Found out my dual monitors were using 30% more power than my fridge - is the juice worth the squeeze?

I was messing around with a Kill-A-Watt meter last weekend checking out my computer setup. Turns out my two 27-inch IPS panels are pulling almost 200 watts combined when they're both on. That's more than my mini fridge uses in a day! I always figured monitors were pretty efficient but 30% more than a fridge seems wild. I could switch to one ultrawide but I love having separate screens for work and gaming. Do you guys worry about power draw at all or is it just part of the game? I'm thinking about lowering brightness or turning one off more often.

2 comments

2 Comments

the_wyatt13d ago

Wait, you're telling me your screens are out-hungering your fridge? That's some serious juice for pixels. Must be those fancy IPS panels eating up the power just to keep the colors pretty. My old TN panel sips power like a polite houseguest, but I guess modern tech has its price. You'd think with all the "energy efficient" labels they slap on everything these days, a monitor wouldn't be competing with a compressor for the electric bill. Kinda makes you wonder if that 144Hz refresh rate is worth it when your power strip is basically running a mini AC unit. Guess that's the tradeoff for having two screens that look like they're trying to escape the dark ages.

iris39412d agoMost Upvoted

Did a buddy of mine just swap his dual 4k setup for a single 1440p monitor and his electric bill actually dropped? He said it was like unplugging a space heater.