There are a couple ways to reduce power consumption when building a new system:
1. Power supply: Only purchase a PSU with a little extra wattage to suit your needs. Use EVGA's Power Meter app on this website to get a good idea of what you'll need for wattage. My guess is that you can run a system with a current generation CPU and up to two GPU's with a solid 650 to 750 watt PSU. And, PSU's are rated by the "80-plus" standard: bronze, silver, gold, platinum, titanium. Suggest getting an 80-plus gold level or better; they generate less heat, and are 90% or greater in energy efficiency. Since excessive PSU heat is essentially wasted energy, the more efficient your PSU is, the cooler it will run, less energy is wasted, with some resultant savings on your energy bill.
2. GPU: Recommend getting a graphics card with a low power rating. For example, NVidia's recent Maxwell architecture GPUs, beginning with the 700-series cards, are more efficient with less heat buildup than the old 650 series. Based on personal experience, you can get up to twice the amount of folding points per day while using less power with the newer GPUs. I had two 450 GTS cards in SLi mode that (on a good day) could earn only 35K to 40K folding points per day. I replaced both of those cards with one EVGA B-stock 750i SSC card, and am getting twice the folding point output per day, while drastically reducing power consumption.
3. CPU: If you can get a CPU with at or under 32nm in thickness and under 95 watts power consumption, you'll see a noticeable decrease in power usage over older generation CPUs. Current Intel chips generally run cooler, are thinner than nm than the current AMD CPUs, but you pay the $$$ to Intel for that advantage.
4. Buy a computer case allowing for maximal air flow through the case, and with materials providing case rigidity without absorbing a lot of heat. I have and old "Centurion" case where the whole front panel is wire mesh and filters, and case temperature usually stays in the mid-to-high 20 degree Celsius range. Again, reducing heat is the goal here. And, place the PC where there is plenty of ventilation to maximize air flow.
Other thoughts: I've found it's best to overclock in the winter, and change over to basic settings in the summer. You'll have to run your PC longer (in non-overclocked mode) by a couple days, but it beats seeing GPU readings in the 60-70 degree Celsius range. Also, some obvious things to do are to turn off your PC monitor when not in use, and any peripherals (backup drives, etc.), that aren't essentially needed while your PC is earning those EVGA Bucks!
I've done all the above, and reduced my monthly energy bill from a maximum of $180 down to around $100. Just hoping this trend continues
post edited by chrebean1 - 2016/02/12 14:03:31