Intel Clarkdale Core i5 Desktop Processor Debuts
Power Consumption
We'd like to cover a few final data points before bringing this article to a close. Throughout all of our benchmarking and testing, we monitored how much power our test systems consumed using a power meter. Our goal was to give you all an idea as to how much power each configuration used while idling and while under a heavy workload. Please keep in mind that we were testing total system power consumption at the outlet here, not just the power being drawn by the processors alone.
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The Core i5 661 is one heck of a power-friendly processor, when paired with the right components. With the Core i5 661 utilizing its integrated graphics core, it is the lowest power option by a wide margin. Its idle power is close to the Phenom / 785G combo, but the Core i5 661's load power is significantly lower than anything else. When paired with a powerful discreet graphics card like the GTX 280, total system power consumption goes way up, but once again the Core i5 661 consumes the least amount of power, although by a much smaller margin.
