Cost in Electricity/Pounds of running the Steam Deck

[Britannic]

So out of curiosity more than anything and with electricity prices in the UK about to rise again in October. I thought I would do a little quick research into the cost of running the steam deck against a gaming laptop and a PC just to get an Idea of costs.

These rough calculations where done using an external website and assuming each system draws it's maximum load in wattage. They can't be taken as 100% accurate and are merely for baseline purposes.

These costs are for maximum wattage calculations. None of these devices as stated below in a post will use the full load. So Therefore actually usage costs should be lower. But it's a baseline to compare too.

Cost of running the Steam deck

Calculated using the UK: Price Cap (April 2022) electricity rate of 28.00 pence per kWh.

Steam Deck
45watt for 1 hour = 1.26 pence (£0.0126)
45watt for 2 hours = 2.52 pence (£0.0252)
45watt for 8 hours = 10.08 pence (£0.1008)
45watt for 56 hour or 8 hour a day over 7 days = 70.56 pence (£0.7056)
45watt for 8 hours a day (2912 hours total) 365 days a year = £36.69

Steam deck through hub powered by 65watt charger
65watt for 2 hours = 3.64 pence (£0.0364)
65watt for 8 hours = 14.56 pence (£0.1456)

Gaming laptop running a 3060
300watt for 1 hour = 8.40 pence (£0.084)
300watt for 8 hours = 67.20 pence (£0.672)

PC
600watt for 1 hour = 16.80 pence (£0.168)
600watt for 8 hours = £1.34

PC
800Watt for 1 hour = 22.40 pence (£0.224)
800watt for 8 hours = £1.79

[AceHercules1196]

Originally posted by Britannic:

So out of curiosity more than anything and with electricity prices in the UK about to rise again in October. I thought I would do a little quick research into the cost of running the steam deck against a gaming laptop and a PC just to get an Idea of costs.

These rough calculations where done using an external website and assuming each system draws it's maximum load in wattage. They can't be taken as 100% accurate and are merely for baseline purposes.

Cost of running the Steam deck

Calculated using the UK: Price Cap (April 2022) electricity rate of 28.00 pence per kWh.

Steam Deck
45watt for 1 hour = 1.26 pence (£0.0126)
45watt for 2 hours = 2.52 pence (£0.0252)
45watt for 8 hours = 10.08 pence (£0.1008)

Steam deck through hub powered by 65watt charger
65watt for 2 hours = 3.64 pence (£0.0364)
65watt for 8 hours = 14.56 pence (£0.1456)

Gaming laptop running a 3060
300watt for 1 hour = 8.40 pence (£0.084)
300watt for 8 hours = 67.20 pence (£0.672)

PC
600watt for 1 hour = 16.80 pence (£0.168)
600watt for 8 hours = £1.34

The steam deck doesn’t pull 45W it has a battery unless you are on about charging costs

My PC probably pulls 600W to 800W of power so it can cost quite a bit to run

[Britannic]

updated it with 800watts as well. I know the Deck doesn't pull 45 watt as I said it's a rough guide. Even if as stated everything did pull it's maximum load the SD works out the cheapest option for modern gaming and saving money on electricity after the initial expensive outlay.

[Man's Best Friend]

I mean, no duh? The device with the smallest power supply consumes the least amount of electricity.

[WolfWings]

My laptop came with a 300W charger... because that model of charger draws less power from the wall when my laptop is using ~120W than running a 135W charger near peak load.

Same way a lot of "65W" laptops can run happily on 45W or even 30W chargers but can't "run everything AND charge the battery" it becomes either-or.

Every single one of these estimates ends up roughly double reality as a result, just FYI. :) Most power systems are most efficient (like 98% or more) around half load, so most consumer electronics (computers, steam deck, etc) supply a power supply rated for double that. For stuff with rechargeable batteries the extra capacity is allowed to be used for the charging.

[AceHercules1196]

Originally posted by WolfWings:

An "800 watt gaming PC" doesn't pull 800 watts from the wall BTW, that's the peak safe load the power supply supports.

Also yes my laptop came with a 300W charger... because that model of charger draws less power from the wall when my laptop is using ~120W than running a 135W charger near peak load.

Same way a lot of "65W" laptops can run happily on 45W or even 30W chargers but can't "run everything AND charge the battery" it becomes either-or.

Every single one of these estimates ends up roughly double reality as a result, just FYI. :) Most power systems are most efficient (like 98% or more) around half load, so most consumer electronics (computers, steam deck, etc) supply a power supply rated for double that. For stuff with rechargeable batteries the extra capacity is allowed to be used for the charging.

My PC probably pulls 600W to 800W I am pretty sure that not a joke

[AceHercules1196]

Originally posted by WolfWings:

Originally posted by Corey:

My PC probably pulls 600W to 800W I am pretty sure that not a joke

Either your estimate is wrong, or your PSU is too small TBH. 600W would around a 3090 Ti (~450W) combined with an Intel 12900K (~150W) levels of power draw which REALLY should have a 1000W PSU at that size of GPU.

If you want to know for sure, get a Kill-A-Watt or similar and measure the power draw. :)

My RTX 3080 TI has a max power draw of 425W that is the highest I have seen it pull my 5950X has a max power draw of 175W that’s at very max it mostly stays around the 120W to 150W range and obviously there’s the power that my 360mm AIO and ram and motherboard needs

I have a Corsair HX1000 PSU because I was scared that my RM850I would blow up when I upgraded to the 3080 TI

[WolfWings]

Originally posted by Corey:

I have a Corsair HX1000 PSU because I was scared that my RM850I would blow up when I upgraded to the 3080 TI

My deepest apologize, I realized I mis-read your initial post also of "600 to 800" as "600 of 800" watts since the OP mentioned 800W on their table of energy costs.

Deleted my mistaken posts and edited my original reply to avoid the confusion, mea culpa!

[NotDeadYet]

Dude thanks for the estimates - I actually was looking for this exact example, I'm thinking of just daily driving the steam deck hooked up to my monitor, keyboard etc to reduce costs.

[zBeeble]

Originally posted by Vance Astro:

Dude thanks for the estimates - I actually was looking for this exact example, I'm thinking of just daily driving the steam deck hooked up to my monitor, keyboard etc to reduce costs.

Your monitor probably draws more than the deck by double or quadruple.

For wall power, the gold standard (for some time) has been things like the Kill-A-Watt. I'm pretty sure there's a version for UK voltage. The point of this device is not just "how much power am I using right at this instant" but a sum of total power since reset.

I also had a lot of questions regarding SteamDeck usage. There is a fair number of USB power meters available on Amazon in the $20 range. You'll want one that works with PD.

From memory, an idle Steam Deck draws about 7 watts when it's on. Also from memory, not charging, max observed draw is around 32 watts --- think Horizon Zero Dawn or somesuch. Lots of games are inbetween.

Your Deck will also charge at a rate upto 12 watts (it seems). Depending on how much input power it has. Keep in mind that it takes 1.2 to 1.5 watt-hours to charge a watt-hour of battery. If you're concerned about power, use the battery as little as possible as it "costs" more.

But as-I-said... your monitor will use at least 20 watts (new, small, efficient) and could use much more.