Does Device Manager cut motherboard power to what you disable?

[theblue1]

Pretty sure not.

But are you actually having power supply issues? Most serious machines and even good consumer machines typically have considerable operating headroom with re the PS.

Are you having sudden shutdowns or heating/excess fan issues?

[JoeyM]

No imminent-failure issues, thanks

I'm just looking for efficiency in the face of a lot of peripherals that don't need to be on all the time.

In my own limited theory, if I disable something in device manager and hooked-up an ohm-meter there would still be power available at the jacks, but the question on my mind is whether a certain wattage is still being consumed.

The inspiration for this, is I'd rather have my main box on an opposing wall (so exterior cables can be kept short and sweet) but then access inside would be limited.

Computers are spiky with power demands all over the place, so I hate the idea of 1/5th my power being unavailable for system headroom, if that makes any sense.

I'd probably save a lump of coal every now and then too, not that I'm excessively Green though.

[eddierodriguez]

most systems are overpowered today.

but, no matter how much wattage your psu has, it only uses the wattage needed. this should be somewhere between 200 and 350 watt.

on the other hand, usb-ports, soundcards and all other devices still get voltage even if disabled.

you can only save with unused-hdds going into standby, pc turn off when not needed (standby still uses some watt) only connect hdds and cards you really need.

[JoeyM]

Originally Posted by eddierodriguez

... usb-ports, soundcards and all other devices still get voltage even if disabled...
you can only save with unused-hdds going into standby, pc turn off when not needed (standby still uses some watt) only connect hdds and cards you really need.

Cool thanks, that 's what I wanted to know.

This isn't my only computer, but it's easily the most important (to me) because it's a computer that has fun as its major priority, which leads to an easier creativity vibe when guests stop by.

Also regardless of power supply, having unused peripherals drawing power can't help but cause a little heat, therefore more potential to pick up noise and complications.

[N88]

Actually, I've started having excess fan issues on an older PC this last week. I bought a better power supply for it once before, but it turned out to be something else causing the problem. I'm wondering if I should change it.