Advice on power consumption of a PC.

First of all, let me tell you that leaving the monitor for consuming power without any work is not a good choice. It is better to keep it on when required and keep it off when not required. Still your curiosity is right because many people want to know exactly how much power a computer (PC) can consume hours after hours. If you keep your PC switch on, letting the monitor switch off, then it will totally depend on you processor and its capability to control power consumption. Latest processors like I5 and I7 have power management system and you can save more power consumption than before.

Simply speaking, if you have an old PC with CRT monitor then that monitor with old processor can consume 100Watt and at the same time, a LCD monitor with a latest processor will consume less than 50 Watt. With an old PC you will run 1 to 3 units per hour actively (with monitor on). With a new configuration you will burn only 0.13 to 1 unit per hour. With new generation processor you can save electricity up to 75% as they have smart power management system. You have to use your computer when it is required and at other time you can keep it switch off. Yet, if you want to keep your PC switch on then install a latest processor. This will help you a lot.