The numbers still surprise me. My second Proxmox host — an i5-12400 with P- and E-cores, 128 GB RAM — dropped from 55 W idle (default BIOS) to 22 W idle after just ten minutes of tweaking C-states and running powertop --auto-tune. That’s more than a 50% energy saving, with zero loss of functionality.
And that got me thinking: how many computers out there — Linux or Windows — are still running in “performance mode” instead of “balanced”? Spoiler alert: the difference between them has almost no impact when gaming or doing other demanding tasks. But balanced mode can save you tens of dollars a year. And on a global scale, it could mean shutting down a couple of power plants.
Scale matters!
- Millions of office computers and laptops running in performance profiles, C-states disabled or stuck at C3, fans blasting at 100%. Every machine wastes 10–30 W idle.
- And let’s be real: office PCs spend a lot of time idle. Coffee breaks, toilet breaks, and hey — Word and Excel are super demanding apps, right? 😛
- Millions of servers in datacenters running in high performance mode. And again: most servers sit idle most of the time, with only a few peaks here and there.
- I used to do some power-saving tweaks on 1U Supermicro boxes back in the day — shaving 50 W idle per server was almost trivial.
- Home computers aren’t any better. Same story as office machines:
- 20–50 W per system potentially wasted, day in, day out.
Math
Let’s do some basic math. Suppose there are 100 million systems out there that could each save 15 W just by enabling the right C-states in the BIOS and switching to a balanced power profile.
That’s:
100,000,000 × 15 W = 1.5 GW continuous
We debate wind farms, nuclear, solar subsidies, smart grids. Meanwhile, the BIOS setup screen literally says:
“Press F2/Delete whatever key to enter Setup”
And the fix is ridiculously simple:
- Intel: Enable C10 C-state (don’t leave it on Auto)
- Intel: Enable C1E C-state (default is often Disabled)
- AMD: Enable Global C-State Control
- AMD: Use C6/PC6 power states (similar to Intel’s C10)
- On Windows: set your power profile to Balanced
- On Linux: run
powertop --auto-tune
Make your computer “green”: enable the right energy-saving BIOS settings and stop wasting power. Every watt counts — for your wallet, and for the planet.
It’s literally one F2 ( or DEL ) key away (Depending on your BIOS).
Don’t be lazy — save a power plant. Enter your BIOS, flip two or three settings, and actually watch your energy consumption drop.
nd if in doubt, grab your phone, open ChatGPT, and ask for help with your specific BIOS.
Green Brain out!