PS3: More Green Than Xbox 360 Elite

by Mark Renton

Since most gamers have their consoles on 24/7, an important question is this: Which eats the most energy -- PS3, Xbox 360, or Wii? It's not sexy stuff, but the less energy you use, the better it is for Mother Earth, as well as your power bill.

Dean Takahashi recently took a look at all three using a Kill A Watt device, which measures how much electricity a device uses. Here's what the man had to say:

The game consoles yielded some predictable results. The Xbox 360 Elite came in at 194 watts. That's why it has the whirring fans inside the box as well as in the power supply that is inside the large "brick" in the power cord. The PS3 came in at 171 watts. But the Nintendo Wii consumed a measly 17 watts.

The Wii part is obvious -- the little guy can't do most of the things that the 360 or PlayStation 3 can, so that's no surprise. But PS3 did come in as slightly more energy efficient than the Xbox 360 Elite. So there's that.