Wii U a 'greener' console in terms of power efficiency, not prone to overheating

The processing power of the Wii U is comparative to that of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but Nintendo's newest console runs more efficiently, providing an equal gameplay experience using less than half the power used by its console cousins, reports Eurogamer's Digital Foundry.

Concentration of heat in the Wii U is more condensed because the CPU and GPU units are bonded together into one piece, making it unnecessary to set aside a large amount of space for a cooling unit. The Wii U CPU is similar to that of the Xbox 360 and PS3, and the Radeon graphics core uses the same chip as the PS3.

According to Digital Foundry, the heat the console generates can barely be felt when you put your hand on it, and the power draw is lower than most laptop models.

During gameplay, the Wii U typically draws 32 watts of power with an occasional spike just above 33 watts. By comparison, the new PS3 Super Slim uses 118 percent more wattage, while an Xbox 360 slim requires 139 percent more power. Half a watt was consumed during standby for all consoles, with PS3 and Xbox 360 occasionally running a little higher due to running background programs.

Digital Foundry notes that these power consumption figures were consistent across all Wii U games.