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| Power consumption for computer - Page 1 | |
| MacPro 55% of household electric consumption | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30th, 2018 04:59 |
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1st Post |
Robert
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Thanks for reminding me Novicus, I have stopped doing detailed analysis, I have the broad picture. I have started a new thread, the link to the previous thread is here: http://nikondslr.uk/view_topic.php?id=1550&forum_id=2&page=2 Firstly I am miserly with my household electric consumption. No TV, cook and heat with gas, heating thermostat set at 16ºC, upstairs, etc. All my lighting is LED. Therefore the computer, which I use intensively, is by far the largest single user of electric. I have come to the conclusion it's a price worth paying. According to my electric supply company I am among the lowest 10% of electric consumers in my locality. One of the calculations I ran in my spreadsheet was how many months/years would it take to save the cost of purchasing an economic iMac for £400 (used of course, off eBay?) and use that for 50% of my computer usage. It was coming out at about five to six years, I doubt a £400 iMac would last five or six years, even if it did it would be out of date by then and the expenditure was lost (so no £ gain). My MacPro is a solid, modular workhorse which I believe is better left running 24/7. It's proving perfectly capable of handling the massive files my new D800 produces, the Photoshop TIFF files are between 350 and 450Mb each and they don't cause the MacPro to slow or falter in the slightest. Even if one module fails it's easy to replace, processor boards slide in and out, even the power supply is accessible, spares are easy to obtain. The only issue I have had was when in Lightroom, I tried to do an HDR with twelve D800 NEF images with widely varying exposures, the MacPro froze. I only realised because the seconds stopped clicking by on the clock in the screen header, that's why I have seconds displayed in the clock. It's the first time I have seen that happen for years! I re-started the computer, ran the process again and it worked perfectly, I think the RAM buffer/cash may have been full and not cleared properly. I have found by 'un-mounting' the large spinning drives, that reduces the power consumption, I am gradually installing SSD's and using them for the main drive and working storage, I keep the current year image files and current general data on SSD, all the older stuff is accessible with a couple of clicks to re-mount the appropriate un-mounted spinning drive. At the moment in day to day use, the only spinning drive is the 3Tb Time Machine drive and that's set to sleep between it's hourly backup sessions. I turn my screens off at night, the overnight consumption is tiny, I haven't calculated hourly but it's probably 5% of active daytime consumption. I am of course still monitoring the overall consumption and as a result of my un-mounting various spinning drives and switching off the screens while I am not actually using them, the consumption is a little lower I have reduced it from 55% to 45% of the household consumption, over the last six months. To date, since I started monitoring the computer's consumption it has used 473.2kW of electric, @ £0.15 per kW = £70.98, that's for about 6 months (15 July- 30 December) So if I bought an iMac and put up with the limitations, I might save £70 per year, but it would cost me £1500+ for a used iMac which would even start to approach the performance of my 'ancient' but powerful MacPro. So, there you have it!  Attachment: 2018 Electric graph.jpg (Downloaded 15 times)
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30th, 2018 15:43 |
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2nd Post |
novicius
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Nice work Robert , that`s what I call being Meticulous...let us hope that next years El. Consumption is Not synonymous with El.Inflation...overhere they placed a little El.bomb,...El. pricing is double-up between 17.00 hrs. - 20.00 hrs.,..so that we learn to be responsible with energy...spendthrifts that we are...
____________________ Back in Danmark I do not use my equipment to make photo`s .. I take photo`s to use my equipment The better I become at photography,the better my camera gets. |
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31st, 2018 03:00 |
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3rd Post |
jk
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Intresting stats Robert. Maybe I should look at getting my MacPro 3,1 updated to 5,1. Suggested steps?
____________________ Still learning after all these years! https://nikondslr.uk/gallery_view.php?user=2&folderid=none |
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31st, 2018 07:19 |
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4th Post |
Robert
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Unfortunately not possible, 3.1 and 4.1/5.1 are different architectures. 4.1 and 5.1 are essentially the same construction, although Apple denies this. The firmware is the only difference according to many experts, including former Apple technicians who worked on them when new. Most 4.1's are sought after and 'converted' with a special utility which fools the firmware downloader into thinking the target machine is a genuine 5.1. 4.1/5.1 basic machines aren't all that expensive, you might want to install a pair of better CPU's, they are freely available from Dell servers etc. They are a doddle to fit provided they aren't capped. The caps are glued on and can be hard to get off without damaging the CPU. Easier to find uncapped CPU's, just be aware. Also you can just slide in a twelve core processor board, eBay is your friend here.
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31st, 2018 09:01 |
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5th Post |
jk
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Yes I would want to got to a 12 core (2 cpu) 3GHz unit. I need to look at the cost difference between old tower 5,1 and a 6,1 black dustbin.
____________________ Still learning after all these years! https://nikondslr.uk/gallery_view.php?user=2&folderid=none |
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31st, 2018 10:04 |
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6th Post |
Robert
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The 6.1's are quick, s--t off a shovel, (To use an old Anglo Saxon term!) but the expansion is incredibly expensive, you need a Thunderbolt PCIe expansion box which is almost as big as a 5.1 computer and costs more, esp. when fully stocked with cards. Also there is the spaghetti issue with all the trailing wires, even worse than mine. I have seriously considered 6.1 but every time, it comes down to the outlay for essential expansion. To retain the raw speed you have to invest in equally high spec peripherals, else the initial outlay and prime objective is wasted. Apple really have ruined the top end hardware. A good spec 5.1 will hold it's own with a 6.1 in most departments, maybe not with the largest video files but for large Mb. file stills 5.1 will get the job done without fuss or complaint. Like I said, mine which is only six core 3.06Ghz with 24Gb RAM can easily handle several 400Mb TIFF's in Ps.
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31st, 2018 10:40 |
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7th Post |
jk
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Just been checking. Unless you have latest CPUs with Metal support then with MacPro 5,1 you are stuck on High Sierra. No advantage for me there. The latest MacPro black dustbin starts at £2000 secondhand! I think I stay where I am.
____________________ Still learning after all these years! https://nikondslr.uk/gallery_view.php?user=2&folderid=none |
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31st, 2018 11:10 |
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8th Post |
Robert
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Metal support is dependent on the GPU's, the video cards, NOT the main Intel CPU's. All you need is the correct video card. And in any case, there is nothing wrong with High Sierra... Chasing the latest OS is an expensive and non essential race. High Sierra will be supported for several years now.
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31st, 2018 12:52 |
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9th Post |
jk
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I have High Sierra installed on my MacPro (3,1) 8 core 3GHz unit with 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD and 3TB and 2TB data drives with 5770 video card. Need to check if the 5770 supports Metal support. No it doesnt. AMD Radeon 500 series card required as and when there is a suitable firmware that supports Mojave OSX 10.14
____________________ Still learning after all these years! https://nikondslr.uk/gallery_view.php?user=2&folderid=none |
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| Posted: Mon Dec 31st, 2018 13:07 |
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10th Post |
jk
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I reckon that Apple are driving us towards iMac but I prefer to choose a MacMini or MacPro with my own TFT screen. The new MacMini with i5 processor is 3GHz 6 core so still not as quick as my MacPro.
____________________ Still learning after all these years! https://nikondslr.uk/gallery_view.php?user=2&folderid=none |
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| This is topic ID = 1627 Current time is 05:45 | Page: 1 2 3 4 | |
| Nikon DSLR Forums > Computer Hardware for Digital Photography. Computers, OS, Scanners, etc. > Hardware for Image Processing > Power consumption for computer | Top | |
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