Are there any programs out there (or within XP) I can used to monitor power consumption in my computer, in terms of voltage and amperage. Which components are using how much power and so on???

I believe speedfan does what you're asking for. As I have less than twenty posts, I cannot post links yet. I guess you're up to a google search for it.

Look if there is a motherboard specific app for your comp though as they are better usually. On my machine I use for gaming/net I have abit µGuru for monitoring and changing gpu/cpu/mem voltages and temps and cpu/sys/nbridge fan info and nvidia drivers have built in temp/volt monitoring tool (but need to unlock with ntune)

I believe speedfan does what you're asking for.
I already have speedfan, which has some vague info on voltages and temps, but not what I'm looking for.

I want to know how many watts my whole system is drawing at any given time.

your bios should be able to give you precise info. I don't like 3rd party stuff like speedfan as the info is often not spot onand I have had false results before now. If your board has those monitoring features there is a chance the manufacturer produces monitoring software for within OS, often it's quite close to BIOS results.

your bios should be able to give you precise info. I don't like 3rd party stuff like speedfan as the info is often not spot onand I have had false results before now. If your board has those monitoring features there is a chance the manufacturer produces monitoring software for within OS, often it's quite close to BIOS results.
Ok, what heading do I look for in the BIOS?
Dont I have to re-boot to get in?

I want something I can use to monitor while the systems up and running at full blast.

I already have speedfan, which has some vague info on voltages and temps, but not what I'm looking for.

I want to know how many watts my whole system is drawing at any given time.

I have never heard of an application that show the actual power consumption of a home computer before. Applications such as Speedfan and Motherboard Monitor were for temperatures and voltage monitoring. knowing your +5 volt rail is +4.94 won't help you know your wattage consumption.

actual wattage info will be hard to get since most mobo (that I know of anyway) don't have monitors for that. However for the exact details of voltages (and how stable those rails are etc) in BIOS it should be under monitor settings or pc health status or something like that.

Mine is phoenix bios on an abit mobo and has real time info on NB core v, cpu core v, ddr v, ddr vtt v, atx +3.3v, atx +5v, atx +12v, agp vddq v, standby v (+5v), 3vdual v, auxc v.

To get exact wattage info I guess you will need to hook something up to your psu (atx connectors, molex, etc etc) and monitor that unless there is some hardware that you can hook up for that which I don't know of. As far as I have ever needed is to make sure my psu can support what I run off it and make sure the rails are stable (especially since crappier psu's I have tried are not great for oc'ing and graphics card (needs extra power especially for oc'ing and is not great on unstable non dedicated rail). Many cheap psu's can deliver raw wattage but the actual vltages are not that stable, most tech reviews will give you info on that.

What exactly is it you need to find out, or what is the info needed for?

Many cheap psu's can deliver raw wattage but the actual voltages are not that stable, most tech reviews will give you info on that.

What exactly is it you need to find out, or what is the info needed for?I need to find out how much current output a power adapter needs to run my system through my new picoPSU.

Somewhere between 5 and 10 amps?

I have an internal dsl modem
Moderate graphics card
2.5" drive
DVD writer
Pentium 4 2.8
One 80mm fan

there are a lot of sites that have calculators like http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine , pro is what you want but it's not free but there will be free one somewhere, or at least formula for calculating it. Looking around on some overclocking sites (usually the best places for this info IMO, I like ocforums) and there is hardware you can get to plugin and see the exact VA being drawn but you can calculate it (although it's not as accurate as actually measuring it if you use specific data for your psu and components you can get close enough.

See here http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=62822&pp=30 (old info but the formulas are correct) and other posts on there often quite good. Steer clear of assolutos posts if he is still around as he will only be of assistance in breaking your machine. Plenty of articles here http://www.ocforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=42 directly related to your needs.

This is the closest thing I am aware of, an inline power meter, http://www.electricity-monitor.com/plugin-power-meter-p-36.html .

I use to use: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motherboard_Monitor, you can still download the program however it's only really of any use to systems build prior to around 2005/2006 since the development has been discontinued.

However mentioned in the wiki article is alternatives you could take a look at.

Ok, Thanks guys. I'll check those links out and see how far I get...

I'm a techno-peasant.:o

You could also wire a small part of yourself in series with your computer.

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine , pro is what you want but it's not free but there will be free one somewhere
This is the only program which fits the bill as it gives amperages for each rail.

My only stumbling block might be the CPU, but Ive noticed it only uses 60% of capacity, even when I'm downloading something AND burning a DVD.

I think I'll go for the 8A adapter.

you can get info on calculating for free, quite accurate using info specific to your parts. Maybe post on a forum so someone with pro can check details without paying, a few people will do this for you I'd imagine. I would if I had it. There are better free calcs around though and it's always worth cross referencing your results (another calc for you http://web.aanet.com.au/SnooP/psucalc.php )

also see http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=458204

yeah progs like mbm are just volt monitors and they are not as accurate as BIOS which (usually except in cases where there is an issue, tends to be on old BIOS so flash if find there is an issue with hw monitors etc) and since your mobo wont actually have monitors for VA, wattage used but just volt info for main rails you need to either hook up a meter or calculate from specs.

If you have a meter knocking around that might be worth trying (info around on how to rig it) but not worth buying when normal calculators and steer clear lists will give you info you need. Hope this helps.