Fiona Gatt, editor of the VIA Arena website, recently ran an experiment using a PC with an AMD FX55, 2.41GHz processor and an ATI X1900 GT graphics card. A Thermaltake power supply displayed the total wattage for each PC activity. Email drew 175W, Windows Movie Player drew 188W, but at the top of the pile were two games: Call of Duty (292W to 334W) and Blazing Angels (240W to 338W).
Combine these findings with the fact that many of us leave our machines on almost 24/7, consuming around 150 watts when we’re nowhere near them, and PC gamers might as well drive to the ice caps and start a bonfire with baby seals. Our sister mag, PC ZONE’s hardware editor Phil Wand says: “Most people don’t have a clue about being energy efficient, least of all when it comes to luxury items.”
