Re: [opensuse]  [OT] How much power does a PC really consume? Carlos E. R. wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 >  >  >  > The Thursday 2008-02-14 at 17:52 +0100, Per Jessen wrote: >  >>> A PC uses a switch mode power supply, quite big, taking power in a >>> strange waveform, and this may confuse heavily cheap meters (and not >>> so cheap). Difficult to say. >> >> I think the load on the mains supply is actually pretty straight. >  > I'm not so sure, but never mind. Se bellow. >  >>> A definitive test, in your case, would be to connect a scope on the +5 >>> and +12 rails (perhaps 3.2? line). A spike going down in the +5 would >>> provoke an instant reset. >> >> Hmmm, I could do that, but I've only got a normal scope (no storage), so >> I'd have to sit and watch it.  Maybe. >  > I'm thinking that the power measured at the input is not important at  > all. The important figures are the amperage capacity on each of the DC  > output lines, and that's the power that has to be matched to the load,  > and where the measurements are important. The AC side is irrelevant,  > somehow. >  > As to the scope, yes, that would be enough, but of course, you have to  > be looking at it. Set a slow H speed. Humm... a digital gadget (multiple  > A/D) connected to another PC would be _very_ nice. They are not so  > expensive as they were time ago... >  > Argh. I have a good A/D, D/A card, but it is for ISA bus, and MsDOS  > drivers. Pity! I can not experiment with it in Linux, too late... no hw  > isa bus. Could be worse...could be S-100! :-) Carlos, I'll bet you could make a USB<==>ISA bus adapter.