It's a fact, current and next-gen consoles consume more power, expend more heat, and make a lot more noise with their cooling systems compared to their predecessors. It may be obvious that an Xbox 360 consumes more energy than a Playstation 1, but we really don't how much more it consumes. But the more important question is whether your console is costing you money even while you sleep.

DX Gaming has put several consoles to the test to find answers to these nagging questions. You'd be surprised at some of the results.

Some of you may not be aware of electricity leaks. They occur because many electronic devices can't be fully turned off without pulling the wall plug. Let's face it, it's quite a hassle to pull them off and plug them back in just after a few minutes. Of course, video game consoles aren't immune to such leakages. Even when plugged in, they draw a constant trickle of energy to keep certain processes running. It's wasting energy even when it's not in use.

So, which console uses up the most energy even when not in use? The Xbox 360 and PS2 both have energy leakage of 2W. They need to power their internal clocks and keep their IR ports constantly scanning. While both require the most power, the Xbox 360 has the most components that need to remain powered in standby, making the PS2 the biggest victim of energy leakage (it uses up the same power as the Xbox 360 but with less components running).

Now that we know which console wastes energy while not in use, it's time to check out the console that consumes the most when being played, and the money it's costing the gamers.

Let's just get down to the results. Xbox 360 emerged as the energy hog, demanding a shocking 145W. On the other hand, PSX is the most power efficient system, requiring only 4W of power. Looking at the last generation consoles, Dreamcast is the runaway winner with 17W, and the Xbox hogging more energy than necessary at 61W.

More DX Gaming test results await after the jump.