HTPC Power Consumption Discussion, Upgrade vs Migration

[Pets4Ever]

Currently my HTPC is AM4.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL15 Memory
Storage: Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GAMING X GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair CX450M (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply

Although the R5 2600 has a low TDP, I understand that AM4 is bad for idle power draw. So the question is, how bad? Should I be trying to sell this and get something else?


Primary objective: Figure out if it's worth updating this platform while used AM4 cpus are abundant and DDR4 ram is still available

 

[Harlow]

I'm running an ancient i3-4160 CPU and an RTX 1650 GPU in my HTPC. It suffices to play back 4K/UHD content. Despite paying the equivalent of US $0.34 per kWhr, I've never worried about power consumption or upgrading. The amount I'd spend on a new (more efficient) system would not cover any power saving. I switch the HTPC and TV off at the wall after use, so no wasted vampire power. One of my TVs pulls a constant 20W from the mains in standby mode.

and DDR4 ram is still available

I've seen reports DDR4 prices have increased significantly of late:

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-com...prices-have-nearly-tripled-in-just-two-months

 

[Endymio]

I'd never put a Bronze-rated PSU in an HTPC. You can get supplies that are 10% or even 15% more efficient. The savings on electricity may not be enormous, but it means 40-60 less watts of waste heat being dumped into the system, and quieter operation as well.

 

[A Computer Guy]

Currently my HTPC is AM4.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL15 Memory
Storage: Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GAMING X GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair CX450M (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply

Although the R5 2600 has a low TDP, I understand that AM4 is bad for idle power draw. So the question is, how bad? Should I be trying to sell this and get something else?


Primary objective: Figure out if it's worth updating this platform while used AM4 cpus are abundant and DDR4 ram is still available

If you want better power savings especially at idle or sleep put a G series chip in it like a 4650G or 5600G. Then if you have a display output on the motherboard you can get more power savings by taking out the GPU. Then you might consider In-WIn Chopin, Chopin Pro, or Chopin Max (that includes a PSU), or similar type smaller case if space savings is something you are also considering.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

You should understand what you are looking at, prior to doing anything.

The rest of the phrase you are looking for is "AM4 tends to have a higher idle power draw, when compared to an Intel system."

AM4 generally draws less idle power than AM5...but AM5 is more efficient at high loads.
The 2600 generally draws a few less watts idle than the 5500.
Getting a new Intel system will be a couple of hundred dollars for a decent CPU and motherboard...that still runs DDR4. If you can find them.
Migrating the HTPC from one board to another will cost a windows license...unless you are running Linux.


Based on the above, don't buy a new system. Don't try and upgrade unless you are already having issues. Don't migrate until you hit a real performance wall. That's my advice, and you are free to take it or leave it. 4 watts idle is 0.004 kwh. If you run the thing in idle constantly, without ever shutting down, and only use is 20% of the day, then 80% is idle. If electricity is $0.35 per kwh in your area, then the annual cost is: 0.80*(0.004*24)*365*0.35 = $9.8112.
Let's round to $10. You'd need to run your htpc for 20 years to justify the migration to a new platform. To put that into perspective, 20 years ago the best CPU was the FX-57...a one core, one thread, 2.8 GHz, 104 watt tdp, ddr1 rocker with a gpu that might be integrated on the motherboard.

 

[Veseleil]

You should understand what you are looking at, prior to doing anything.

The rest of the phrase you are looking for is "AM4 tends to have a higher idle power draw, when compared to an Intel system."

AM4 generally draws less idle power than AM5...but AM5 is more efficient at high loads.
The 2600 generally draws a few less watts idle than the 5500.
Getting a new Intel system will be a couple of hundred dollars for a decent CPU and motherboard...that still runs DDR4. If you can find them.
Migrating the HTPC from one board to another will cost a windows license...unless you are running Linux.


Based on the above, don't buy a new system. Don't try and upgrade unless you are already having issues. Don't migrate until you hit a real performance wall. That's my advice, and you are free to take it or leave it. 4 watts idle is 0.004 kwh. If you run the thing in idle constantly, without ever shutting down, and only use is 20% of the day, then 80% is idle. If electricity is $0.35 per kwh in your area, then the annual cost is: 0.80*(0.004*24)*365*0.35 = $9.8112.
Let's round to $10. You'd need to run your htpc for 20 years to justify the migration to a new platform. To put that into perspective, 20 years ago the best CPU was the FX-57...a one core, one thread, 2.8 GHz, 104 watt tdp, ddr1 rocker with a gpu that might be integrated on the motherboard.

Couldn't say it better myself. People are just overthinking too many things nowadays. Don't fix what isn't broken. Enjoy life, spend your time and money elsewhere.

 

[Pets4Ever]

I'd never put a Bronze-rated PSU in an HTPC. You can get supplies that are 10% or even 15% more efficient. The savings on electricity may not be enormous, but it means 40-60 less watts of waste heat being dumped into the system, and quieter operation as well.

At the time I built it, the total build price was $940 after tax so I did skimp on the PSU a bit for the sake of a budget I set for myself. The PSU exhausts out the back though so I don't think a full 40-60 watts worth of heat ends up in the case. The whole build is an 249watts tdp and temps are good.

If you want better power savings especially at idle or sleep put a G series chip in it like a 4650G or 5600G. Then if you have a display output on the motherboard you can get more power savings by taking out the GPU. Then you might consider In-WIn Chopin, Chopin Pro, or Chopin Max (that includes a PSU), or similar type smaller case if space savings is something you are also considering.

Originally the reason for the dedicated GPU was the idea of couch gaming with the PC. Seems like a foolish goal now since it turns out I do that only once in a blue moon. Still, it's still nice as an option for company Grip Combat Racing split screen is pretty sweet. That GPU is also pretty efficient consuming only 7watts idle. The 5600g could be an interesting drop-in upgrade though. basically a 30% uplift on single and multithreaded for the same TDP. notbad.jpg

You should understand what you are looking at, prior to doing anything.

The rest of the phrase you are looking for is "AM4 tends to have a higher idle power draw, when compared to an Intel system."

AM4 generally draws less idle power than AM5...but AM5 is more efficient at high loads.
The 2600 generally draws a few less watts idle than the 5500.
Getting a new Intel system will be a couple of hundred dollars for a decent CPU and motherboard...that still runs DDR4. If you can find them.
Migrating the HTPC from one board to another will cost a windows license...unless you are running Linux.


Based on the above, don't buy a new system. Don't try and upgrade unless you are already having issues. Don't migrate until you hit a real performance wall. That's my advice, and you are free to take it or leave it. 4 watts idle is 0.004 kwh. If you run the thing in idle constantly, without ever shutting down, and only use is 20% of the day, then 80% is idle. If electricity is $0.35 per kwh in your area, then the annual cost is: 0.80*(0.004*24)*365*0.35 = $9.8112.
Let's round to $10. You'd need to run your htpc for 20 years to justify the migration to a new platform. To put that into perspective, 20 years ago the best CPU was the FX-57...a one core, one thread, 2.8 GHz, 104 watt tdp, ddr1 rocker with a gpu that might be integrated on the motherboard.

Yea I guess I just have the itch to optimize, you're right that it probably doesn't make financial sense. BTW why do you assume old DDR4 Intel/LGA1700? I figure this Core Ultra series being unpopular should make them a good buy for non-gaming applications soon.

 

[Veseleil]

Yea I guess I just have the itch to optimize, you're right that it probably doesn't make financial sense.

Don't get me wrong, but really you don't want to optimise, in my book optimizing is working with what you already have and making the most out of it. You're searching for an excuse for spending some money, and not feeling bad for it in the process.
The actual gains will be minimal, but you anticipate that it will give you satisfaction. I won't judge you for it, I did similar things too many times.
You have every right to spend your money any way you like, but your use case is screaming just don't. It seems to me that you've already decided what to do, and just waiting for a bit of crowd (to) push you in the comfort zone. Whatever you decide, know that I won't bother your thread anymore, as I've already summarised my thoughts in the previous post, so I'll just walk myself out. Cheers.

 

[Pets4Ever]

Don't get me wrong, but really you don't want to optimise, in my book optimizing is working with what you already have and making the most out of it. You're searching for an excuse for spending some money, and not feeling bad for it in the process.
The actual gains will be minimal, but you anticipate that it will give you satisfaction. I won't judge you for it, I did similar things too many times.
You have every right to spend your money any way you like, but your use case is screaming just don't. It seems to me that you've already decided what to do, and just waiting for a bit of crowd (to) push you in the comfort zone. Whatever you decide, know that I won't bother your thread anymore, as I've already summarised my thoughts in the previous post, so I'll just walk myself out. Cheers.

 

[neatfeatguy]

I wouldn't worry about upgrading unless your system doesn't do something you want or doesn't support something you need.

For example, my plex server was running on an i5-4460 and 8GB of RAM. I used it for more than just Plex for a while, hosting a few games on it my brother and I could play such as 7D2D and Valheim. Upon hosting games the system worked sub-par. I'd get a lot of hitching and slowdowns. Even dropping in another set of 8GB of RAM didn't help, the CPU just couldn't do everything I was asking of it. I also was in need of more storage space and wanted to use SSDs, but this old system didn't have NVMe support.

I needed a system that would better handle hosting games and allowed more storage options. I ended up getting an awesome deal on a MB and a 5600X3D at my local Micro Center. I already had spare RAM for this kind of upgrade, plus I was able to migrate the OS from the spin drive to the NVMe drive, add in a couple of other SSDs for storage and keep all my spin drives as pure backup (which I now have 3 full backups of all my server data). I was looking to get just a 5600X, but the X3D was an open box and was only about $30 more so I got it.

If I was just using the server to stream Plex from, what I originally had in the system worked like a charm. I could stream a dozen movies off it without any issues (nothing 4k, I don't have any movies/shows that are 4k) at once. But once I started using it for other things it just wasn't up to snuff and I required better hardware. If you're not having issues using the current system for what you use it for, there really isn't any reason to upgrade if you ask me.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

At the time I built it, the total build price was $940 after tax so I did skimp on the PSU a bit for the sake of a budget I set for myself. The PSU exhausts out the back though so I don't think a full 40-60 watts worth of heat ends up in the case. The whole build is an 249watts tdp and temps are good.



Originally the reason for the dedicated GPU was the idea of couch gaming with the PC. Seems like a foolish goal now since it turns out I do that only once in a blue moon. Still, it's still nice as an option for company Grip Combat Racing split screen is pretty sweet. That GPU is also pretty efficient consuming only 7watts idle. The 5600g could be an interesting drop-in upgrade though. basically a 30% uplift on single and multithreaded for the same TDP. notbad.jpg


Yea I guess I just have the itch to optimize, you're right that it probably doesn't make financial sense. BTW why do you assume old DDR4 Intel/LGA1700? I figure this Core Ultra series being unpopular should make them a good buy for non-gaming applications soon.

If you were to look at the price of something going out, that didn't have a bunch of issues, and that you could get pre-used, you'd be looking at an 11th or 12th generation CPU.

11th generation only supported DDR4.
12th gen split, with DDR4 and DDR5 depending upon board.

You asked about optimizing this while the DDR4 prices didn't go to the moon...which is the core assumption here. If you buy one of the newest Intel processors you're looking at upgrading RAM...so add in another decade of service before payback. I'm looking at Microcenter, and they have a 12700k + MOBO + RAM (16 GB generic fluff) combo for $300...with a step down to an i3 14100 being a $110 CPU and any board exceeding $100. Either way, the non-desirability of Intel product has not directly lead to the prices dropping to a sane and rational level...it only means AMD can charge more. Yes, a single ram stick, 7600x and motherboard for $249 is better budget but doesn't get you to an energy savings.


Side note...I see others suggesting you buy a more efficient power supply. Don't. You aren't running something at the edge of performance. 95 watts (CPU)+ 130 Watts (GPU) + 20 Watts (ballpark for system) = 245 watts. 450 watt power supply. 245/450 = 54% You absolutely might save 2-3% on a 50% power draw (look up the curves, 50% is about 90% efficient for a bronze PSU). If you spend $80 on the power supply, and you looks at the above math, it's 6 years and change to pay back that power supply. I cannot fathom why you would do this, unless you loved burning money.

 

[Endymio]

Side note...I see others suggesting you buy a more efficient power supply. Don't. You aren't running something at the edge of performance. 95 watts (CPU)+ 130 Watts (GPU) + 20 Watts (ballpark for system) = 245 watts. 450 watt power supply. 245/450 = 54% You absolutely might save 2-3% on a 50% power draw (look up the curves, 50% is about 90% efficient for a bronze PSU).

Oops! A Bronze PSU is rated only 85% at 50% draw, whereas Titanium is rated 94% and even Gold (hardly more expensive than Bronze these days) is 90% efficient. And of course systems don't always run at just 50% draw.

If you spend $80 on the power supply, and you looks at the above math, it's 6 years and change to pay back that power supply. I cannot fathom why you would do this, unless you loved burning money.

As stated above, it's about much more than saving money on electricity. A more efficient PSU generates far less waste heat, and runs much quieter as well, a critical consideration during the quiet moments in films.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

Oops! A Bronze PSU is rated only 85% at 50% draw, whereas Titanium is rated 94% and even Gold (hardly more expensive than Bronze these days) is 90% efficient. And of course systems don't always run at just 50% draw.


As stated in the replies above, it's about much more than saving money on electricity. A more efficient PSU generates far less waste heat, and runs much quieter as well, a critical consideration during the quiet moments in films.

Oh my god....89% instead of 90.
Power curve for this model PSU

You can have a PSU that's only rated bronze, but for one or more of the points is way more efficient. This is why instead of saying look at the standard, I'd recommend you take the extra 20 seconds to look up the product...because we are not testing a standard...we ARE USING A PRODUCT.


You can have a bronze badge on a PSU with a titanium level of performance in low draw...or high draw...but only meets bronze spec at 50%. That's why they measure it at multiple points.

I'll also suggest that 89% efficiency versus 100% efficiency at 50% draw is 245*11/89 = 30 watts at full draw. Let me put that into perspective. If your heatsink is absorbing this extra 30 watts, or 30 J/s, and it's copper, the specific heat is 385 J/kg/K. 30/385 = 0.0779 s/kg/K. If the heat sink is 100 grams, or 0.1 kg. 0.779 s/K = 1.28 K/s. We can ignore the difference here, but it's 1.28 degrees Celsius more heat per second that needs to be dissipate. It's literally within the error for efficiency in thermal paste application energy transfer.


That said...it's a 1660 and low grade Ryzen processor. It's not like this is some barely surviving, thermally throttling beast of a gaming PC. Think before you tell someone to spend money on something utterly wasteful, that will inevitably product more e-waste because that old CPU, PSU, and other hardware isn't likely to go anywhere better than a recycling center, and it should be given its life as what it is now. That would be a more than competent HTPC.

 

[Endymio]

Oh my god....89% instead of 90 ... I know you want to sound real smart...because you always have criticism that sounds plausible until you do any basic checking..

You're using the more efficient 230V curve, when the OP is quoting prices in dollars, which I assume means he's using 120V. You're also cherry-picking the extreme highest-efficiency point on that curve. According to your own link, that PSU averages 86% over its entire range at 230V, and 2-4% less than that at 120V. My facts were correct; I'm sorry they trigger you.

...it's a 1660 and low grade Ryzen processor. It's not like this is some barely surviving, thermally throttling beast of a gaming PC. Think before you tell someone to spend money on something utterly wasteful

Who said anything about "thermally throttling" the CPU? Waste heat is waste heat. When it goes into your PSU, it makes your PSU fan spin faster, which generates noise. Even ignoring the heat and noise difference, the fact remains that Bronze PSUs are made with cheaper components, which is why they tend to shorter warranties.

 

[Panther_Seraphin]

Currently my HTPC is AM4.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL15 Memory
Storage: Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GAMING X GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair CX450M (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply

Although the R5 2600 has a low TDP, I understand that AM4 is bad for idle power draw. So the question is, how bad? Should I be trying to sell this and get something else?


Primary objective: Figure out if it's worth updating this platform while used AM4 cpus are abundant and DDR4 ram is still available

So a couple of questions I have

Is this PC on 24/7? If so then definately look at getting at least a Gold power supply if not Titanium for the extra efficency down in the 10-100 watt ranges vs Bronzes where you PC will most likely be living 20/7. Big savings to be had here especially with the longer time your PSU is on.
Is your software stack compatible with using something like the IGP in a 5700G instead of a dedicated GPU? Could be big savings here.
If you need a dedicated GPU/Nvidia card is it possible to swap it out to something more modern to benefit from lower power draw while doing media or even something like an intel Arc A310 as an alternative while gaining H265 Encode etc. I would also go for something like a 5800/5700x in this situation as its a single CCD design minimising idle power draw while keeping longevity on the HTPC for as long as possible.

AMD chiplets have worse power efficency at idle due to limitations at power gating/shutting down parts of the CPU which intel doesnt have and that only gets worse on designs with 2 CCDs

 

[Panther_Seraphin]

https://www.cybenetics.com/evaluations/psus/404/ - Current PSU
https://www.cybenetics.com/evaluations/psus/2851/ - Modern Titanium Unit that I can source for around £80 in the UK. Should be similar offerings the US

In your most likely working range its at worst 5% more efficent but most likely near 10% in typical use cases, at 24/7 use cases it add up really quick

 

[evernessince]

Currently my HTPC is AM4.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL15 Memory
Storage: Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GAMING X GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair CX450M (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply

Although the R5 2600 has a low TDP, I understand that AM4 is bad for idle power draw. So the question is, how bad? Should I be trying to sell this and get something else?


Primary objective: Figure out if it's worth updating this platform while used AM4 cpus are abundant and DDR4 ram is still available

In regards to the idle power draw question, comparing AMD desktop parts to Intel Desktop parts, total power consumption is 74w vs 52w.

Any swapping of parts is going to cost you far more than any savings from reduced power draw.

A HTPC shouldn't really be idling long to begin with. If the PC isn't in use it should be going to sleep. The only exception to this rule are laptop chips (which support modern standby) and systems that need high availability. Set the sleep timer to 1-5 minutes and idle power draw becomes irrelevant for such a system.

When the system is in use, even just watching videos, power draw difference between the two is close enough not to matter.

If power consumption is the end all be all, there are mini-PCs with mobile parts that consume 2w at idle that completely blow away all desktop offerings in that regard and they are more efficient at all other workloads as well. You can get one with a faster iGPU than your dGPU you have right now, which would be another 14w idle savings and 118w under load savings.

Is any of this worth it though? Does your system not do anything you need it to a satisfactory level? If not, don't bother.

https://www.cybenetics.com/evaluations/psus/404/ - Current PSU
https://www.cybenetics.com/evaluations/psus/2851/ - Modern Titanium Unit that I can source for around £80 in the UK. Should be similar offerings the US

In your most likely working range its at worst 5% more efficent but most likely near 10% in typical use cases, at 24/7 use cases it add up really quick

Assuming a 10% advantage and 24/7 usage (which I doubt, no one is using their HTPC 24/7 unless it's a multi-purpose system that's doing background work all the time) at 50w it turns out to be a savings of $5.27 a year. Let's be honest though, most of time it's going to be running a lightworkload and for when it's not it should be sleeping.. The PSU will likely die before it pays itself off.

I don't see the point of this discussion though, if power is really so expensive in your market that such small difference actually cost you a notable sum of money, set your system to sleep after 1 minute or get a mini-PC or laptop. Most desktop systems idle between 30w and 110w. Mini-PCs and laptops idle at 2-6w and support modern standby.

 

[Panther_Seraphin]

Only other reason to get a new PSU is no fan running at most of if not all load a HTPC would run. Its a nice to have

 

[freeagent]

A lot of energy went into that post ^

 

[neatfeatguy]

I don't know what you guys are all crying about. My Plex server when idle draws about 60W. Would probably be closer to 45W if I didn't have a RTX 3060 in it and had an iGPU I could use.

Honestly, based on TPU's data if we were to tackle the idea of idle power draw for the OP this is what should be going on:

He's running a Ryzen 2600, TPU says idle power draw = 50W (whole system)

Let's say he gets a 5600, whole system idle = 51W

Or move to a 5600G, whole system idle = 52W (I'm not sure if this includes the idle power draw of the 3080 that was part of the system test setup, if it was, then a EVGA 3080 FTW3 Ultra idle power draw needs to be removed and they idle at 11W, which means the system idle would then be about 40W)

Clearly the idle watts from TPU will vary a bit from the OP's due to different hardware, but it will give us an idea of what to expect.

Then if you consider the idle power draw of the 1660Ti = 7W (according to TPU testing) and if that were to be removed and use iGPU only (if he moved to the 5600G) he may get a system that idles around 40W.

If his current system is idling around 60W, that's a whole 20W difference.
Current system, if sat idle all day, would consume (at 60W) = 1440W or 1.44kW
If he moved to a 5600G and only pulled 40W, a full day = 960W or .96kW

Just idle alone, no other use, in 365:
@ 60W: 1.44 x 365 = 525.6kW
@ 40W: .96 x 365 = 350.4kW

For me, my electricity is at $0.12 / kWh
525.6 x .12 = $63.07 of electricity a year
350.4 x .12 = $42.05 of electricity a year
Difference = $21.02

Cost to move to a new 5600G is about $150 (new, on Amazon). If moving to the 5600G could in theory save 20W an hour during idle use it is possible you could save around $20 a year (in my case). After 7.5 years of use I would recoup the cost of saving roughly $20 a year and the 5600G would have paid for itself.

To me it wouldn't be worthwhile to bother upgrading from the 2600 to the 5600G. In 5+ years you never know what kind of changes may happen or what kind of system you may need that far down the road. I would just stick with what I had and only worry about upgrading once the system no longer provides adequate functionality that I need.

 

[Pets4Ever]

@Endymio @lilhasselhoffer
*looks in thread*

 

[A Computer Guy]

I understand why you did the math, but you did it wrong. It's an elementary percentages problem.


While your total meltdown is mildly amusing, I note that your original objection was not that I was "off topic", but that it was "retarded" to spend a few extra dollars for a higher-quality Gold PSU. And yes, the OP's primary concern is idle power draw, but that doesn't change my recommendation. Take a look at this list (recently posted by user @Shrek), which rates 100+ PSUs by the quality of power they deliver. Note the "Tier A" list is populated with Gold, Platinum, and Titanium units, whereas "Tier C" -- and the even worse "Tier E - avoid at all costs" -- is thick with Bronze PSUs.

I'll stick to my claim. If you have an aging Bronze-rated (or worse) PSU in an build 5+ years old, and want to spend some upgrade dollars, I'd suggest not overlooking it. The OP's system may be as much as 7 years old, meaning its cheap PSU is near end-of-life-anyway. Now, if you can't accept that, at least learn math-- and stop lying about other's remarks.

I have to agree that a PSU only upgrade doesn't make much sense here. From a technical standpoint if the system is running fine outside of wanting better idle and sleep power usage and/or better performance and/or more compact form factor the OP could just not worry that much about it and run it until it dies. The idea they are running a 3000MT/s Corsair kit without a problem is amazing to me (because of so many complaints I have seen about that specific type of kit) so don't fix what's not broken might be some good advice in this case. From a financial standpoint I would not dump a lot of money into the system unless it achieves some goal that makes the OP happy. The OP still has the option of manually lowering the power limit in PBO until the system becomes insufferably slow. So if they want a 15w or 35w system that should be possible.

The Ryzen 5 2600 is still pretty good and for HTPC I think its a pretty good role for that CPU nowadays. My wife uses my old Ryzen 5 2600 and GTX 1650 daily for multimedia and has no complaints. Is OP's system worth upgrading - probably not. Can you still get some bang out of the old system with some cheap ebay CPU deal and still not need to get a new PSU - probably.

I don't know what you guys are all crying about. My Plex server when idle draws about 60W. Would probably be closer to 45W if I didn't have a RTX 3060 in it and had an iGPU I could use.

My plex server DeskMIni X300 with an old 2200G, 2 Sata SSD, and 1 NVMe would sleep <5 watts in Windows with Wake on LAN and idle around 10-15 watts.
On Linux it idles about 20 watts but I haven't figured out how to get it to sleep. I can't stand Windows rebooting and taking down my plex server periodically so I just live with the 20 watt idle.

 

[neatfeatguy]

My plex server DeskMIni X300 with an old 2200G, 2 Sata SSD, and 1 NVMe would sleep <5 watts in Windows with Wake on LAN and idle around 10-15 watts.
On Linux it idles about 20 watts but I haven't figured out how to get it to sleep. I can't stand Windows rebooting and taking down my plex server periodically so I just live with the 20 watt idle.

I once had Windows do a reboot while I was doing a backup and it corrupted the backup. No big deal, right? Well, the forced update/reboot with Windows broke Windows and I couldn't even boot into safe mode. Thankfully I had multiple backups of my data, but it was a huge pain in the ass to format, re-install windows, copy data over to two drives instead of one......

I got tired of the forced window updates and restarts when it wanted so I moved to Windows 10 Pro and completely disabled Windows from updating. If I want to update I have to manually run it now, otherwise it will never update.

 

[Outback Bronze]

Guys,

Just had to clean up the thread. Any more of this carry on and points will be given.

Thanks.