Hi Gang-
On the AMD AM3 processors, they report a wattage. Is that wattage full load, or no load? Right now I have a 610e 45w and am thinking of going up to a 95w or 125w. My CPUs get pegged quite often with transcoding stuff like media browser and such. I'm thinking it's time for one of those 6 core Phenom cpus...
AMD CPU Wattages
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woodchuck
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nvm, looks like it is the wattage under full load
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sbaeder
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NO - it has nothing to do (directly) with electriciy being used. It is what is called the Thermal Design Parameter (or TDP), and is about the maximum amount of heat given off by the chip. Remember, wattage is just about "power", and can be any sort of power. From http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/thermal-de ... explained/ (or do a google search on "definition of TDP"
But if your pegging the meter, and want to speed things up, then you will generate more heat (because it is using more electricity)...As long as your motherboard can handle it, I would go for it. All the modern processors will idle down and use a lot less electricy (and generate less heat) when there is nothing going on. The only way to know for sure is to use some sort of a meter on the outlet (going into the power supply)...Thermal Design Power, or TDP, is a statistic that is expressed in watts. It’s an expression of the amount of power a processor is expected to dissipate to prevent overheating. For example, a part with a 12W TDP will could potentially be cooled by a very small fan or a passive heatsink. A part with a 95W TDP, on the other hand, is going to need a substantial dedicated heatsink with a reasonably large fan (probably 80mm).
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LuckyDay
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What sbaeder says is correct.
If you're looking for the actual amount of power they use, they do (under max load) tend to fall pretty closely to what the TDP value suggest, but some are closer than others. Your 610e is likely never coming close to that, and probably more around 20-25W from a power standpoint.
If your board is an AM3 (and not an AM3+), your best bet is one of the Phenom 6 cores, you may be able to unlock it and use 8. You might also want to look into switching to Intel, because even the budget chips like the i3 blow those old AMD models out of the water.
If you're looking for the actual amount of power they use, they do (under max load) tend to fall pretty closely to what the TDP value suggest, but some are closer than others. Your 610e is likely never coming close to that, and probably more around 20-25W from a power standpoint.
If your board is an AM3 (and not an AM3+), your best bet is one of the Phenom 6 cores, you may be able to unlock it and use 8. You might also want to look into switching to Intel, because even the budget chips like the i3 blow those old AMD models out of the water.
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woodchuck
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Great info. Thanks guys...