Looking for a second opinion on energy consumption

[Zach_01]

If you're concerned about power consumption, then wait a few months before upgrading. Especially when it comes to GPU upgrades.

The 3080 is 2 years old & it's sucking freakin' 320W from the wall! Next gen GPU's are around the corner & AMD already anounced a 50% better efficency. They also anounced a 25% better efficency for their Zen4 CPU's (as well as 35% performance increase):

"AMD RDNA™ 3 gaming architecture that combines a chiplet design, next generation AMD Infinity Cache™ technology, leading-edge 5nm manufacturing technology, and other enhancements to deliver more than 50% greater performance-per-watt compared to the prior generation."

“Zen 4” CPU core expected to power the world’s first high-performance 5nm x86 CPUs later this year. “Zen 4” is expected to increase IPC 8%-10%1 and deliver more than a 25% increase in performance-per-watt2 and 35% overall performance increase compared to “Zen 3” when running desktop applications." Source

You could get a AMD 7700 XT which might be on par in performance with the 3080, but consumes 120+Watts less. It will also be cheaper than a 3080. Zen4 will also be quite more power efficent, and AMD's upgradeability is also way better than Intel. Other than that, like others already mentioned, undervolt your CPU & GPU. If done right you'll save power & even gain performance. And use a frame limiter!

It may be true but lately AMD/Intel/nVidia use the better performance-per-watt ratio to increase performance and not deliver products consuming less power. At best, new buyers end up with products at the same consumption. At least for the high-mid-range/high-performance parts.
So I wouldn't expect much on total power consumption

 

[Mussels]

Current system configuration
MSI Z97 Gaming 5
i7-4770K
Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3 1600
MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X 8GB
2 SATA (Samsung) SSD (500GB + 1000GB)
3 SATA HDD (2TB, 1TB, 750GB)
Cooler Master 80+ bronze 620 Watts

Power consumption : 384 Watts under load

Current wishlist system :
MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk DDR4
i7-12700K
GSkill Ripjaws V F4 3200C14D 64GB
MSI RTX 3080 Gaming Z Trio 12GB LHR
2 NVMe SSD 500GB+2TB
1 SATA SSD 1TB
1 SATA HDD 4TB (5400rpm)
Corsair 80+ Platinum 850 watts (HX850 v2)

Question :
What can I expect in power consumption under load (games (cyberpunk, cities skylines, satisfactory, etc), compared to my current system ?
With the current energy crisis driving up kWh pricing, I really like to have an idea of what to expect.
A near double energy bill is not something I enjoy much...

ps. I also follow the rumors on an RTX 4000 series that perhaps could use less energy as per Gamers Nexus latest vid.

a 12700K is going to use "up to" (rounding up) 300W
This is an entire PC result, just with no load on the GPU - best to run with a higher estimated figure for the PSU wattage, anyway.

3080's can hit upto 400W - not all of them, but some can.

With sane power limits in the BIOS and an undervolt curve on the GPU, you could definitely reduce that 700W peak value to <500W

With the extra storage you're throwing in, just add 5W for an NVME drive and 10W per HDD on average.


A *quality* top tier 850W PSU that can handle higher peak values will be okay here - but one without any headroom for peak values, or in a hotter environment is going to have issues.

GPU's and CPU's can do very brief high wattage spikes
This Noctua 3080 used 343W while gaming, but had spikes to ~410W

If you want power efficiency, higher end intel chips are not the way to go - some of their middling chips have good power efficiency but it's a field mostly dominated by ryzen at present.
The difference in power consumption while gaming is very similar, but a system that spikes to 800W vs one that spikes to 400W, has very different requirements for cooling, case airflow, and power supplies.

(With my 3090 locked to 1.7GHz vs the stock average of 1.75GHz, my entire PC setup including 32" monitors doesnt break 400W. That said, I absolutely need a PSU capable of handling the GPU if afterburner ever doesn't apply that undervolt, as well as radiator/case fans that can handle that heat if it ever happens)



No one, and i mean NO ONE here can predict what next gen hardware power consumption will be like.
They could be heaps better on average, but have these power spikes - or they could be far, far worse. I saved 110W from my GPU for 50MHz off the core clock, and there's a LOT worse defaults out there for factory overclocked cards.

why would your bill double? You pay more to run your fridge each year than you do a gaming PC for most people unless you are addicted to gaming or use the PC for mining.

Also, you are spending 2k for a gaming PC but you are worried about an extra $5 each month to your bill for electricity?

His bill could double because the power consumption of modern parts is double what it was when he built that PC.

Never assume what someones costs will be - $5 is incredibly wrong for most of the world, that'd be only if you lived near nuclear power in a cold environment.
Anyone relying on air conditioning is paying twice, once for the hardware generating the heat, then for the AC to remove it.

 

[Bill_Bright]

As for PSU sizing, overkill is no longer overkill due to high peak load spikes.

Not sure what "overkill is no longer overkill" means. Overkill has always, and still means overkill. That is, overkill is "an excess of something (such as a quantity or an action) beyond what is required or suitable for a particular purpose."

Having a suitable "buffer" (AKA: headroom, padding, or cushion) above and beyond the combined specifications of the powered devices - that is, to cover peak load spikes - is just anticipating an expected need. That's not overkill. That's good planning.

Overkill is buying WAY MORE than you need and while that overkill will not hurt the connected devices, it can shatter a budget.

Bigger supply is better stability on overclocked and high powered parts that want to boost rapidly - both CPU and GPU do this nowadays.

Kinda, sorta, but not really - ASSUMING you buy a properly sized, quality PSU in the first place.

I note "IF" you are going to overclock, that should be considered when sizing and selecting your PSU during the build or upgrade - before you start overclocking.

Here is a scenario to illustrate my point.

Let's assume you are building a new system and you are planning to overclock it. You do the math to determine your power needs, or better yet, you use the eXtreme OuterVision PSU Calculator (the best, IMO, because it is the most conservative, most extensive, and most flexible - to include overclocking), and it recommends a 500W supply. So you buy a quality 650W for a little extra padding and possible future upgrades.

Assuming you do your homework and buy a quality 650W supply - it will easily handle those load spikes and still be rock solid stable even if overclocking. Buying a 850W supply is NOT going to be more stable just because it has more headroom. And buying a 1000W just wasting your money - and that is "overkill".

Bill is on the right path with a 100-200W 'over' what you need at peak.

And I agree with you and me on that!

Thanks for your reply. Yeah, it seems I'm older than I used to think.

LOL - I hear on that. And my body hears you too.

 

[dirtyferret]

Overkill is buying WAY MORE than you need and while that overkill will not hurt the connected devices, it can shatter a budget.

Not just shatter a budget but when you have people who have no clue to what they are talking about giving recommendations in order to justify their ego and pick of hardware, you shatter other people's budget, enjoyment, and send them into purchasing bad products. If I go around telling people the only way to power a gaming PC is with a $250 1000w PSU; yes it can shatter their budget, or make them sacrifice in other areas like the GPU that won't give them the performance they want, or they get a no name PSU that may place their hardware at risk when a quality 650w would have done the job with no issue in the first place.

 

[Spinnerke]

Also, you are spending 2k for a gaming PC but you are worried about an extra $5 each month to your bill for electricity?

Since I built our systems in 2014, we've been saving €55/month to a 'computer' savings account, €5700 current total in order to finance the replacement of those systems, 8 years later.
Which would be around today.
We will use a similar saving for the next system, which I project around 2032/2033.
Increasing our monthly cost on energy, means less savings for the next systems.

You see, I'm not that afraid for the initial cost, but I am for the consumption cost in the next 10 years.
Ya .. priorities
Also, I sign for that €5 per month increase, however I started this thread as I fear an increase of €50-€100/month in energy.
That would mean we won't have any savings in 2033 to replace those systems.

 

[Lei]

@Spinnerke
Why don't you just underclock your gpu? You can save a lot power and lose not much performance

 

[ymdhis]

Depending on how big of a whore you are for 4k / 144fps / super ultra settings, you could cut back on several things. Playing at 1080p at 60fps would tax the GPU significantly less. Use a frame limiter (or turn on triple buffer/vsync/gsync/freesync) so the GPU doesn't have to calculate 400 frames per second when your monitor only does 60Hz. Disable antialiasing, it puts the most tax on the card. Try disabling the turbo modes on your CPU (easiest way is to go to power management, advanced settings, and set the CPU maximum to 99%, this effectively disables the turbo boost, at least on my ryzen). You can very likely tweak the videocard to run at lower voltages, which will result in less power used, and possibly even get you better frames since the card will be able to run more stable at boost clocks (this is a trick with which you could get 50%+ extra performance out of the Vega 56 with the same power limit, not sure how it applies to newer GPUs, Vega was kind of a special child).

Of course if you play at 1080p only then you can also use weaker GPUs instead of the 3080, which will save you a lot more money than a bit higher power usage per month.

 

[P4-630]

Depending on how big of a whore you are for 4k / 144fps / super ultra settings, you could cut back on several things. Playing at 1080p at 60fps would tax the GPU significantly less. Use a frame limiter (or turn on triple buffer/vsync/gsync/freesync) so the GPU doesn't have to calculate 400 frames per second when your monitor only does 60Hz. Disable antialiasing, it puts the most tax on the card. Try disabling the turbo modes on your CPU (easiest way is to go to power management, advanced settings, and set the CPU maximum to 99%, this effectively disables the turbo boost, at least on my ryzen). You can very likely tweak the videocard to run at lower voltages, which will result in less power used, and possibly even get you better frames since the card will be able to run more stable at boost clocks (this is a trick with which you could get 50%+ extra performance out of the Vega 56 with the same power limit, not sure how it applies to newer GPUs, Vega was kind of a special child).

Of course if you play at 1080p only then you can also use weaker GPUs instead of the 3080, which will save you a lot more money than a bit higher power usage per month.

Or better yet, just buy a 14" laptop if you want to save that much energy...

 

[Sithaer]

Never assume what someones costs will be - $5 is incredibly wrong for most of the world, that'd be only if you lived near nuclear power in a cold environment.

Yep, I've already explained this before but where I live right now it cost me around ~10$/month to use my pc with my very casual use case and this is only a potato i 3 12100F and an undervolted GTX 1070 playing on a 75Hz monitor + FPS capped so my whole system doesn't draw more than 230W from the wall when playing a GPU+CPU heavy game.

I play maybe 1-3 hours/day unless there is a new relase I was hyped for which is rare nowadays so ye I if I had an actual power hungry system + I was addicted to gaming like I used to be some years ago then yea this would add up quickly to our bill.

+There are already bad rumours that we will get even more increased electricity prices starting from december.

Personally I've been using 450-500W PSU's ever since my first system I built for myself in 2008 and it was always enough cause I never step out of my usual budget-mid range hardware and use case.
Only exception was the 650W Cooler Master MWE Gold I had for barely 2 years then it just died on me for whatever reason and the retailer gave me back the original purchase cost money and let me pick a new PSU instead.
I've downgraded back to a 500W but better quality unit and its enough for me, I'm not gonna put anything higher than a ~220-230W power draw card in my PC anyway so something like a RTX 3060 Ti or a RX 6700 XT at most and then undervolt the card as usual. 'heck I could get away with a 6600 XT most likely'

Its all about knowing one's use case and budget range, if someone told me to buy a 1000W PSU just to be 'safe' I would just laugh and say what the foq for I will never need it not even half of it.

 

[Lei]

Current wishlist system :
MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk DDR4
i7-12700K
GSkill Ripjaws V F4 3200C14D 64GB
MSI RTX 3080 Gaming Z Trio 12GB LHR
2 NVMe SSD 500GB+2TB
1 SATA SSD 1TB
1 SATA HDD 4TB (5400rpm)
Corsair 80+ Platinum 850 watts (HX850 v2)

ps. I also follow the rumors on an RTX 4000 series that perhaps could use less energy as per Gamers Nexus latest vid.

You can spin down your HDD to 0rpm to save noise and power.
That's like unplugging it.
I use this software https://hddscan.com/

4070 which would be on par with 3080 performance would much likely be using under 320w
But it won't be 12gb

May be opt for a Radeon for more vram and perf to watt

 

[INSTG8R]

Specs are listed, everything and my monitor is included. I was away for 7 weeks but I’ll show you my monthly average with a PC that’s on 24/7 Can also see my current idle wattage(monitor is in standby)

 

[P4-630]

My electricity usage: note the yellow/orange bars is electricity feed back to the grid from my solar panels.

 

[Spinnerke]

Depending on how big of a whore you are for 4k / 144fps / super ultra settings,

My usecase is 5120*1440 across dual screen, primary monitor 165 Hz, secondary 60 Hz. So 2560*1440 for games.
I want to see Ultra, whether I'll play with those settings, I don't know.

New system will be running Cities Skylines for most of the gaming hours.
That game isn't very demanding graphics wise, but .... very heavy on the CPU and RAM.
My wife plays GTA V modded for Role Playing, same monitor setup as on my side.

@Spinnerke
Why don't you just underclock your gpu? You can save a lot power and lose not much performance

I have never done so and never looked into it either.
I will investigate.

________________
ps. I love this forum, as it is adding any later reply with quotes to the last post made, first time I see that and it is fantastic.

 

[nomdeplume]

Question :
What can I expect in power consumption under load (games (cyberpunk, cities skylines, satisfactory, etc), compared to my current system ?

The more important question here is what can you expect when not under load. Modern processors and mb are better at all speeds (multiple BIOS/settings). Your current processor is a heater that just burns no matter what you are doing. Any new Intel Core processor will determine your office document reading and light internet usage only require a Mhz or two and clip power usage elsewhere if you are running any intelligent modern OS that hasn't been defiled with gamingcentric FULL MAX++++ settings.

New system will be running Cities Skylines for most of the gaming hours.
That game isn't very demanding graphics wise, but .... very heavy on the CPU and RAM.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised what a 12th or 13th gen Core processor behaves like. My personal feeling is you are catching that efficiency plays a part but have yet to grasp what that entails. Alpha (primarily C-) states and all of the advancements in protocols mating with an up to date W11/iOS version will blow you away. Equally, how all of that power on tap is accessed and refined will be eye opening.

Because of this I think your parts selection might yet undergo some changes.

Current wishlist system :
MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk DDR4
i7-12700K
GSkill Ripjaws V F4 3200C14D 64GB
MSI RTX 3080 Gaming Z Trio 12GB LHR
2 NVMe SSD 500GB+2TB
1 SATA SSD 1TB
1 SATA HDD 4TB (5400rpm)
Corsair 80+ Platinum 850 watts (HX850 v2)

• Why are you not pursuing DDR5 given the noted reliance on RAM of your primary motivation to upgrade?
• What purpose does using every permutation of hard drive serve?
• What do you feel is the mb most capable of handling the severity of board mounted components current draw and heat dispersion?
• How much thought has been given towards your actual build as a whole, not as a collection of parts?

 

[Lei]

My wife plays GTA V modded for Role Playing, same monitor setup as on my side.

your wife should play this:

 

[Spinnerke]

.. an up to date W11/iOS version will blow you away.

Because of this I think your parts selection might yet undergo some changes.

• Why are you not pursuing DDR5 given the noted reliance on RAM of your primary motivation to upgrade?
• What purpose does using every permutation of hard drive serve?
• What do you feel is the mb most capable of handling the severity of board mounted components current draw and heat dispersion?
• How much thought has been given towards your actual build as a whole, not as a collection of parts?

On that Win 11 part ..
I've been following some talk about how Microsoft would like to install a Microsoft store that dictates what can and can not be on a users system.
I don't like that much and find myself tinkering with the idea to turn my back on Windows when the support for Win 10 ends and put a Linux build on the system instead.
Don't know where that leads, we'll see. I'm a gamer and my games need to run on the system without hassle, install Steam, install games and play.

Some hardware changes, any pointers would be welcome.

DDR5 : Higher price for the motherboard and the modules with no significant performance increase.
500 GB Samsung 980 Pro : OS, drivers, control software, system tools, security and user files.
2TB Samsung 970 Evo Plus for games
Everything else goes elsewhere ..
Below is of course my current setup, sata 500GB SSD as C:

I want to cut down on the amount of drives. (G&I are the same 750GB device from 2008, it still runs well but I don't trust it with critical files, downloads from the web find their way to both)
All those drives will be replaced by a single 4TB 5400 RPM drive.
I noticed I made a mistake in the wish-list system.
It is not 2x 2TB SSD, it is 1, that '2' slipped in there because my wish list on Tweakers.net is for 2 systems, so there are 2x 2TB drives.

So disregard that, it is 2 SSD's 500GB+2TB+4TB HDD
(ps the Seasonic supply in there is a result from comments in this thread, it's an 80 Plus gold 850)

Anything in the wish list is not set in stone, I'm willing to change near anything.
Thought on the system as a whole and not just a collection of parts : I'm not seeing much of a difference there .. lol
Picking parts that go well together performance wise.
The Tweakers community swears by picking CL14 modules for performance systems, I followed suit.

I want 2 systems that serve us well for the next decade as heavy gaming systems for a budget of €6000
With enough headroom in RAM capacity, either 2*16GB on a board with 4 slots or right of the bat with 64GB.
On a test with 4*8GB DDR 3 in my current system, loading up my biggest city in Cities Skylines with mods, it hit 24.2 GB RAM in use.
I can't play that city as it grinds to a near stand still with the mods and custom content loaded.
But anyhow, it was already closing in on that 32GB max, I can imagine a scenario where 64GB is needed.

But, if you have tips for hardware, I'm all ears.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Out here in sunny california going from a 2080ti/Titan Xp to a 3080ti/2080ti based systems upped my electricity cost about $50 in the summer and $25 in the winter per month mostly due to the fact that I have to keep my thermostat even with the door open in my office set to 69 to keep the room 74-75F. The 3080ti even with power limits locked to 325w heats up the room that much.

As far as psu requirements my evga ftw3 3080ti shut down multiple high quality 750w/850w psu from Evga/Corsair/seasonic due to high transient spikes in power consumption I had to swap in a 1000w psu. I wouldn't skimp on any psu for a 3080 or above.

 

[nomdeplume]

On that Win 11 part ..
I've been following some talk about how Microsoft would like to install a Microsoft store that dictates what can and can not be on a users system.
I don't like that much and find myself tinkering with the idea to turn my back on Windows when the support for Win 10 ends and put a Linux build on the system instead.
Don't know where that leads, we'll see. I'm a gamer and my games need to run on the system without hassle, install Steam, install games and play.

This is exactly the hypothetical being dealt with in my previous post. Pick a version of W11, pick your favorite program(s) to limit what it can and can't do, and worry much much much more about what sort of healthy and ambitious unregulated behaviors that pokey little gaming service is up to.

Keeping W11 from updating is not so hard. Keeping W11 from updating the Windows Store or any of it's apps is not so hard. Keeping W11 from making any changes to any of your handpicked drivers is not so hard. I really think you will come to very different conclusions about what is realistic. M$ does what they want in the background, no doubts. For most intents and purposes you can block and define parameters for behaviors while taking advantage of the newer OS. While newer hardware sees advantages from the current OS.

DDR5 : Higher price for the motherboard and the modules with no significant performance increase.

Others may comment on how valid your concern DDR5 will bring increased costs without increased benefits is. I have yet to lay hands on a DDR5 mb and desktop memory while some are in a position to do so. How large the benefit would be for your exact usage and balance of performance to endurance at peak temps factors into any intelligent decision to be made.

I want to cut down on the amount of drives. (G&I are the same 750GB device from 2008, it still runs well but I don't trust it with critical files, downloads from the web find their way to both)
All those drives will be replaced by a single 4TB 5400 RPM drive.

My comment was not on futility of mixing storage so much as bringing you into the sphere of thought required to assemble the correct assortment of drives:

8TB 5400 with large cache might be worth considering for long term use. Data creep is going to make the 8TB seem small in not so many more years. Especially if you back up important gaming files on a medium that doesn't silently go to the grave with no warning. Taking everything on it down with no chance of recovery. This update might be a good time to consider an intelligent storage strategy that requires three copies of irreplaceable files (working, onsite backup. offsite backup).

SSD/NVMe are a mixed bag for OS drive because performance specs are only valid with the larger storage capacity models. 500GB is not the magic number. 500° on the other hand is highly feasible with a poorly implemented NVMe. The smart money is on replacing this drive more often. Allowing you to possibly opt for a drive slightly below the top tier right now in a period of change. +90% work hours and 110% gaming intensity are going to take a toll on system components in both directions that matter for drive longevity.

QVO or whatever the better option for large SSD is might jump up a notch to 8TB making the 4TB easily attainable second hand. Again, as time progresses this will resemble your legacy 2008 drives being kept alive.

I want 2 systems that serve us well for the next decade as heavy gaming systems for a budget of €6000

Electronics lasting a decade without falling too far off the pace is not something you can realistically make statements on. Priorities change as well. Nobody but you and the significant other can make the right decisions for you.

But, if you have tips for hardware, I'm all ears.

Taking on a world view and still ongoing developments. If my budget was at all about to be stressed by a purchase in part initiated by large external stress coming from the marketing of products by companies still under threat of employee stasis and raw material factory shutdowns. A harsh reminder specs are not a guarantor of product quality. I'd remove the larger part of external pressures and very seriously look at buying or putting together a mature gaming rig from someone upgrading past their couple gen old hardware. Then stack up a new drive or two at retail when the next product cycle makes them opportune for the grabbing. Shop smart and leave room in your plans to make a few changes as needed. Costing a fraction of your budget would not be so bad, I suspect.

That equation changes a little at the lower end. Which might suit the +90% processor hours usage with immensely efficient hardware feasibly relevant for a decade. The last few gen of i3 and i5 are incredibly versatile. Making money easier and working faster can't be overlooked. Nor can putting stress on top tier hardware basically just sitting there idling all day. Maybe a balanced outlook on actual needs will suit the two of you better.

 

[Ellertis]

If you're concerned by the energy efficiency of your pc, I'd recommend you to explore the realms of undervolting

 

[Lei]

Some hardware changes, any pointers would be welcome.

DDR5 : Higher price for the motherboard and the modules with no significant performance increase.
500 GB Samsung 980 Pro : OS, drivers, control software, system tools, security and user files

Actually, regarding that u want to keep this new PC until 2032, may be ddr5 is not a bad idea.
Who knows, one day along the coming decade a 32 stick ddr5 will be dirt cheap and you'd really need ram upgrade

 

[Spinnerke]

My comment was not on futility of mixing storage so much as bringing you into the sphere of thought required to assemble the correct assortment of drives:

8TB 5400 with large cache might be worth considering for long term use. Data creep is going to make the 8TB seem small in not so many more years. Especially if you back up important gaming files on a medium that doesn't silently go to the grave with no warning. Taking everything on it down with no chance of recovery. This update might be a good time to consider an intelligent storage strategy that requires three copies of irreplaceable files (working, onsite backup. offsite backup).

SSD/NVMe are a mixed bag for OS drive because performance specs are only valid with the larger storage capacity models. 500GB is not the magic number. 500° on the other hand is highly feasible with a poorly implemented NVMe. The smart money is on replacing this drive more often. Allowing you to possibly opt for a drive slightly below the top tier right now in a period of change. +90% work hours and 110% gaming intensity are going to take a toll on system components in both directions that matter for drive longevity.

QVO or whatever the better option for large SSD is might jump up a notch to 8TB making the 4TB easily attainable second hand. Again, as time progresses this will resemble your legacy 2008 drives being kept alive.

For backup purposes I have a very old Iomega 512 GB external HDD, that is connected only when needed (once a week on Fridays at 18:00 hours for 15 minutes) and a cloud storage of 2TB at my ISP with 2FA login.
In the past, before cloud services became the topic, I had a few CDRW's at my friends place, to prevent my business data going up in flames in the off chance of a fire. I was swapping them every other week with updated disks.

8TB HDD €160
8TB SSD €680

Don't know, price difference today is significant.
Maybe in the near future larger SSD's for bulk storage drop in price enough to make it interesting.
For now, a HDD will have to be enough.
And used SSD's.. is that a good idea ?
Swapping the 500 GB 980 Pro for a 1TB version, is an option.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Since I built our systems in 2014, we've been saving €55/month to a 'computer' savings account, €5700 current total in order to finance the replacement of those systems, 8 years later.
Which would be around today.
We will use a similar saving for the next system, which I project around 2032/2033.
Increasing our monthly cost on energy, means less savings for the next systems.

You see, I'm not that afraid for the initial cost, but I am for the consumption cost in the next 10 years.
Ya .. priorities
Also, I sign for that €5 per month increase, however I started this thread as I fear an increase of €50-€100/month in energy.
That would mean we won't have any savings in 2033 to replace those systems.

Frankly if your margins are that thin you can't afford to build such systems in the first place.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Kinda a bad time to be spending a ton of money on a 3000 series gpu anyway they are nearly 2 years old at this point and soon to be replaced.... To a lesser degree that 12th gen cpu as well better off waiting for 13th gen or 7000 series whatever is better in the 6-8 core range both in performance and efficiency. If you plan on going 8-10 years before replacing parts you should go into it at the start of a generation not at the end.

 

[nomdeplume]

8TB HDD €160
8TB SSD €680

Don't know, price difference today is significant.
Maybe in the near future larger SSD's for bulk storage drop in price enough to make it interesting.
For now, a HDD will have to be enough.
And used SSD's.. is that a good idea ?

What I was saying is +8TB SSD are going to become more common... and so and so on up through Petabytes and beyond. Same applies to the most common (4TB) HDD that everyone gradually moves past. Food for thought only. Do what works best for you.

I personally, and I believe many here share this exact sentiment or I wouldn't express it so casually, would purchase an SSD that had bulk data uploaded which was since updated a few tens of times - low hours and low usage - from a reputable seller. All usual caveats applied meaning I would walk away at any point if things smelled wrong. Last year I bought a couple 850 Pro from a retired programmer who regretted only being able to show me his extensive personal Apple museum over email. He had no problems with me bringing a laptop to check their health and hours/TBW. For the price of new 250GB Evo I got two slightly older Pro. Everyone was happy and a retiree got something akin to fresh air inside their near perpetual lockdown.

Swapping the 500 GB 980 Pro for a 1TB version, is an option.

I think the message here is everyone is holding their breath what the next product cycle will shape up like in a larger sense (AMD and Intel). If you were buying one or two pieces it might be admissable to shoot a recommendation to hold onto until that good deal on something going out of production appears. SSD/HDD are probably that piece you could safely buy as you find them. Larger sizes = larger performance is a generality aimed at helping to cut through marketing data. Form your own opinion without undue weighting of a few thoughts I put forward.

Full gaming rig, right now I think the advisable behavior is seeing what the new unreleased products look like. Everything will still be available if you decide to pursue your current wishlist. Among this sophisticated of a crowd I don't think you'll have any problems catching whichever way the wind is blowing to aid your decision. The few concerns I presented might end up to be good reason for exploring an off lease Intel 8th gen or higher business computer for €€ that walks all over a 7th gen i7.

 

[64K]

There are simple things you can do to conserve energy like not leaving lights burning when no one is in a room or a hallway and not stand there with the refrigerator door open while you try to decide what you want to eat and turning up the AC to a couple more degrees. If you do those things then the power saved will be more than a gaming PC would use unless you game for more than a few hours every day.