DEC 22

A new report from the Electric Power Research Institute looked at the energy consumption of the three most popular video game consoles -- the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3 -- and the Wii was far and away the most energy efficient, using one-sixth the power used by the other two.

The researchers played one hour of Madden NFL 11 on each system and then recorded the power consumed.  The Wii used 13.7 watts, the Playstation used 84.8 watts and Xbox used 87.9 watts.  The reason for the huge disparity between the Wii and the other two is that the Playstation and Xbox feature much higher quality graphics and more powerful processors.

Over the course of a year where the user does some serious gaming (5 hours, 45 minutes a day), the Wii consumes energy equivalent to a flourescent light fixture, where the other two consume energy equivalent to a washing machine.

So, if you're currently in the market for a new game console and energy efficiency ranks higher on your required feature list than the quality of the graphics, the Wii is obviously the best choice.

via NY Times

Comments (5)

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written by Ray @ Diy Solar Panels, December 23, 2010

The new xbox 360 has the lowest consumption of Vampire power when it's on stand by around 0.6W the wii with connect24 off is 1.3W and with connect24 on it's 9.6W . So some math
the casual player spends around 9 to 20min per day playing games
Wii with connect24 on 227W(standby24/h)+ 4.7W (20min game time)per day with = 231.9
Wii with connect24 off 30W(standby24/h)+ 4.7W (20min game time)per day with connect24 off = 35.4W
Xbox 360 14.2W(standby24/h) + 17.14W (20min game time)per day = 31.34W
xbox360 Idle is 70.4W not 88W is usually when you play games that are asking for much more power
Conclusion never forget vampire power .

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efficiency does not equal consumption
written by Rob, December 23, 2010

As stated in the summary, the Wii utilizes far less powerful processors, and outputs far less quality graphics and sound than the other consoles. Yes, it CONSUMES less power, but that's because it's doing less. It's not necessarily doing anything more efficiently. That's like saying 1 washing machine is more energy efficient than 2 washing machines of the same model.

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written by Marcela, December 23, 2010

It would be interesting if the WII delivered a higher performance while at the same time take care of the environment.

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So what does that mean for Guitar Hero?
written by Asaf Shalgi, December 28, 2010

Am I wasting energy when by playing it non-stop?

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Wii Fun
written by Dave, January 11, 2011

It's awesome that when I'm nerding out on my Wii, I'm even nerdier because I'm saving some energy. Regardless of processing power comparisons, the Wii still delivers better game interfaces and performance than competitors, and I can't wait to plug in my Kill-A-Watt to verify some vampire power rates. @Ray thanks for the info, and I'll let you know what I can find out too!

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