Chances are you live in one of the 40 per cent of American households that owns at least one video game console. The Wii, XBox 360and Playstation3 all consume vastly different amounts of power but, all together, gaming consoles eat up enough energy to power the city of San Diego. We've got nothing against gaming, of course, but we think, maybe, we could do it a bit more efficiently.
{digg}http://digg.com/gaming_news/1_Billion_Per_Year_of_Power_Wasted_by_PS3s_and_XBoxes{/digg}So does the Natural Resources Defense Council. They (and Ecos Consulting) have just conducted the first ever major study on how much energy is consumed by video game consoles. The results are mind-boggling. Each year, 16 billion kilowatt-hours are eaten up by video games. Of course, it's totally worth it, since, without them, we'd be actually out there flying fighter jets and driving at 103 miles per hour through the streets of Paradise City...so it's a good thing we have video games to divert us...right?
The XBox consumes an average of 119 watts in active mode and the PS3 averages 150 watts. The Nintendo Wii, by comparison, which focuses less on high-end graphics, uses an average of just 16 watts in active mode. Obviously, if you have a Wii and an XBox, you should get Lego Indiana Jones for the Wii, the gameplay will be identical. But if you want to play Gears of War 2 well...then your Wii isn't going to be much help.
So there's no reason to chuck out the PS3 and XBox. There are user-friendly power management features that the researchers calculate could save 11 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. Those simple changes would cut the electricity bill in the U.S. by more than $1 billion annually and eliminate the emission of more than 7 million tons of carbon dioxide.
The good news is there are simple ways to make the consoles more energy efficient. The study authors calculated that about half of all gamers leave their device on when they're finished. Both the XBox and the PS3 have a power-down option built in. But for both devices, the feature is disabled by default. Sony seems to be aware of the problem and in October introduced an online update to manage power in downtime. The NRDC website has instructions for XBox 360 and Sony PlayStation users on how to switch to power saving mode, there's really no reason not to. So, if you're an EcoGeek, go ahead and do it now.
Or, even better, plug your whole entertainment system into a power strip and turn it off at the source when you're done, that's what we do at EcoGeek HQ!
Via: NRDC
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written by wiiiiiiiiiiii, December 29, 2008
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written by bobbobberson, December 29, 2008
If the power is all renewable then who gives a crap? If I'm in the PacNW and most of my power comes from hydro its not a terrible harm to the environment to leave my xbox running. Also if I make the power I can do what I wish with it.
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written by Clinch, December 29, 2008
If people are energy conscious, they will have already switched to energy saving mode, or turn off the plug when they've finished, if they don't care about energy, then will just continue to do what they are already doing.
The only things that will work, are either having energy-saving mode on by default (or via a patch), or having an incentive to be green (e.g. on the X360, get an achievement from switching to power-saving mode)
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written by J. Richardson, December 29, 2008
So what, you say?
Well, Tantalum is a metal that is largely exported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The source material is called Coltan and it is easily minable. The DRC has 80% of the world's Coltan reserves.
If you haven't paid attention to the situation in the DRC, 4 million people have died in the region since 1998 due to conflicts largely funded by diamonds and, more importantly, Coltan. If you've ever watched Hotel Rwanda or Blood Diamond, you get the picture.
So what do you do?
Make noise. Specifically, talk about this problem. Companies like Nintendo and Sony only respond to consumer pressure. Capacitors are a small part of every unit but when combined, add up quickly. The largest operating mine is located in western Australia but it has shut down because suppliers are buying from the DRC.
See:Global Investment Watch for more details. http://globalinvestmentwatch.c...ss-of-war/
http://globalinvestmentwatch.com/2008/12/08/the-coltan-wars-pt-1/
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written by John Bancroft, December 29, 2008
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written by sidereal, December 29, 2008
Obviously, if you have a Wii and an XBox, you should get Lego Indiana Jones for the Wii, the gameplay will be identical.
The graphics, however, will not. Especially if you have an HD TV, which the Wii won't take advantage of.
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written by jack, December 29, 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/29/tennessee.sludge/
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written by Carl, December 29, 2008
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written by M. Dunn JR, December 29, 2008
So does this mean you don't have a gaming system because of your age, or because you are to mature? You seem to feel VERY strongly about video games and their connection to age and or maturity. I would have you know not only am I an adult and father to 3 great children, but my father at the age of 59 plays games, TO AID IN KEEPING HIS MIND SHARP! Not to mention video games in recent years have been found to assist in helping patients in forms of recovery and eye/hand coordination. In addition the videogame industry grossed more than Hollywood for several years now. If you choose not to spend your free time in this fashion good for you but don't equate someones choice for leisure time pleasure to being immature.
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written by Vinylstar, December 30, 2008
Most gaming consoles use conductive polymer caps...not tantulums.
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written by hyperspaced, December 30, 2008
Another thing: I have a PS3. It is easy to turn on just by pressing a button on the remote control. Boot time is around 15 seconds. On standby (no game is playing, just watching the XMB menu bar) it requires around 140W (!!!!). This is absurd!!! They released a "power savings" feature. Here comes the fun part: The minimum amount of inactivity for the power save to be triggered is ...1 hour!! That means if i forget the damn thing on it will be A FULL HOUR draining power before it automatically turns off!!! Great !! Of course there are options like 5 hours!! What are these guys thinking ?
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written by alfa katzz, December 30, 2008
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written by Brandon, December 30, 2008
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DEC 29
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