Power Settings for downloading files overnight?

[dskater411]

Hello
As the title states was just wondering if there were some win7 power settings I could make to save more power overnight while my computer downloaded files.

I have browsed through the power settings section in the control panel but I dont really know the definitions of sleep vs hibernate etc and doubt those settings would allow my computer to function anyway.

Any advice?

Just for reference setup is
Q6600 on asus p5k mb
gts 250, 4 hd's

I currently have speedstep enabled in the mb settings so the cpu uses less power during idle but the machine is still a bigtime hog.

 

[Bill2]

1) To save power, you need to put the computer to sleep or hibernate when inactive, thats not what you want- if that happens the download will get interrupted.

2) I would do the following if i needed to download files overnight:

Switch to High Performance Power plan.

Change plan settings (for the high performance plan) to NEVER put the computer to sleep, NEVER turn off hard disks and turn off display after any desired interval (this last step may save you some power).

Run the computer on A/C power as it is more reliable.

Make sure the computer is placed in a well ventilated place to avoid overheating because of A/c power and hard disks never turning off.