I have an HP g3 mini and a Dell Optiplex flying around, both similarly specced. The HP has an i5 6500t and 16gb DDR4 RAM, the Dell has 8gb DDR3l, so nothing too different.
However, the Dell draws around 15W while idle, the HP one 5W.
The only difference I could think of (and that is in my power to change) is the PSU. The Dell has one of those SFF PSU for up to 180W while the HP has an external 65W power brick with a barrel jack.
So my question is: Does anyone have experience with one of those Pico PSUs? I guess they should be more efficient? I’m not planning to put anything power hungry into the optiplex.
A PSU will be most efficient if the load is close to what it’s designed for. A PicoPSU doesn’t have as many components as say a full ATX PSU and they are all sized for tiny loads.
I have used Pico PSUs on several occasions, more so due to their size than their effeciency. So I don’t think I’d swap a normal PSU out for one. With the difference of just 10 watts you’d probably have to run it 24/7 for years to break even in the cost of purchase.