Xbox Release Statement About Power Consumption

Xbox Culture:

Two weeks ago we published an article, 'Xbox One Users Consume Same Amount of Electricity as Houston, Texas', regarding the Instant-On ability of the Xbox One and the power it consumes when switched 'off'.

[ninsigma]

I never thought of power consumption as something that was improved on over the years. It's good to know they are putting focus on a lot of aspects of their console when considering their system updates.

[LackTrue4K]

Just add some large solar panels on top of the XboxOne, it's large enough to hold them.

[GenuineGamer]

Yeah its nice it sits under my tv in my cabinet perfect an looks awesome with the glowing X logo. And its got wicked vents so keeps nice and cool and is real quiet. My 2.5" external hdd is louder than my xbox and it aint loud.

Personally i think its a great size and if that's the tradeoff for awesome cooling im cool with that ;)

[TOTSUKO]

Solar panels? Seriously?

The power of the cloud will solve all of its power consumption problems. The cloud will process most of computation because clouds somehow have CPU's

Xbox One getting too hot? Im sure there will be an update where the cloud can drop rain on the console. Shoot, the cloud might as well end the California drought.

[u4one]

thankfully its quiet and doesn't overheat. funny enough the ps3 was super quiet and the 360 was kinda noisy.... now the ps4 is noisier than the xbox one.

[JoGam]

LMAO

[comebackkid9891]

They're waiting till e3 to reveal it.

[awi5951]

@TOTSUKO

Oh please ha ha i havent forgot the power of cell either sony fanboys. God im glad i went pc only this gen i dont miss you stupid fanboys and your console wars at all.

[dantesparda]

@u4one

"funny enough the ps3 was super quiet and the 360 was kinda noisy.... now the ps4 is noisier than the xbox one."

Is that why they both 40 decibels when you are sitting close to them when they are idling and 40-42db when gaming if you are sitting within 1 to 3 meters away from them? The only time the PS4 sounds louder is when your are close to it while gaming. Otherwise they sound the same.

[Dee_91]

if they add solar panels on the top where am i suppose to park my hummer? I think a better solution would to be to bolt them to the sides. I may have to add a west wing to my house but it would be worth it imo

[Syntax-Error]

Another Sony fan that just wants to find a joke to interject.

[badz149]

@u4one

"Noisy" is nowhere close to describe the PS4. Nice try! Whoever is saying the PS4 is noisy, clearly doesn't own one. The original 360 was noisy, loud even, but the PS4 is just as much as quiet as the PS3. I should know because I still have them both hooked up and play them regularly.

[magiciandude]

A gaming PC can easily outsize an Xbox One multiple times over, and there are BluRay players bigger than an Xbox One. I don't see how size is that much of an issue for most people.

[bmf7364]

The size is for the VCR update that they're waiting for E3 to reveal. Solar panels are just silly... The vent on top is for hydroelectric power. Pour water into it to save outlet power consumption on the system

[samchez77]

@genuinegamer

Case size does not automatically mean better cooling.

A larger case design is more often than not indicative of cheaper, less efficient component design and airflow orientation.

[solid_snake3656]

I don't have an xbone, but it would match well with my high end home theater system. Ps4 kinda looks strange because of it's design, but I still love it.

[Geoff900]

The Xbox One is very very software orientated, so everything can be updated.

[jebabcock]

@Geoff

You realize that Every console, phone, tablet, desktop PC, etc. are all VERY software oriented...

[rainslacker]

Funny...thought the Xbox One was hardware.

[Geoff900]

@Jebabcock, not to the extent whereby you can change the hardware's power consumption, that is that severs and certain workstations are able to do.

[Revolver_X_]

Holy sh!t Geoff. Microsoft has you completely brainwashed.

[MONOLITHICIDE]

Big power brick
www.infowars.com/the-video-ga mes-industry-is-being-subverted /

[GenuineGamer]

Dont u think it makes sense to put a hot power brick outside the console so it doesnt heat up the console? And it sits on the ground or hidden behind your tv so why the heck does it matter laptops have power bricks too.

Its not like your looking behind ur tv at a power brick while gaming ur looking at the tv i dont get why this is a bad thing.

Anything to try put down xbox tho yeh?

[rainslacker]

I don't disagree with you GG, but when you have several devices that have big power bricks, then it does get rather cramped behind the cabinet.

Power bricks are generally used to prevent interference introduced by the conversion of AC to DC current. While heat is an issue in this conversion, it's not the reason that they aren't integrated into the device. In other cases it's for weight concerns...like with laptops.

[GenuineGamer]

You make a fair point rainslacker. I think its good for the console that this part is external but i see what you saying :)

Edit @badz149

The 360 was defective because it was rushed through testing to get to the market. They ironed out the issues with newer versions of the console most notably the jasper version.

Now you praise Sony for doing it since the ps2 yet all of Sonys consoles tend get pretty hot. both my ps3 consoles would get extremely hot and my ps2 was no different.

MS CAN do it. If you look back the og xbox had an internal power supply. And you would think it would be cheaper to incorporate it inside the console rather than making a separate piece no?

MS have done extensive tests when making xbo so as not to make the same mistake as the 360. Massive cooling and external power brick make sense for reliability.

Maybe you should think a little hmm?

[badz149]

@GenuineGamer

"Dont u think it makes sense to put a hot power brick outside the console so it doesnt heat up the console?"

And yet the 360 is the most defective console in history despite having its power brick on the outside! Sony has proven it from time to time since the PS2 but here you are, still talking about internal power brick doesn't make sense? LOL talk about being thick headed. It's all about the art of hardware design and just because MS couldn't do it, doesn't mean it doesn't make sense!

Comparing consoles to laptops? Like seriously? Getting a little desperate, aren't ya? Laptops are made for portability and the makers and users alike would want the weight to be shaven off for as much as posssible from the main body. You really think ultra thin laptops like the Macbook Air is possible with internal power brick? Think for a little, will ya?

[DDOS-DelDaemonicOSes]

The angled design of the PS4 is perfectly designed... for being a doorstop when the external PSU fails out of warranty, and the "sleek" design really looks great with all those messy cables and USB devices sticking out of the only two USB ports ON THE FRONT.

Sony fans always seem to slight the XBox for how it is actually better (AKA "spin"), such as claiming that replaceable AA batteries are worse than internal rechargeables that are so short lasting that they might as well call the DualShock 4 a wired controller with temporary wireless that requires they buy more controllers to replace batteries when they wear out.

[andibandit]

@DDos

Yeah the battery life is somewhat short on the DS4, thinking about replacing them with some batteries with higher capacity, since my only seem to hold 3-4 hours worth of charge.
To anyone wanting to suggest i go Wired: "You need to go shoot yourself in the face"

[Ahmay]

go to controller settings and dim/turn off light will prob help a little.

[Blaze929]

So we complaining about $15 a year now? Wow....

But the system is $349.99...honestly.

"Xbox One Users Consume Same Amount of Electricity as Houston, Texas"

what?

[Mustang300C2012]

Yep Makes no damn sense

[Eidolon]

I understood it this way.. the combined power consumption of every Xbox One owners' Xbox One is greater than that of general home power consumption of the entire city of Houston, Texas.

[Azmatik]

I live in Ontario Canada one of the worst places ever for hydro prices. This means something to me, as i am a grown man and pay my own bills.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Its what happened with their revisions last gen. When making a new sku, ie Elite's, slims etc, they may use smaller cpus, using up less power. Over time, the systems made later on, are more efficient then the sku's first created.

That happened last gen and is again happening this gen.

[Eddie20101]

Sony didn't have the problem to start with. Microsoft is working on the problem a year and a half in and after being called out for it.

Sony, so dumb not having a problem to fix.

[xtremeimport]

I have a power consumption joke about never turning my xbox on...but that just makes me look like a jackass.

In truth, i haven't turned either system on lately. Too damn busy and nothing good enough to pull me in.

[Halo2ODST2]

I know what you mean , i use my 360 more than the ONE due to it's lack of games.

[Strikepackage Bravo]

We have an endless supply of hydro power where I live, this is not a priority for me. Frankly Id rather see MS resources used on more game related issues.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Well that's not ignorant, self entitled, or nearsighted at all.

[RiPPn]

Must be nice being the only person in your world..

[nitus10]

It does not matter what the source of your power is, it really boils down to how much you consume and how much does it cost you.

If it costs you nothing then someone else must be paying for it since it is not free. Before you say "solar" someone has to pay for the array and possibly it's installation.

[Thefreeman012]

My PC, Xbox and ps4 are all connected to a power strip I usually turn off when I leave my room .. Try to save money where I can

[Testfire]

It used to be once you turn off an electronic device, it was off, no more power draw. Everything now seems to still use power once turned off and unfortunately switching off the power strip or unplugging the device is the only way to ensure the device stops drawing power. Manufactures need to start making changes, I understand that devices need power sometimes to save settings but let the consumer choose.

[deadpoolio316]

You do know that everything plugged in has always constantly drawn power right? There literally was never a time when something was off when it was off, since the beginning of time if something is plugged in on or off it still draws a small amount of electricity.....

[WeAreLegion]

Manufacturers have made MASSIVE changes. Power consumption on newer electronics is so much better than it has been in the past. Companies actively try to become greener.

[Magicite]

eco-friendly

[UnHoly_One]

I'm a total drain on power then compared to you.

My ps4 is in rest mode and I haven't used it for 6 months. My xb1 is in standby or turned on at all times, I've got a PC in the house that does nothing but house my music collection for my Sonos speakers to access and it's never turned off, etc, etc...

I don't have the time to be turning things completely off and booting things up from scratch constantly.

I make up for it by having ridiculously expensive LED lights all over the house instead of standard bulbs, though. :D

[EvilWay]

I have not noticed my electric bill going up any of once I bought mine a bout a year ago

[SunnyZ]

A fridge uses more power than an xbox.
Every house has 1 or 2 fridges/freezers.

This is just such a non-issue I'm surprised they even responded to it.

Just saying...

[Thefreeman012]

Keeping food from perishing, playing video games. Ones a necessity and the other a luxury.

Trying to conserve energy is always an issue..

[Volkama]

It isn't even "playing videogames", it's background downloads and the ability to turn the console on without pressing any buttons (before pressing a button to turn on the controller anyway).

I'm eco-soldier, but it's certainly not the same as keeping a fridge running.

[rainslacker]

The highest power consuming device in a house it the furnace, heat pump, or AC. The 2nd highest is a dryer, although it doesn't run all the time, but the fridge comes in 3rd.

I think the cost of running either the X1 or the PS4 at full power for a full 30 days came up to less than $2 a month. May not seem like much, but in the interest of conservation, when you add up $2 over 30 million consoles, that's $20 million a month worth of power. Assuming of course that all of them ran 100% 24/7...which we all know they don't.

[maybelovehate]

My electric bill has never really changed over the past 6 years, but it would always be nice if it went lower.

[wnek9]

mine hasnt really changed in 15 years and all the electronics over the years have become eco friendlier. lol.

[Dudebro90]

This wasn't an issue to begin with. Millions of devices use unnecessary power. Xbox is one of them, but so is the ps4 and Wii u.

I'd be curious to see what the numbers are now for the instant on since they say they have lowered its consumption.

[gfk342]

Sorry, but the PS4 uses 3 times less electricity in rest mode than X1 in stand by mode. This is due to the ARM secondary chip that PS4 has.

Thus, in rest mode only the ARM chip is working, as compared with X1 that apart of the Jaguar chip that is working, there are also the fans from the console and SPU that are spinning.

So, the PS4 consumes very little electricy in rest mode (less than 5 W), during which it checks for updates, does the suspend/resume, checks for downloads that are sent from your mobile phone etc.

[Dudebro90]

Ok? Point is, its still not necessary. If its 3 watts, 6 watts, 15 watts, its not necessary.

And 4 watts vs 12 watts is not some super big difference, both equal to pennies a month.

Its ok...your precious ps4 will be ok.

[OldDude]

Here's an idea, go into the preferences and turn standby mode off. Whoa....

[Ryan741]

I'd find a new hobby if the power consumption of a games console is worrying you. Chess would maybe be better.

[pivotplease]

Doesn't mean improvements aren't welcome though. The environment and our resources benefit from optimization. Both are considered to be incredibly important and volatile.

[n4rc]

wasnt this just a clickbait article anyways?

the thing uses like 20w...

oh gee... when its updating in the background it uses more power?? get the hell out of here!!! lol

ridiculous.

[LexHazard79]

Its not ridiculous if you truly care about the use of our energy resources. Anything they can do to help with power consumption is great for consumers and the Earth.

[nitus10]

Lets be honest here, most people are selfish to various degrees. As for consuming power most people are only concerned with how much it costs them.

Few people even know how to pick electrical products that in the long term use less power. In Australia we have kW/year and a star rating which IMHO is broken, still people would purchase a cheaper product without attempting to calculate energy usage over the possible life of the product.

[deadpoolio316]

Well someday when you don't live with mommy and daddy anymore you'll actually have to pay your own bills, then you'll learn that you want to save any amount of money no matter how small

[n4rc]

im 32 jackass and live on my own... want to pay my hydro bill? no? then stfu

and if $15 a year is a concern to you.. you shouldnt even own the damn console..

what is ridiculous is the "article" that started this... when in standby it uses like 20w, but when it updates it essentially turns on and uses closer to full power.. why is this idiotic? because you'd just have to update once you turn it on anyways!

[mhunterjr]

There was a kotaku article that basically claimed The Xbox One's energy consumption was irresponsible while on standby , and that the option to shut the console down completely was too 'hidden' in the settings menu...

It's just strange that the Xbox ones standby mode came under such scrutiny considering the consumption levels of other, more common household devices...

The Xbox one's standby mode, is the ideal way to use the console, so it's no surprise that MS had it as default. Placing the option to use "power saving mode" during the initial setup is a nice gesture, but there was nothing wrong with the original setup.

[TheCommentator]

It's not hidden in the options menu, as Kotaku suggests, unless "Power and Startup" is too hard to figure out by description. Also, since you choose what option you want for the console during initial setup, MS clearly gives you the choice to use it or not. Again, not hidden. As far as irresponsible is concerned, we choose to use electricity to power the things that make our lives better in some way, like lights, an air conditioner, or a home theater. 12 - 14 watts is trivial if it's useful to you.

It seems like the energy these people are putting into condemning things like standby modes on current gen consoles could be better used on other areas of power consumption than this... like the fact that incandescent light bulbs are still being sold.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Sub headline: Suck it we built our kit with gaming and entertainment use in mind not tree huggers.

[rainslacker]

99% of people couldn't care less to be honest. Almost every device under the TV, and the TV itself, is not completely off anymore when you power them off.

Everyone says they want to save the environment, and in some ways they may do stuff, like buy more fuel efficient cars...which I found to be more financially sound on my wallet personally...but even if you turned off everything but the appliances and used the bare minimum in lighting(dimmers and turning off lights when not in the room), you would save less than $10 a month.

If people are so concerned with their power consumption, they'd keep the house a couple degrees cooler in the winter, and a few degrees hotter in the summer. They'd dry their clothes on lines, turn down the heat on their water heater if it's electric, and wash their dishes by hand. To get substantial results from an energy efficient home, one would have to buy very expensive(overpriced IMO) energy efficient everything, upgrade their windows and doors and insulation and even shingles...and even then, their bill would only be about $20 less a month.

[Lukejrl]

While I agree with you on the fact that energy efficient materials and appliances are probably over priced. You outlook on saving 10$ a month being meaningless, is actually depending on price per kilowatt and is a substantially less power consuming. I think we pay about $.07 a kwh. to save 10 dollars represents a pretty decent reduction of energy consumption. If even 1 percent of the population of a city did that it would help put less strain on infrastructure.

one of the main problems I see is places where utilities are privatized. private companies do not want people to stop using their products. And if we actually got more energy efficient these companies have to make increased profit year after year. So what happens then is that rates rise or the add surcharges and whatnot so that people don't actually see that reduction in $per month and then don't give a Damn. Public companies screw it up to but if people don't see the benefit cause the rates just keep climbing they really won't care.

[rainslacker]

My prices were based on my local costs as I figured it up at one point. I don't remember the exact amount per/kwh though.

While I agree that the prospect of everyone having energy efficient lighting, insulation, windows, et al is very appealing, and would indeed add up to huge energy savings on the infrastructure, the fact remains that the companies that make these things charge a premium for them, despite them costing no more to produce in most cases...sometimes they're even cheaper....like with LED lights.

The reason they cost more is because companies know that people that care will spend a lot more money on this stuff, so they increase profits, while revenue stays the same. Look at hybrid and full on electric cars. Electric cars are much cheaper to make than a standard car, yet cost up to 4 times as much than a comparable standard car. There's no reason other than profit. Cars aren't the best example though as electric cars have many limitations.

But things like highly efficient windows, inline water heaters or water recirculation pumps, insulation more efficient than fibreglass, often are made out of cheaper materials, are sometimes easier to install, yet cost 2-3 times more than what's been used for most of the past 100 years.

LED lighting(biggest rip off out there currently in energy efficiency) are priced way beyond what even a well off middle class person could reasonably afford without going into some debt. They're efficient as all hell, yet a single switch, which is a standard switch with a 30 cent AC/DC converter and a capacitor cost up to $100...or $150 if you want a dimmer. The bulbs themselves are $20-30 each for a standard bulb, which since it'll last forever is a great bargain, but when doing a whole home, it adds up to a ton of money. The downside? Well you don't actually save as much as they market this stuff for per year.

I looked into it, and it would take me 27 years to recoup the money from installing LED lights in a single fixture bedroom(2 bulbs in the fixture). The bulbs and the switch were $116 if I brought a bunch of stuff in contractor packs to save money. This didn't even account for the rest of the house, which I installed ample lighting in. Going LED would have cost me close to 4 grand in lighting alone. I decided to build 2 new bedrooms in the basement instead, use standard floods on dimmers for the lighting, and then have florescent lighting in everything else that isn't dimmed. Spent about $300 on bulbs and switches. Won't take me longer than my lifetime to recoup that money, since that kind of crap matters very little when selling a home.

I'm willing to recycle. I brought a very fuel efficient car...although I miss my truck greatly with all the remodeling. I'm willing to spend a bit more on efficient windows and doors and spend the money to seal up the house with foam spray. But $4,000 for lighting(fixtures excluded...heck my fixtures and everything else didn't even cost $4K)? That's where I stop caring.

If energy efficiency were really important to everyone, then the prices would come down, demand would go up, and more competition would enter the market. As it is, these things are being marketed to high energy usage business, and tree hugging hippies who think their individual efforts make a difference, when in reality, they don't since for every one of them, there are a thousand that don't care.

Sorry for the rant. Paid my CC payment today, and paying off some of the debt incurred from remodeling the whole house.:)

[ScorpiusX]

Great for those that found this issue to be troublesome, me I still don't have an issue .

[LexHazard79]

I dont have an issue with it, but I turn off instant on because of the weird noises it makes when it sleeps, and also wheN I realized i didnt need on for suspend/resume feature.

[Kribwalker]

If you leave it on standby, for an entire year, it'll cost $15. That's a $1.25 a month charge. That is nothing compared to the convience

[endi123]

Power consumption is the least important thing on gaming consoles

[NicSage]

Nothing like saving 15 bucks a year.....

[Tuviejacalata]

Very nice that the company is on top of it. Working on improving the power consumption of the console but most of the fault goes to the user's.. We know it's still consuming energy even though is on sleep mode. Many of us still do the same with our computers too.

[voltron420170]

You Sony fanboys make me laugh.. Can't wait for E3 when MS shows off DX12 with Forza 6 (which BTW Forza 5 is the only console game to actually be locked at 60FPS/1080P at launch two years ago). Everyone knows the X1 was not ready to be launched when it did...There is no special sauce, just the engineers knew what was coming w/ DX12 and made the system around it..

[krypt1983]

Power consumption is something on xbox you don't have to think about because microsoft does it for you, im glad my xbox has a power brick that has a internal surge protector, the system stays cool even when running for days at a time, my ps4 is ready to cook food after 3 hrs of use ..

[XboxCulture]

UPDATED LINK: http://www.xboxculture.com/...

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

I mean I understand how the environment is important and such, but honestly I just leave all my shit on at all times usually sleep or rest mode

[samchez77]

Leaving devices switched on continuously is not a bad thing for the life of the components. Metal expands and contracts with heat application and withdrawal which theoretically can create solder dry joints and component connectivity breaks.

In other words switching things off and on all the time, specifically in a cool environment, is not good for electronics.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

Oh no, like I know that, but this is just me being profoundly lazy and unwilling to be patient. I mean I got a 500gb SSD for my rig JUST so I didn't have to wait for anything to load for more than 5 seconds.

It's just when it comes to environment vs. personal gain. I'm gonna choose me (although I feel bad about it)

[samchez77]

The power consumption of an X1 would be less than a common household fridge.

The resulting power bill of the regular user would rise insignificantly on an individual basis.

MS are thinking ecologically sound as a whole by addressing this issue. And that's a good thing.