- Jan 8, 2011
- 22,361
Both Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 consume between two to three times the power of their predecessors—mostly waiting around for something to do.
The report, issued Friday by the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council, found that the Xbox One’s power consumption was especially egregious, consuming a maximum of 289 kilowatt-hours per year, as opposed to the 70 kWh/year consumed by the last-generation Xbox 360. But the Nintendo Wii U went the opposite direction, actually consuming 37 kWh/y versus the 40 kWh/y consumed by the Wii.
The One’s power consumption was especially egregious, due to the fact that the console is used both for controlling a television as well as listening for voice commands. But the Playstation 4’s USB recharging is also very inefficient, the NRDC said.
Power Consumption Comparison
All told, the energy consumed from all three modern consoles will cost U.S. consumers an estimated $1 billion in energy costs this year, consuming enough electricity to light all the homes in Houston, the fourth-largest city in the country, the NRDC estimated.
“Most of that energy will be consumed in the middle of the night, when the console is in standby mode but still listening for voice commands, like the Xbox One, or using higher power than necessary to keep USB ports active, like the PS4,” the NRDC said.
And if you’re using your One to watch a movie? Don’t. An Apple TV consumes about 2 watts to stream a movie in HD, the nonprofit said. An Xbox One consumes 72 watts to do the same, and a PlayStation 4 consumed 89 watts using the NRDC tests.
Read more
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2156...-ridiculous-amounts-of-unnecessary-power.html
The report, issued Friday by the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council, found that the Xbox One’s power consumption was especially egregious, consuming a maximum of 289 kilowatt-hours per year, as opposed to the 70 kWh/year consumed by the last-generation Xbox 360. But the Nintendo Wii U went the opposite direction, actually consuming 37 kWh/y versus the 40 kWh/y consumed by the Wii.
The One’s power consumption was especially egregious, due to the fact that the console is used both for controlling a television as well as listening for voice commands. But the Playstation 4’s USB recharging is also very inefficient, the NRDC said.
Power Consumption Comparison
All told, the energy consumed from all three modern consoles will cost U.S. consumers an estimated $1 billion in energy costs this year, consuming enough electricity to light all the homes in Houston, the fourth-largest city in the country, the NRDC estimated.
“Most of that energy will be consumed in the middle of the night, when the console is in standby mode but still listening for voice commands, like the Xbox One, or using higher power than necessary to keep USB ports active, like the PS4,” the NRDC said.
And if you’re using your One to watch a movie? Don’t. An Apple TV consumes about 2 watts to stream a movie in HD, the nonprofit said. An Xbox One consumes 72 watts to do the same, and a PlayStation 4 consumed 89 watts using the NRDC tests.
Read more
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2156...-ridiculous-amounts-of-unnecessary-power.html