John <fredclark@consltec.demon.co.uk> wrote:

In article <mk3gu4d9j544b1vrdvlov7lu853gu850m9@4ax.com>, DaveT
<svirtftcyt@yahoo.com> writes

I was figuring on upgrading to a phenom at some point. Then they came 
out with the Phenom II, putting an end to that plan. Once again, I will 
have to replace the motherboard if I want to upgrade. I have to be careful
with electricity comsumption. It is very expensive here, over 30 cents/kwh.

The use of a CUDA capable or double precision maths capable GPU card
draws a lot more power than the usual CPU (quad core?) system.  It adds
a demand for another 120+W to the PSU.

It doesn't seem to produce that much heat, based on feel. I don't have any 
way to measure it currently. At least I have a 45 watt cpu. I should get one 
of those kill-a-watt things to measure it accurately. I got the bill today. I 
saved $87 mostly by just changing the fridge from "normal" to "warmest",
still plenty cool, so I guess I can run more computers.
Dave