Folding@Home Is Free, Right?….Not So Much
- Scribbled on March 28th, 2007 by Devin Grimes
- Filed in Off Topic
The Playstation 3 is a power hungry beast. It’s eight core CELL processor, Blu-Ray drive, and standard next gen muscle require a lot of energy to get that 1080p machine going. Of course, the downside is harnessing all that power can put a huge dent in your wallet.
Those clever editors at IGN put on their lab coats and ran some experiments to see just how much damage running the PS3’s newest cell folding application, Folding@Home really makes on your electricity bill.
The national average for running the system 24/7 is about an extra $12.23 to your electric bill, with our Hawaiian friends getting the foul smelling end of the stick at $27.76.
(Via Kotaku)
March 28th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
I can’t imagine running it for an entire month without turning it off. But if I did, $12 seems pretty reasonable. I really expected it to be much higher.
March 28th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
I don’t know…that’s almost $150 a month…with nothing to show for it. Considering you can use the same application on the PC, which is already always on, it seems a bit much for something with little to no monetary value
March 28th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
I think you meant $150 a year.
Monetary value? Isn’t this about curing diseases, or did I miss something?
March 28th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Yeah, it’s $12 per month, amounting to approximately $150 per year. Regardless, the same argument applies to a PC running Folding@home. You’re still using power (probably more with a PC). So, if you think there is little to show from Folding@home on a PS3, then you have to feel the same for Folding@home on a PC.
The only difference is that the PS3 is more efficient with the power it uses since it’s able to process more and therefore accomplish more for the project.