave it on, as I use it as a house server among other things... but at that price, would make sense to get a mini just to use for that...
Click to expand...
If it's sleeping, the fans will be off and it will draw about 10 watts or less. (Everthing is powered down except for enough trickle power to preserve the memory contents.) If it's sleeping, it's not serving.

If the fans are running, then 150 watts.
 
The extremely high power consumption of my Mac Pro is one of the primary reasons I want something more modern. There has been great strides made in efficiency over the last few years.
 
Obioban said:
So, if I don't even put my 2010 to sleep (just display off), it's pulling 150 constantly?

I like to leave it on, as I use it as a house server among other things... but at that price, would make sense to get a mini just to use for that...
Click to expand...

I have a 2010 Pro as my primary desktop. I also have a home server for hosting my website, home media streaming, and home file sharing; a 2012 Mac mini. Silent, low power draw, and I can stick it anywhere out of the way. Minis are really the way to go for a home server.
 
The CPU of my DIY NAS has a TDP of 14W and it runs Plex media server. I play the content on my TV on either a Raspberry Pi which is powered by USB or my Apple TV which is also ARM based.
 
I wish I had the luxury of being able to install solar panels and/or wind turbines, unfortunately, the condo board doesn't like physical changes to the exterior of the building...
 
Very interesting thread, lots of good info.

Was just looking at this myself, as I'm looking to pick up either a cMP or nMP for multiple reasons, one of them being a media server that would spend quite a bit of time turned on. Had no idea the cMP used ~150 watts at idle (at least)...really pushing me to the nMP.
 
I really don't think that much horsepower is needed for a media server. Like I said, I don't think I've ever come across a video that a Raspberry Pi can't handle.

Lots of horsepower is only really necessary if you need to transcode stuff to be played over WAN.
 
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pastrychef said:
Lots of horsepower is only really necessary if you need to transcode stuff to be played over WAN.
Click to expand...
I have a 2008 2.8GHz 8-core Mac Pro and a 2012 2.3 quad i7 Mini. The transcoding speed difference between the two is surprisingly small.
 
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