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Yes sure, this is true-ush. But if you're so constrained on power draw that three or four extra watt idle is critical, why not just go for something really power-efficient like a Pi or similar? Also, you could undervolt one of the 65W TDP Ryzen CPUs and probably get similar results. Or if you're lucky you can get one of the "OEM Only" 45W Ryzens.

As for PSUs, an "80 platinum" rated one will have 90% efficiency at 10% power draw.

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The downside of a Pi is dramatically reduced muscle that’s well below that of even many smartphones and tablets these days, which can be prohibitive depending on usage.

Undervolting is a good option I agree, but there’s evidently value in machines that run on a lower power profile out of the box.

Is Pi really more efficient though? In TOPS/watt*h?

That is actually a good question. Now that I think about it, the Cortex CPU in the Pi might not be get more TOPS/Wh than the newest AMD CPUs. The Pi's single-board design and the lack of 12V/24V circuits should make it somewhat more power efficient than a computer that uses all 4 voltages. In conclusion I have no hard data and was influenced by the Pi's reputation.

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