Conclusion

If you did not yet notice, both the tips covered in this guide will not cost you a single cent! You can reduce power consumption just by using what you already have. This stays true to the original overclocker's ideal of obtaining better performance for free. In this case, it's lower power consumption and lower thermal output for free.

EIST and C1E have been around for sometime now, albeit more heavily used in notebooks than desktop PCs. That doesn't mean you should not start making use of it right away. The great thing about EIST and C1E is that they don't have any real effect on the performance of your processor. They kick in when your processor idles and they immediately speed up your processor when there's work to be done. Whether you are overclocking or not, you should enable EIST/C1E. Even if you are not bothered about cooling down your room, think about saving the planet!

Although running your overclocked processor at stock voltage may not make much sense, especially if you are a hardcore overclocker, it does save a lot of power. This is important if you are not actually able to utilize the performance of your processor. Although higher clocks do mean better performance, many games and applications are still unable to fully tap the performance of the latest Intel Core 2 processors, which are already incredibly fast at stock speeds.

So, think about it. If you are usually running applications or games that do not require stupendously high clock speeds that require overvolting to achieve, try using the stock voltage or even undervolting to greatly reduce your power consumption. Then ramp up the clock speed (and voltage) when you truly need the increased processor performance.

Just by using these two tips, you can radically reduce the power consumption of your PC. The first step tackles the processor's power consumption when it idles while the second step attacks its power consumption under load. Together, they will really bring down your overclocked PC's power consumption.

Of course, there are many other ways of further reducing power but these generally cost money, like getting a cooler and more efficient 45nm processor, a more power-efficient power supply (over 80% efficiency). But it defeats the purpose of this article, which is supposed to provide you with “free” solutions to the problem.

So, do your bit for the planet - start using these two tips today!

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