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Intel repeated their Prescott (Pentium 4/Pentium D) strategy of completely removing power limitations on their team to beat AMD. As a result, the Intel process

Intel repeated their Prescott (Pentium 4/Pentium D) strategy of completely removing power limitations on their team to beat AMD. As a result, the Intel processors have TDPs and real world power usages >2.5x that of a comparable Ryzen. Sure, they're winning, but at what cost? The 12900K at 240 watts pulls almost the same power as a 280W 64-core Threadripper. AMD is responding in kind, with new top-end processors pulling 170W, or higher with their built-in overclocking that pushes the chip to even higher power draws as long as cooling permits. This looks to put them back into the lead, but it's just not a sustainable strategy.

gtirloni 4y ago
Who cares what a desktop processor plugged to a wall outlet consumes? Seriously, if you care about power consumption, don't buy a K processor.
- jen20 4y ago
  > Who cares what a desktop processor plugged to a wall outlet consumes? Anyone without solar panels?
  - gtirloni 4y ago
    Those 5 people running off-grid with solar panels only certainly do care about power consumption and wouldn't buy a K processor.
- kayson 4y ago
  It matters for SFF builds where people often want the highest performance possible but are severely limited by cooking. Efficiency becomes extremely important.
- kmeisthax 4y ago
  Traditionally nobody, but the massive power consumption of the RTX 4090 combined with a power-hungry CPU might make people take notice. When your desktop needs a dedicated circuit you have a problem.
  - TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
    My microwave uses 1200 or 1500 watts and does not need a dedicated circuit. Sure, I don’t run it continuously for an hour, but that has nothing to do with whether or not it needs a dedicated circuit.
    - sundvor 4y ago
      A 16A circuit allows for 3.8kW or something like that @ 240v. With these ludicrous power requirements, you may in fact need to rethink how you use your power. E.g. if on same as a non-heat pump drier, you'd have to make a choice between gaming and drying clothes. Having said that I saw a reference to a 4090 offering 95% of the perf at 60% of the power usage if undervolted, so that becomes an attractive option now. I absolutely love my 5800X3D's insanely low power usage (insane = performance per watt for gaming in simulator titles where it runs circles around Intel).
- astrange 4y ago
  People with good insulation or who like quiet rooms?
- sundvor 4y ago
  When a 5800X3D offers equal or better gaming performance at 1/2 to 1/3rd the power consumption (e.g. 220w vs 80w), and you pay $0.65 per kW/h during peak times, I can only imagine: "Quite a few".
  - avereveard 4y ago
    50$/year vs 18$/year for a pc that's always on, not exactly life changing.
    - smokel 4y ago
      The difference is closer to $1250/year vs $450/year. I suppose you forgot to multiply by 24 hours/day.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      - avereveard 4y ago
        Aw crap
      - WithinReason 4y ago
        That rather depends on how many hours a day you use your cpu at max performance, which is likely closer to 1 hour to the average person.
  - NavinF 4y ago
    If electricity was $0.65/kWh for me, I'd move out of the country lol. Assuming a more realistic $0.40/kWh (considered very expensive in the US, where most enthusiasts live), 8 hours of gaming a day, and a 200W power limit, you're paying $19/mo. Not bad. Don't get me wrong, the 5800x3d is a phenomenal CPU. However like many owners of that CPU, I'm also in the market for a 4090 and intend to use the full 600W power limit with my water loop and outdoor radiator. CPU power consumption is just not an issue for enthusiasts.
    - 4y ago
tehnub 4y ago
I'm not sure if the actual differences in energy usage are so clear cut. These charts [0], which account for the 12900K spending less time to accomplish tasks than the 5950X, seem to indicate the disparity isn't so terrible. You can always under-volt too; the 13th gen press release includes charts [1] showing that the 13900k at 65W matches the performance of the 12900K at 241W. [0]: (Search for "cumulative amount of energy required to perform Blender and x264 and x265 HandBrake workloads") https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i9-12900k-and-core-i5-12600k-review-retaking-the-gaming-crown/3 https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i9-12900k-an... [1]: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/intels-first-13th-gen-core-cpus-include-few-surprises-but-many-cores/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/intels-first-13th-ge...
- AaronFriel 4y ago
  Most people don't turn their computer on to run Handbreak and turn it off immediately afterward. Hence power draw is meaningful for desktop computers, not just energy usage for a task.
  - avereveard 4y ago
    Idle power draw is not the same as peak power draw either, these arent 'nineties chips.

gtirloni 4y ago

Who cares what a desktop processor plugged to a wall outlet consumes? Seriously, if you care about power consumption, don't buy a K processor.

jen20 4y ago
> Who cares what a desktop processor plugged to a wall outlet consumes? Anyone without solar panels?
- gtirloni 4y ago
  Those 5 people running off-grid with solar panels only certainly do care about power consumption and wouldn't buy a K processor.
kayson 4y ago
It matters for SFF builds where people often want the highest performance possible but are severely limited by cooking. Efficiency becomes extremely important.
kmeisthax 4y ago
Traditionally nobody, but the massive power consumption of the RTX 4090 combined with a power-hungry CPU might make people take notice. When your desktop needs a dedicated circuit you have a problem.
- TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
  My microwave uses 1200 or 1500 watts and does not need a dedicated circuit. Sure, I don’t run it continuously for an hour, but that has nothing to do with whether or not it needs a dedicated circuit.
  - sundvor 4y ago
    A 16A circuit allows for 3.8kW or something like that @ 240v. With these ludicrous power requirements, you may in fact need to rethink how you use your power. E.g. if on same as a non-heat pump drier, you'd have to make a choice between gaming and drying clothes. Having said that I saw a reference to a 4090 offering 95% of the perf at 60% of the power usage if undervolted, so that becomes an attractive option now. I absolutely love my 5800X3D's insanely low power usage (insane = performance per watt for gaming in simulator titles where it runs circles around Intel).
astrange 4y ago
People with good insulation or who like quiet rooms?
sundvor 4y ago
When a 5800X3D offers equal or better gaming performance at 1/2 to 1/3rd the power consumption (e.g. 220w vs 80w), and you pay $0.65 per kW/h during peak times, I can only imagine: "Quite a few".
- avereveard 4y ago
  50$/year vs 18$/year for a pc that's always on, not exactly life changing.
  - smokel 4y ago
    The difference is closer to $1250/year vs $450/year. I suppose you forgot to multiply by 24 hours/day.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - avereveard 4y ago
      Aw crap
    - WithinReason 4y ago
      That rather depends on how many hours a day you use your cpu at max performance, which is likely closer to 1 hour to the average person.
- NavinF 4y ago
  If electricity was $0.65/kWh for me, I'd move out of the country lol. Assuming a more realistic $0.40/kWh (considered very expensive in the US, where most enthusiasts live), 8 hours of gaming a day, and a 200W power limit, you're paying $19/mo. Not bad. Don't get me wrong, the 5800x3d is a phenomenal CPU. However like many owners of that CPU, I'm also in the market for a 4090 and intend to use the full 600W power limit with my water loop and outdoor radiator. CPU power consumption is just not an issue for enthusiasts.
  - 4y ago

tehnub 4y ago

I'm not sure if the actual differences in energy usage are so clear cut. These charts [0], which account for the 12900K spending less time to accomplish tasks than the 5950X, seem to indicate the disparity isn't so terrible. You can always under-volt too; the 13th gen press release includes charts [1] showing that the 13900k at 65W matches the performance of the 12900K at 241W. [0]: (Search for "cumulative amount of energy required to perform Blender and x264 and x265 HandBrake workloads") https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i9-12900k-and-core-i5-12600k-review-retaking-the-gaming-crown/3 https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i9-12900k-an... [1]: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/intels-first-13th-gen-core-cpus-include-few-surprises-but-many-cores/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/intels-first-13th-ge...

AaronFriel 4y ago
Most people don't turn their computer on to run Handbreak and turn it off immediately afterward. Hence power draw is meaningful for desktop computers, not just energy usage for a task.
- avereveard 4y ago
  Idle power draw is not the same as peak power draw either, these arent 'nineties chips.