Benchmarks: Power Consumption
The Ivy Bridge processor is more power efficient than its Sandy Bridge predecessors, so we're surprised to find the 3XS Z77 Performance GTX idling at 73 Watts - five Watts more than the older Z68 configuration. There's a good explanation for this, though, as the upgraded build also powers a greater number of components - there's a dedicated sound card and both SSD and HDD storage devices.
Here's where the power efficiency of the i5-3570K really shines through. Crank up the load on the CPU with all-core Prime95, and the Ivy Bridge chip draws noticeably less power than the i5-2500K. Comparing the old 3XS Performance GTX with the new Z77 model sees maximum 2D power consumption lowered by over 20 per cent.
The CPU's more power efficient, and the GeForce GTX 680 can be commended for the same reasons; it's considerably less hungry than previous-generation graphics cards.
