Energy Consumption of New Generation Game Consoles - Key Findings

Transcription

1 Energy Consumption of New Generation Game Consoles - Key Findings Pierre Delforge Noah Horowitz Natural Resources Defense Council December 2013

2 Methodology Test Units Test method Game titles Movies Duty cycle Measurements made on US retail launch models of Sony and Microsoft. EU power numbers provided by Sony, not NRDC measurements. EPA test method for navigation, video streaming, standby. NRDC draft test method for game play, connected standby, Blu-ray playback Average of random game titles for each console (2 for, 3 for ) Same movies for both console: Netflix HD and Blu-ray disc NRDC best-estimate duty cycle based on published research, with additional NRDC assumptions regarding new console capabilities and default settings (connected standby, TV integration). Adjusted to EU default settings ( connected standby and USB charging disabled by default).

3 Summary and consume roughly 3x annual energy vs. latest versions of their predecessors Higher power in gaming and media modes (10%-90%) Always on, high power connected standby mode Higher hours in media mode ( TV integration) Despite adding several power saving features. Power scalability, efficient power supplies, auto-power down, long idle and screen dimming But in a carbon-constrained world, still a large increase in aggregate energy consumption by game consoles. Several improvement opportunities: Short-term: adjust default settings and user interface Mid-term: optimize system power management Long-term: die size shrink, dedicated video architecture

4 Power Levels: New Gen vs. Previous Gen vs. PS3 (EU) vs. Xbox 360* (EU) Game Play Game Play Streaming (Netflix) Streaming (Netflix) Navigation Navigation Connected Standby* Connected Standby Off Off Watts Watts (*) With USB charging, per U.S. PS3 (*) with Kinect, Xbox 360 without. Xbox 360 Power levels increased significantly on, less so on. Xbox 360 numbers do not include Kinect. Navigation and Media power may be very close to Xbox 360 with Kinect Note that there may be differences in video quality between the two consoles (720p/1080p, upscaling ) Better power scalability (reduction from highest to lowest active power): 50% for new gens vs. 25% for previous gens.

5 PlayStation vs. Xbox: leads on active power, on connected standby With Kinect/Camera (EU) No Kinect/Camera (EU) Game Play Game Play Streaming (Netflix) Streaming (Netflix) Navigation Navigation Connected Standby* Connected Standby* Off Off Watts Watts (*) With USB charging, per U.S. (*) With USB charging, per U.S. default settings Active mode power: With Kinect/camera, uses W less than Without cameras, uses W less than Connected Standby: The biggest issue is the high connected standby, which accounts for a third of annual energy use (see next slide). Even s 6.3 W connected standby is higher than necessary. It includes 3.6 W standby just to be ready to charge USB accessories, which a laptop can do for < 1 W.

6 and consume roughly 3 times as much energy annually as their predecessors* Annual Energy Consumption (EU) Annual Energy per Mode (EU) Xbox % PS % kwh/yr kwh/year Off Connected Standby Nav./Other Media Game Play New Gen consoles consume roughly 3 times as much annual energy as their predecessors (based on differentiated usage patterns). The biggest increase in energy consumption comes from connected standby. While it has lower active power, consumes more energy annually than due to its high connected standby power and higher active time in TV Integration mode. (*) Compared to 2013 models of PS3 and Xbox 360 NRDC usage assumptions (EU): 1.4 h/d game play, 0.2 h/d navigation, 2.4 h/d media (, 30% TV integration), 1.2 h/d media (), 50% connected standby, 50% passive standby

7 s TV integration features could increase annual energy consumption significantly Annual Energy - Media Scenarios High media play, 5 hours per day 53% 269 Weighted average media play, 1.8 hours per day 33% 203 Low media play: just videos, 1.2 hours per day 20% kwh/y Off Connected Standby Nav./Other Media Game Play is designed to integrate the TV program guide and TV streaming apps like Live TV and Comcast. People who use these features may have on 5 hours per day (average TV use per Energy Star spec), increasing console energy consumption by 94 kwh annually vs. standard media usage (e.g. ). Lower power use in media/tv mode is still essential.

8 Energy Report Card: The Good Better power scalability (reduction from highest to lowest active power): 50% vs. 25% for PS3 Connected standby for 3 W (without USB charging enabled) High efficiency power supply: 88-90% in active mode (per Sony s data) Navigation long idle : sheds 12 W after 10 min inactivity APD in all active modes The Bad USB charging ready in standby mode uses 3.6W High active mode power: W higher than XB1 without camera/kinect Key Improvement Opportunities USB charging in standby: Reduce to 1 W (< 1 W for notebook) Active mode power: reduce to levels or lower Implement Save and Resume Game on APD TV dimming like

9 Energy Report Card: The Good Better power scalability (reduction from highest to lowest active power): 50% vs. 25% for XB360 Power in active modes significantly lower than TV dimming after 10 min inactivity: can save 50% TV power ( W depending on TV) APD in all active modes, Smart media APD : 1 h from end of movie The Bad 18 W in connected standby with voice command 120 kwh/y! Even without Kinect, connected standby still 14W 96 kwh/y Unclear how to disable connected standby Power consumption in Media / TV integration mode still high Key Improvement Opportunities Connected standby: Reduce to 3 W () + voice command adder APD on voice command Clarify user interface to disable connected standby Active power: reduce further to meet EPA levels, particularly for media and TV integration functions Implement navigation long idle

10 New Generation Consoles vs. EPA Program Levels New Gen Consoles vs. EPA Program Levels Navigation Energy Star w/o Kinect Video Streaming with Kinect w/o camera with camera Watts is W away from meeting the EPA Game Console Recognition Program levels without Kinect.

11 Other Consoles: Energy vs. Performance Annual Energy Consumption Performance - System Memory Bandwidth Steam Machine Steam Machine Xi3/Piston Xi3/Piston PS3 64 PS Xbox Xbox Wii U 38 Wii U 12.8 Wii 63 Wii 5.6 Ouya Ouya kwh/yr GB/s Xi3 Piston: Launched Nov in U.S., NRDC will test and publish energy data Jan Performance specs unclear. Valve Steam Machine : U.S. launch expected High-end computer spec. Will test when available. System memory bandwidth: A CA-IOU/NRDC proposed performance metric for game consoles, similar to the frame buffer bandwidth for computer discrete graphics cards

12 Duty cycle assumptions were adjusted to account for industry data and new gen console features Hours/Day Game Play Media Nav./ Other Off Con cted Standby Total Comments Active Industry PS3/ Based on average of 4 metered studies, including performed in 2009 and 2010, with high spread between studies. Industry /XB Assumes 25% increased active usage vs. previous gen NRDC PS3/ Based on most recent metered study only (2012) NRDC Assumes 25% increased active usage vs. previous gen NRDC Assumes 30% of users use TV Integration mode 5 h/d NRDC assumes 25% higher active time than Sony for, and 73% for (due to TV mode) This represents a difference of between 10% and 20% annual energy for and There are significant uncertainties on game console duty cycle, due to limited data and high spread between studies. Duty Cycle Sensitivity kwh/yr Sony duty cycle NRDC duty cycle

13 Efficiency Wish List for Game Consoles Combining the best features of both consoles, and extending them to levels that appear technologically feasible: Connected Standby Power limit: 3 W (cf. ) Voice command adder in connected standby: 1-2 W (cf. speech recognition on smart phones) USB charging standby adder: 1 W (cf. laptops) Active Power Mid-term: reduce active power to similar levels to XB1 Longer-term: reduce further to Energy Star levels, through: o SoC power management optimization o Dedicated video streaming architecture Auto Power Down Console APD default setting: 1hr max Controller APD: 10 min Voice command APD: scheduled or predictive sleep Long idle and TV Dimming After 10 min inactivity, reduce console power (Navigation only). After 10 min inactivity, dim TV by 50%. Applies to all active modes except for active video playback.

14 Aggregate Energy Consumption EU Once new consoles have replaced the more than 90 million units currently installed in the EU, and even if they became 25 percent more energy efficient on average over time, game consoles would consume annually in the EU: Annual electricity consumption: 6-8 billion kwh/y Annual electricity bills: billion Equivalent to the output of: 2 large power plants (600 MW)