AA batteries again shown impractical for powering a gaming PC

ScuffedBits returned to a "gaming PC powered by nothing but AA batteries" experiment. Using 64 AA batteries—a mix of carbon, alkaline, and nickel metal hydride rechargeable cells—to build a 25-volt battery pack, the rig ran for 33 minutes and 19 seconds. During that time the creator raced to the top of the mountain in A Short Hike, ran a full CineBench CPU stress test, and completed several rounds of party games in Minecraft.

That is a vast improvement over the first attempt, which enjoyed barely enough uptime to beat Minesweeper. ScuffedBits made several improvements in the two weeks since: they soldered and rewired the pack and added two capacitors to buffer the batteries' inconsistent voltage.

The result remains impractical despite the tweaks. Another creator, Chris Doel, salvaged 500 disposable vapes to power his gaming rig, his house and workshop. The piece also notes AI data centres' heavy power demands, quoting Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: "The biggest issue we are now having is not a compute glut, but it’s power.

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