UK electricity is $0.28/kWh but will be $0.36/kWh from the end of the month - my business is quoted at $0.60/kWh fixed for the next 12 months.
At $0.36/kWh - card alone @450W ~running cost ~= RRP 3090 $1,499
Yes, can power it down to be more efficient, however, that effectively agrees with the previous comment that PPW matters.
Wholesale electricity price in some EU states is €550/MWh today. Most EU states are above €250/MWh.
prices in Europe right now are considerably higher than $0.30/kWh
It seems safe to say prices right now are not the norm due to, you know, that whole war thing going on that is impacting one of the EU's primary power supplies. The 2021 EU average was otherwise $0.22/kWh.
yeah but let's how fast we have those "normal" prices again, maybe this is the new normal, who knows.
The war is a factor going forward, but we got notified of the price increases before the war started, they relate more to the piss poor planning of our rulers than any external factors.
Unless the people in charge are going to suddenly start planning for the future this will be the new normal.
Even assuming literal 24hr/day usage at a higher, "factory overclocked" 450w sustained, at a fairly high $0.30/kWh that's $1200/yr. Less than half the retail price of a 3090. And you can easily drop the power limit slider on a 3090 to take it down to 300-350w, likely without significantly impacting your workload performance. Not to mention in most countries the power cost is much less than $0.30/kWh.
At a more "realistic" 8 hours a day with local power pricing I'd have to run my 3090 for nearly 10 years just to reach the $2000 upgrade price an M1 Ultra costs over the base model M1 Max.