Often, when trying to gauge the power consumption of GPUs, overall consumption of the machine ends up being measured in the process.It is important to know exactly how much power our GPUs are consuming, and consumption can range from just a few watts to several hundred, in the case of multi-GPU cards. Since GPU folding places a great demand on graphics cards, it would be both interesting and useful to get an idea of how much power is consumed in the process.
Hardware.fr has just updated its testing methods, and is able to give precise consumption information on about 79 cards, thanks to an ingenious new system that takes power readings directly from both the PCI Express 16x port, and the PCI Express power connectors.
This should help folders better decide which card is right for their needs, power-wise, and will also give a good PPD/W measurement. There is one caveat, however: since GPU folding does not utilise the GPU in the same way that a traditional 3D application does, the actual measurements may differ somewhat from the values given by Hardware.fr.
Read the test on Hardware.fr.
KaySL
On: 03/01/10
