Gaming as a hobby in an energy crisis

[davidcotton]

So we’ve all heard the predictions of the state of crisis for energy bills in the coming months.  Just wondering how people are going to manage with multiple systems and are you going to let it affect how you play?  I imagine most people on here have both Xbox and PlayStations, not to mention the tvs and home cinema.  As for those with pcs how are you feeling about it all?

[Fry Crayola]

Ownership of multiple systems isn't a problem, unless you're planning to play them all at once.

[Siri]

Bought a Steam Deck. I can charge it at work.

 

Spoiler

The actual answer is still the Steam Deck, but plugged in - of an evening I also have the telly on in Eco Mode, and the Series S for streaming music/video. All combined it uses about 100w for about four hours of an evening, including LED lights.

 

I've also been considering picking up a solar panel and a couple of high wattage power banks. But honestly being considered only if I do need to live off-grid for whatever fucking apocalypse reason my dumb brain conjures up.

 

[Mogster]

Its definitely been on my mind. I got a Steam Deck recently which I've been using quite a bit instead of my desktop, and while even the Deck can be quite power hungry it's probably nowhere near as bad.

 

I barely touch my consoles any more, and have had my One X and PS4 shut down completely ever since I got my current PC. The Switch lives on its dock, but since getting the Deck I've not used this much either so maybe that should be off too.

 

1 minute ago, Siri said:

Bought a Steam Deck. I can charge it at work.

That is an absolutely amazing idea.

[Stevie]

4 minutes ago, davidcotton said:

As for those with pcs how are you feeling about it all?

 

 

 

My PC is home entertainment system. 
 

Its television, internet browsing device, and gaming platform all in one. It’s even functions as a lamp late at night. So my constant electricity useage is limited to pc and refrigerator/freezer. 

 

[Siri]

With a 3080 and a high-clocked Intel i9, a PC also functions as a space heater, too.

 

I'm not knocking that, btw. It's nice in the winter, although this year I'll be opting towards high-tog duvets, long johns and using the deck as a hand warmer while playing Generation Zero at full whack.

[phillv85]

I'm just going to have to bite the bullet on it. I'm not giving up my favourite hobby over the cost of electricity. I tend to game on a smaller TV anyway, so I'm not using as much as some people do. 

[NecroMorrius]

The new GPUs are going to be a hard sell if the leaked power requirements are anything to go by.

[bradigor]

Steam Deck, I don't have any consoles any more, so the TV is used a LOT less and most of my opther gaming is retro on handhelds too. 

[chris on the moon]

Do consoles and PCs and TVs use a lot of power? I was under the impression it was stuff like kettles, ovens, irons, heaters, water heaters etc that were the big power consumers.

[Hitcher]

Even if I played my Series X for 4 hours a day everyday for a year that's still only about the cost of a single game so I'm not stopping just yet.

 

The biggest energy draws will be my electric storage heaters!

[Hitcher]

3 minutes ago, chris on the moon said:

Do consoles and PCs and TVs use a lot of power? I was under the impression it was stuff like kettles, ovens, irons, heaters, water heaters etc that were the big power consumers.

No they don't compared to the other things you mentioned.

[sprite]

I haven’t given this much thought beyond gaming for me being a fairly cheap hobby that keeps me from going out spending loads on other things, to some extent.  I play a couple of MMOs which always mean I have something to do when I’m bored.  Yes it means my PC is on a lot but to my mind does it make much difference if it’s a PC or I’m watching TV? I dunno.

 

I work to save money elsewhere to prioritise the things that are important to me for my own mental well-being.  I’ve sold a lot of old stuff and put money aside for the incoming price hike so I feel fairly well prepared to cover this off for the winter.

[Siri]

3 minutes ago, Hitcher said:

No they don't compared to the other things you mentioned.

 

Indeed - my general evening entertainment listed above would be around 0.1-0.15kWh, so about 3p an evening.

 

A typical oven is around 0.8kWh, so running that for half an hour is about 15p.

 

And of course, both of those pale in comparison to standing charge (capped at 45p/day at the moment), which just happens when you use electricity every day.

 

Very rough calculations which are probably wrong, but you catch my drift. Videogames are very small potatoes, basically.

[shirubagan]

"Energy crisis". Bullshit cooked up so big oil etc can make even more money after posting record profits.

[Stevie]

Electricity is also more expensive during peak hours, so if you quit your job and start gaming while normal people are at work, you can save a lot of money.

[Siri]

I think quitting my job would save me more from being jacked by petrol expenses, compared to my actual energy bill in my flat.

 

Although I will miss the office air-con during the heat death of the planet, after this month in Blighty.

[Hitcher]

14 minutes ago, shirubagan said:

"Energy crisis". Bullshit cooked up so big oil etc can make even more money after posting record profits.

Please understand.

[Garwoofoo]

I was quite surprised to learn how much power the Xbox uses in standby mode. I've switched that to energy saver mode now, the difference is probably pennies but I feel better about it.

 

I've still got an old desktop PC from 2014 that's in use almost all day every day - my wife uses it for work - I don't use it for games any more but I bet its energy usage even when just doing work stuff is way more than a modern laptop would be. Might need to look into that.

[Vemsie]

https://www.techradar.com/news/amd-and-nvidia-leaks-show-we-are-drunk-on-power-and-the-hangover-is-going-to-be-brutal
 

 

 

[Garwoofoo]

23 minutes ago, DualSense said:

Why not just turn the Xbox off?

 

Energy saver mode is effectively "off", it wakes up once every 24 hours to check for updates but other than that it's fully shut down.

[Strafe]

I’ve got a PS5, Series X, Switch and a Steam Deck. The TV is 2019 model that is pretty energy efficient.

 

On the plus side, I don’t run a car, my flat is very energy efficient/insulated and I walk most places unless I’m going out somewhere proper. No kids or pets either. In short, I reckon my home/personal energy consumption is well below the national average. 

[robdood]

1 hour ago, chris on the moon said:

Do consoles and PCs and TVs use a lot of power? I was under the impression it was stuff like kettles, ovens, irons, heaters, water heaters etc that were the big power consumers.

Well all I know is, when I game on my new PC (750W PSU) it pulls enough power that my smart meter consumption light goes from green to amber.  Which is about the same as when the kettle/cooker/washing machine is on.. 😬

[Giddas]

I noticed that my LG OLED C1 had the worst energy efficiency rating (F).

[Shimmyhill]

2 hours ago, Giddas said:

I noticed that my LG OLED C1 had the worst energy efficiency rating (F).

 

They redid energy ratings a while back, an older A rated appliance would be E/F on the new scale.

 

Genuinely hadn’t thought about the original question tho, avoiding buying a PC is the easy option as in comparison consoles sip power and of course put out much less heat - important in my man cave! I have put the xbox in the more energy efficient mode as updates are quick due to fast BB - not an option on PS5 as updates take 3 weeks to download, copy and install  

 

[AceGrace]

I've just ordered a Ryzen 7 5700g processor so that I can remove my RX570 GPU from my work machine.

 

As it is on all day, hopefully this will cut the energy use because the GPU isn't used for.

 

I wonder if it is probably worth buying a mini PC for work? I remote desktop into the office machine

[SuperCapes]

We are in a really weird situation, where our new house has a pre paid meter, but cannot change to smart meter as the company went bust. However, coming from direct debit payments in the last, our energy cost has went down significantly, even though there is the inconvenience of having to top it up. 

 

We are saving like £70 a month which is just berserk. With it being a newer build too, the winter should not see much of a jump either, especially considering the house took days to cool down after last week's heatwave. 

 

We are feeling pretty fortunate. 

 

Regardless, gaming would still very much be happening. It is one of the only things keeping me sane these days! 

 

[Giddas]

1 hour ago, AceGrace said:

I've just ordered a Ryzen 7 5700g processor so that I can remove my RX570 GPU from my work machine.

 

As it is on all day, hopefully this will cut the energy use because the GPU isn't used for.

 

I wonder if it is probably worth buying a mini PC for work? I remote desktop into the office machine

look at some of the mini Lenovo refurbs on itzoo. Small, quiet and low power. Fine for Remote Desktop or general office stuff.

[simms]

Just received my Steamdeck so I expect to be playing that mostly for the foreseeable future until energy prices right themselves.

[Hanzo the Razor]

There's worse uses of electricity than consoles/PCs. I work in a hospital. The first thing that some people do a 7:30am is turn all the lights on! Why? It's fucking day time! I spend my day turning things off while these muppets turn them back on! Are you Mr Magoo?! Can't you see further than the end of your nose if the place isn't lit up like Wembley Stadium? You walk around the whole hospital and 95% of the time all the lights are on. It's midday! Turn them off! I even turn dialysis machines off. The patients often die but at least I've saved some pennies!

 

(The last bit may be a lie.)

 

Rant over.