Probably, all habrayusers know about the possibility to make a router for a home network from an old computer, and some, perhaps, very successfully apply this knowledge in practice. In this article I would like to consider the issue of power consumption of such systems, and as a result, the question of the advisability of using a computer as a router.

Part 1. Tasks and methods of solution.

As it is probably already clear, the main task of the systems under consideration is to work as an “Internet distributor”. Of course, it’s irrational to drive any computer as an exclusive router, so such systems are very quickly hung with torrents, file dumps, print servers, and everything your heart desires. The advantages are obvious: in fact, unlimited opportunities for “hanging out”, high performance allows you to forget about the brakes at high speeds / traffic volumes and look at the problems of SOHO routers with firmware and settings down.
Minus on the physical size is obvious and does not need comments.
We turn to the topic, that is, to issues of energy consumption.
As materials and equipment were used:
Power cable "socket-BP" with one cut wire
UPS-BP power cable as an extension cord
Tester (multimeter).
Some photos:




The tester measures the average current value, which is multiplied by the voltage. In parallel, another tester measures the voltage at the outlet to eliminate possible errors. Glory to Chubais, during all tests, the voltage was 220 volts with minor errors.

Part 2. Configuration.

Since I myself am no longer so happy owner of the compoter, I measured his energy consumption. In the future, it will be presented under the proud name "Stationary Computer".
Perc: AMD Duron 750mhz, SocketA
Mother: CHAINTECH CT-7KJD
HDD: 500GB Sata 7200.11
4 network cards
1 PCI-SATA controller from StLab
Power supply 300 watts (noname).
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Plus, the addition to this system is a WiFi access point Tp-link WA601G. Point because "Server" molded from what was at hand. If possible, of course I would take a PCI WiFi adapter.

Further, the measurement was carried out with a small system based on the mini ITX format motherboard with the following TTX:
VIA C7 CPU 1.0 GHz.
Chipset and processor cooling is passive.
Video, sound, LAN - integrated. Memory 1GB.
Connectors:
2 SATAII, 2 IDE, 2 x ps / 2, 1 x VGA, 1 x COM, 1 x LPT, 4 x USB 2.0, 1 x LAN 10/100, 1 x sound (hp, linein, lineout)
The exact same 500 GB hard drive was attached to it and the same system was loaded.
The disadvantage of this solution was the need for a switch and an access point for the normal performance of all assigned functions, which ultimately reduced the utility to a minimum. The total power consumption of the switch and the access point was taken as 15 watts.

I will not name the model of the router in the article in order not to be considered advertising. But its power consumption is 12 watts at peak, there is wifi and ethernet, it is possible to install openwrt and connect the media via USB. Buy such a router really at a price of 1000r.

Part 3. Measurements.

When calculating the cost, it was assumed that the system works 24/7.
So, the measurement results:


Well, the picture is quite expected. Now let's see how this affects the economic component. For 1 kW I pay now 2p 95k.


It turns out that driving a usual desktop computer as a router, every month I overpay almost 110 rubles. Thus, the router fully pays for itself in terms of the cost of electricity in about 1 year, while in terms of functions, given the possibilities of openwrt, it is not so much inferior to the computer.

Part 4. Conclusion.

Based on a recent post, the computer is needed only when there are tasks that the router cannot handle. On energy consumption, we have already seen that he is completely losing the router in this matter. Specifically, my routers should cope with my tasks (Internet distribution and possibly a torrent), so in the near future I plan to abandon the computer and purchase a router, although I like to have a live Linux server for tykalok, hotelok and lulz.

Bonus

As a bonus, bring the power of your computer. Config following:
UPS APC 500
MB Gigabyte Ma770T-UD3
AMD Phenom B45 (Athlon 2 x 445 with unlocked 4th core)
WD Caviar Black 1TB
Galaxy geforce 8600GTS 256MB
2GB RAM
BP Inwin 450w
Monitor Samsung SyncMaster 204b.
The CPU and GPU were loaded using the OCCT program.

Pricing is of course incorrect, because it takes into account a permanent job, but still:

As a conclusion I want to modestly notice that playing mafia2 for 24/7 at medium settings can not only fly from work, earn rheumatism, osteochondrosis, gastritis and hemorrhoids, but also burn electricity for 352 rubles.