Rummy Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 Does anybody know, or know where I can find, how much power the Wii consumes in different states?
Nintendork Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 No, but one thing that worries me is the level of heat given off when WiiConnect24 is put on in standby mode. For those of you who don't know heat energy is the biggest loss of energy in all consumer electronics- light, sound and kinetics are pretty insignificant in standby. Iwata was basically lying. I think it is using more energy than it is worth. You might be able to try one of the energy ratings councils. The EU is pretty shit hot with such regulations so try them.
Rummy Posted January 6, 2007 Author Posted January 6, 2007 That's why I was curious to know, I read somewhere(probably wikipedia, so i didnt take it too much to truth) that it only consumes 7W in WC24 standby, which I was surprised would give off so much heat down one side. Also just curious about when it's running, in normal standby etc to compare it all and actually work out how much is true about its supposed low consumption.
conzer16 Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 Wii: - In Standby Mode: 10w - Idle @ Wii menu: 17w - Running a Wii Game (Test with Zelda / Trauma Center) in 480i: 17w Edit: Then again some fella did his own tests: EVENT CURRENT (AMPS) POWER (WATTS) Standby mode 0.10 11.5 On at Wii menu, no disc loaded 0.16 18.5 On at Wii menu, disc loaded 0.17-0.18 19.6-20.8 Spinning up disc (peak) 0.22 25.4 Playing Wii Sports Bowling 0.18 20.8 Playing Excite Truck (racing) 0.18 20.8 Playing Zelda (intro) 0.18 20.8 http://www.feelthissite.com/sitedude/wii/forums/viewtopic.php?p=994&sid=3da53c656812cc10ec03c39dca145319
DCK Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 It's extremely low for a game machine to run that at peak. It's a load of energy on standby though :shock:
That Guy Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 No, but one thing that worries me is the level of heat given off when WiiConnect24 is put on in standby mode. For those of you who don't know heat energy is the biggest loss of energy in all consumer electronics- light, sound and kinetics are pretty insignificant in standby. Iwata was basically lying. I think it is using more energy than it is worth. You might be able to try one of the energy ratings councils. The EU is pretty shit hot with such regulations so try them. You are spot on there. My console felt quite warm and it's not been on for 4 days.
mtg101 Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 Those numbers meant little to me, but the comparison in the article was interesting. Compared to other appliances it does seem pretty efficient: That's extraordinarily good for what is essentially a compact computer. For comparison's sake, I did the same on a bunch of household appliances a few months ago and had these sorts of numbers: 40" LCD HDTV: 227W Panasonic 5.1 receiver: 28W 19" LCD PC monitor: 29W Athlon 64 PC sitting at Windows desktop: 112W Digital cable box: 15W Microwave heating on high: 1209W
Jasper Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 Wii does it quite well, so to see, at power consumption. I don't really like the power Brick (it's not big, but it's still fairly large, why is that anyway? DS does without a powerbrick), and my mother has noticed a little buzz coming from the Wii (and creating a devastating earthquake in my mother's ears) when it's spinning the disc. i didn't notice, but then again, i'm always in front of it. It's a nifty little device and the good thing about this low power consumption (and graphics) is that Nintendo might be able to go in the next-generation next time with noticeable changes. Going HD for the first time will make the next Wii even more attractive, and by then, the processors will have better cooling and the RAM will be cheaper. And the next-gen disc format war might be fought out by then and Nintendo will finally be able to do everything PS3 and X360 can, only better. What jump can the PS3 and X360 still make? Not really much, since Ultra HD sickens people looking at it, seing how realistic it appears to many. Good move, Nintendo, as next generation you still have an extra leap plus you previous generation advantage. Genuine thinking, there.
Eddage Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 Wii does it quite well, so to see, at power consumption. I don't really like the power Brick (it's not big, but it's still fairly large, why is that anyway? DS does without a powerbrick), and my mother has noticed a little buzz coming from the Wii (and creating a devastating earthquake in my mother's ears) when it's spinning the disc. i didn't notice, but then again, i'm always in front of it. It's a nifty little device and the good thing about this low power consumption (and graphics) is that Nintendo might be able to go in the next-generation next time with noticeable changes. Going HD for the first time will make the next Wii even more attractive, and by then, the processors will have better cooling and the RAM will be cheaper. And the next-gen disc format war might be fought out by then and Nintendo will finally be able to do everything PS3 and X360 can, only better. What jump can the PS3 and X360 still make? Not really much, since Ultra HD sickens people looking at it, seing how realistic it appears to many. Good move, Nintendo, as next generation you still have an extra leap plus you previous generation advantage. Genuine thinking, there. I agree with you there, I can't really see graphics improving much (if at all) between PS3/4 and Xbox 360/1080 (or whatever it'll be called), whereas the Wii2 will probably (hopefully) have a great leap (bigger than Ps2 -> PS3)!
DCK Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 I agree with you there, I can't really see graphics improving much (if at all) between PS3/4 and Xbox 360/1080 (or whatever it'll be called), whereas the Wii2 will probably (hopefully) have a great leap (bigger than Ps2 -> PS3)! Honestly, I would consider us lucky if the Twii would match the PS3, seeing how improvements in chip technology are stagnating and Nintendo wants to follow the path they've taken with a cool quiet console. Not that I'd need any more (at least, that's what I'm saying now) if we get a Wiimote + more new ideas.
xernobyl Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 Honestly, I would consider us lucky if the Twii would match the PS3, seeing how improvements in chip technology are stagnating and Nintendo wants to follow the path they've taken with a cool quiet console. Not that I'd need any more (at least, that's what I'm saying now) if we get a Wiimote + more new ideas. That's a common misconception. Processor development is not stagnating. It's just taking new ways. You can't say that a Intel Duo is faster than a Pentium 4, but if well used a slower Dual core can me more than twice as fast. You can't imagine the miracles a 4core would do to graphics (realtime raytracing).
fanman Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 Honestly, I would consider us lucky if the Twii would match the PS3, seeing how improvements in chip technology are stagnating and Nintendo wants to follow the path they've taken with a cool quiet console. Not that I'd need any more (at least, that's what I'm saying now) if we get a Wiimote + more new ideas. They'll be much cheaper to produce, and will probably be smaller.
DCK Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 Even though multicore is the new way of improving, developments really are slowing down. I'd show you a graph, but I have no idea where I saw it. It's far from certain, 5-6 years from now, you can make a hardware set that's as powerful as the PS3, while eating less than 25 watts and costing less than roughly $100-120 to produce, because that's what Nintendo's going to want. Realtime raytracing is science fiction still though. There's no way we're going to see that happen the next generation.
Konfucius Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 I remember seeing a video of student project 2 or 3 years ago where they linked 56 processors to make Raytracing on Quake 3 possible. It was calculated by the CPU though and it wasn't really that mindblowing actually. I think realistic physics, better motion and generally a higher framerate are the way forward. In a few years I guess you can't tell the difference between raytraced and an "inaccurate" light simulation. Also 10W standby is quite a lot actually. Our living room TV (a CRT) has consumes 1 W in standby. I wonder though if the fan is running on Standby - I assume not though which should also explain why the Wii heats up.
Jasper Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 Honestly, I would consider us lucky if the Twii would match the PS3, seeing how improvements in chip technology are stagnating and Nintendo wants to follow the path they've taken with a cool quiet console. Not that I'd need any more (at least, that's what I'm saying now) if we get a Wiimote + more new ideas. Even if it's stagnating, in five years from now, those processors will be cooler and smaller and cheaper to produce. At that time, Nintendo can jump in and launch another 250 euros console, cheap and quiet like the Wii is now. That's what i'm implying. Five years ago, this hardware from the Wii would be big and noisy, now it's not. Even if the development of better things is stagnating, there's no real need for new things (for Nintendo).
AeroScap Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 For all those interested: Console Energy Leakage kWh Wasted Each Year Annual Cost Playstation 1 0.2W 1.752 kWh $0.26 Playstation 2 2W 17.52 kWh $2.63 Xbox 0.4W 3.50 kWh $0.53 Xbox 360 2W 17.52 kWh $2.63 Gamecube 0.4W 3.50 kWh $0.53 Dreamcast 0.4W 3.50 kWh $0.53 Wii: - In Standby Mode: 10w - Idle @ Wii menu: 17w - Running a Wii Game (Test with Zelda / Trauma Center) in 480i: 17w 37" Sharp Aquos LCD TV: - In Standby Mode: 40w - Turned on: 180w XBox 360: - In Standby Mode: 2w - Idle @ Dashboard: ~140w - Running a Game: ~160w - Playing a DVD: ~110w From kotaku and dx gaming
Dcubed Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 The reason why Wii's standby mode takes up so much power is because it's WiFi is still active and is constantly running on Wiiconnect 24. Other devices take up enought juice to keep it "on" while the Wii has to power it's WiFi as well as the 1 watt it takes for itself. BTW wasn't it found out that the PS3 uses up over 340w at it's peak?
Jasper Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 The reason why Wii's standby mode takes up so much power is because it's WiFi is still active and is constantly running on Wiiconnect 24. Other devices take up enought juice to keep it "on" while the Wii has to power it's WiFi as well as the 1 watt it takes for itself. BTW wasn't it found out that the PS3 uses up over 340w at it's peak? It's not actually consuming much. You make it sound as if it's eats your money away when in standby using your electricity-bill as an cover for it's scheme. It's not using much. PS3's can grow quite hot - let's put it this way, if you were in a dead volcano, you can make it alive and kicking again by using your PS3 in it - but does it have a standby mode, or is it just 'off' when it's not being used? The Wii has a constant consumption of about, what, 10 Wats (per what is a Watt expressed anyway, it uses 10 Watts per day or what?)? So no problem there, then.
DCK Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 Even if it's stagnating, in five years from now, those processors will be cooler and smaller and cheaper to produce. At that time, Nintendo can jump in and launch another 250 euros console, cheap and quiet like the Wii is now. That's what i'm implying. Five years ago, this hardware from the Wii would be big and noisy, now it's not. Even if the development of better things is stagnating, there's no real need for new things (for Nintendo). My main reason to doubt the next leap in graphics is because the 'Wii hardware five years ago' looked like this: If Nintendo keeps up the same level improvement for Wii2, then we're really lucky if we're getting PS3 performance out of it.
Jasper Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 My main reason to doubt the next leap in graphics is because the 'Wii hardware five years ago' looked like this: If Nintendo keeps up the same level improvement for Wii2, then we're really lucky if we're getting PS3 performance out of it. Sorry to say, but that's rubbish. It has nothing to do with the stagnating of the processor development. That has to do with a decision Nintendo made. I don't mind their decision, but in five years from now I wil probably have an HD television and wil care about it. And Nintendo will go HD - with improved hardware over the PS3 or the Xbox360. And with improved I mean: the same processing power, just smaller and less energy-producing. Nintendo won't be the top of the bill, but PS3 won't be 'top of the bill' in five years from now anyway.
DCK Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 So what makes you say that they won't make that decision again? They'll be wanting backwards compability on Wii2, surely.
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