{"id":309,"date":"2024-07-02T14:10:11","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T14:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/camomileapp.com\/blog\/?p=309"},"modified":"2025-02-12T08:48:45","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T08:48:45","slug":"lower-pc-power-usage-optimize-cpu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/camomileapp.com\/blog\/lower-pc-power-usage-optimize-cpu\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Optimize Your CPU to Lower PC Power Usage by 34% and Minimize Carbon Footprint"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I strongly believe that there\u2019s not a single PC user on Earth who hasn\u2019t, at least once in their lives, nagged at their laptop or tabletop computer for running too bloody hot or the cooling fans getting so loud you could not hear yourself think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At such moments, all you want is to give your little machine some kind of pill to bring down the fever. Unfortunately, there\u2019s no such thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or is there? Spoiler: there is<\/a>, it\u2019s free, and it can lower your PC temperature and power usage by 34%<\/strong>, prolonging battery and CPU life along the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But before spilling the beans, let\u2019s first figure out the main reason behind your computer overheating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Chapter 1: The Problem of High Power Usage<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I think you won\u2019t get struck by the fact that the most important and most complicated part of your PC\u2014the central processing unit, or simply the CPU\u2014is also the culprit for it getting scorching hot. As you may know, chip manufacturers set a default frequency at which the processor operates efficiently, balancing power consumption and computational speed. However, they also leave room for overclocking, which allows for increasing the chip\u2019s processing power per unit of time (clock speed) at the expense of significantly higher energy usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This nominal power of the chip is generally enough for everyday office and household use to keep performance lag-free and maintain a comfortable temperature with minimal noise from the cooling system. But occasionally, you may need faster computations, such as when you need a smooth picture during an intensive gaming session where numerous objects and particles are rendered on the screen simultaneously. In such a case, you may want to trade higher energy consumption for faster processing speed, and I\u2019m not going to blame you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But here\u2019s the thing: these demands last for a few seconds or minutes only. But your CPU, without proper limitations, can keep squeezing out all the power it has, even for simple tasks. Why? Because, with its struggle for efficiency, it would rather perform an operation as fast as it can, at maximum capacity, and then drop back to normal levels after it\u2019s performed. And it is exactly these peaks that heat up the system<\/strong> and the computer case and trigger the cooling fans to run rampant, making the device noisy and burning hot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Inefficient overclocking<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s delve deeper into the details. Like I\u2019ve already mentioned, the primary method to boost CPU performance is to accelerate its clock speed, which is followed by an increase in energy use. However, the efficiency drops per each additional watt (W) of power, meaning even small performance gains require significant increases in power usage. For instance, to reach maximum performance in stress tests with limits removed, Intel and AMD processors can consume up to 400 watt-hours (Wh).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of Intel in particular, which owns over 80% of the x86 desktop PC CPU market share<\/a>, overclocking allows their 14th generation processors to increase the frequency by a few hundred megahertz (MHz), but comes at the expense of consuming significantly more energy, losing efficiency with every added watt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Side effects<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While it seems that the power excess and the overheating it brings along are already enough, there is at least one more reason for concern. If you are ecologically conscious like me, this one might just hurt your feelings as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you may know, electric power (including household energy consumption) is among the top 2 contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is responsible for a quarter of humanity\u2019s total carbon footprint. Moreover, IT equipment alone accounts for 2% of global GHG emissions<\/a>. These numbers are alarming and are still growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Greenhouse<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Source: U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by economic sector in 2022, epa.gov<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a smaller scale, laptops and PCs, depending on the state and usage pattern, can consume anywhere from a modest 30 Wh, which is equal to 0.03 kilowatt-hours (kWh) for idle laptops, and up to an incredible 1200 Wh (or 1.2 kWh) for full-featured PC gaming setups. That said, the average PC\u2019s power consumption is somewhere around 200 Wh (or 0.2 kWh), meaning that, if used 8 hours daily, it would use 48 kWh monthly, or 576 kWh annually. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These figures translate to almost 240 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent. The same amount of CO2 allows for driving a gasoline-powered car for 614 miles or charging a phone for 15,853 times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"amount<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"amount<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Source: epa.gov<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all that in mind, doesn\u2019t it make you think, \u201cIs there a way to avoid or at least minimize this impact?\u201d This exact thought, along with being fed up with the computer constantly heating up, marked the beginning of the Camomile app\u2019s development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Chapter 2: The Solution to Lower Power Usage<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Camomile<\/a>, developed by the Outbyte team, is a free app designed to optimize CPU operation by lowering voltage and frequency when you don\u2019t need your processor running at full throttle<\/a>. This allows for a reduction in PC power usage and heat output while maintaining sufficient performance levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of Camomile is an algorithm that instructs your CPU to stay within its manufacturer-set clock speed, helping your processor avoid those peaks we discussed earlier in this article that trigger overheating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that Camomile ensures your PC runs efficiently for 99% of its operation time and, what\u2019s also important, at a comfortable temperature. And when you need this 1% of extra speed, you can simply turn Camomile off with a click of a button (or using a special hotkey to make it even easier).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>The Camomile effect<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s talk numbers. As tests suggest, day-to-day use of Camomile allows for a 34% reduction in overall power consumption by your PC and a 28% growth in power efficiency. It comes as an additional bonus to your enjoyment of smooth operation without extra noise from the cooling system or overheating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/th>CPU frequency, GHz<\/th>Temperature, \u2103<\/th>Power consumption, W<\/th>Efficiency, GHz per 1W<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Camomile disabled<\/td>4250<\/td>87<\/td>121<\/td>35<\/td><\/tr>
Camomile enabled<\/td>3540<\/td>65<\/td>79<\/td>45<\/td><\/tr>
Effect<\/strong><\/td>-710<\/strong><\/td>-22<\/strong><\/td>-34%<\/strong><\/td>+28%<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Clock<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Clock speed and temperature with Camomile disabled<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Power
Power consumption with Camomile disabled<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"CPU<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"PC<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Power consumption and temperature with Camomile enabled<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another test was conducted to simulate office work, using an Excel spreadsheet with 1 million rows of random numbers and running a search for these numbers using the VLOOKUP formula. The test measured the execution time and energy consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Camomile enabled, the execution time increased by 10%, but the energy consumption decreased by 34%. Over a year of eight-hour workdays, this translates to a savings of 282 kWh on the tested PC (the savings depend on the processor\u2019s power).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running VLOOKUP in Excel with Camomile enabled<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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