CPU vs Light Bulbs

[John Nguyener]

Which one of these uses more watts?

 

[M0j0jojo]

Which one of these uses more watts?

Depends on what cpu are using and how much load your putting on the cpu. For a specific bulb it always uses the same power constantly.

 

[M0j0jojo]

But my hypothesis is that modern day led light bulbs use way less power than any modern day cpu.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

a 125w cpu vs a 125w lightbulb, assuming the cpu is under full load they would both use the same watts +-5% approx due to variables in manufacturing tolerance and load.

 

[synphul]

Agreed, it depends on the bulb and the cpu. Although the cpu would have to be measured, the wattage rating as in 88w, 125w, 220w etc are tdp or thermal design power using watts to describe thermals, not power consumption. A 125w tdp cpu doesn't mean it's comparable to a 125w lightbulb where the wattage lists the power consumption of the bulb.

For instance the i5 4690k is an 88w tdp chip. At idle it consumes around 48w while under load it consumes 109w of power.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2014/07/03/intel-core-i5-4690k-review/6

So if you had a 125w light bulb the i5 would consume less. If it was a 75w bulb it would consume less at idle, more under load. If you're talking the newer ccfl type bulbs, it would consume more. In a ccfl you may have a bulb rated as a '60w' bulb where the light output is similar to a 60w incandescent bulb most people are familiar with while actual wattage is 14w.