The ever-hungry AI industry doesn't just demand hardware; it needs an awful lot of power too. With electricity bills threatening to increase as a result, many are questioning just how the heck they're gonna power their gaming rig. Well, one tech creator has proven (for a second time) that AA batteries are not a viable alternative.
ScuffedBits has returned to their 'gaming PC powered by nothing but AA batteries' experiment, this time turning in slightly more favourable results. Using 64 AA batteries—comprising a mix of carbon, alkaline, and nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries—to create a 25-volt battery pack, their gaming PC achieved a whopping 33 minutes and 19 seconds of up-time.
During that time, the tech creator raced to the top of the mountain in A Short Hike, ran a full CineBench CPU stress test, and even completed several rounds of party games in Minecraft. It's a vast improvement over the first attempt, which enjoyed barely enough uptime to beat Minesweeper.
ScuffedBits has made several improvements to the AA battery pack in the two weeks since. For one thing, ScuffedBits broke out the soldering iron and also rewired it, with the circuit now including two capacitors to buffer the batteries' inconsistent voltage.
The result is no more practical, but I can't help but still be impressed by it. I'm also reminded of another creator, Chris Doel, who salvaged 500 disposable vapes to power not just his gaming rig, but also his entire house and workshop. It's always heartening to see disposable tech given a renewable lease of life.
As for those AI data centres I alluded to up top, I really wasn't kidding about either their serious hardware or power demands. By now, you'll likely be aware of how the industry is fuelling the memory supply crisis. As for powering the whole thing, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said last year, "The biggest issue we are now having is not a compute glut, but it’s power. [...] that is my problem today. It’s not a supply issue of chips; it’s actually the fact that I don’t have warm shells to plug into."
A couple of AA batteries just aren't going to cut it. For the time being, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, plus a few more AI-focused companies have recently turned to the government to fit the bill. Earlier this month, big tech major players signed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge in a bid to prevent household bills from escalating, but how much protection this actually affords to your average consumer over the long term remains to be seen.
