Alright so I'm not some stupid kid who thinks energy drinks are so hardxcorexdxsjj or something, I'm just curious about something. Do any of the other 'active ingredients' in energy drinks (and that stupid 5 hour energy thing thats always on tv) like taurine, maltodextrin, d-ribose, small amounts of ginseng, and whatever else actually do anything? Or is it just the caffeine?

Short answer: yes.
Long answer: use google.

It provides the general feel that energy drinks give.

There lame though half the caffeine of 1 cup of coffee in that tall boy-esc can

Energy drinks are supposed to do just what the name implies -- give you an extra burst of energy. As it turns out, most of that "energy" comes from two main ingredients: sugar and caffeine. A typical energy drink can contain up to 80 milligrams of caffeine (about the same amount as a cup of coffee). By comparison, a 2006 study found that the average 12-ounce soda contains 18 to 48 mg of caffeine.

Other than caffeine levels, how do energy drinks differ from sodas and sports drinks? Soft drinks are mainly water, sugar and flavoring. They don't do anything for your body; they're just supposed to taste good. Sports drinks are designed to replenish fluids lost during activity. They typically contain water, electrolytes and sugar. Energy drinks have added caffeine and other ingredients that their manufacturers say increase stamina and "boost" performance. They're designed for students, athletes and anyone else who wants an extra energy kick.

Energy drinks became popular in Asia long before they reached the United States. In 1962, Japanese pharmaceutical company, Taisho, released its Lipovitan D drink. It was designed to help employees work hard well into the night. Lipovitan D contains taurine, the same ingredient found in many of today's energy drinks.

The very first "energy" drink to reach the United States wasn't really an energy drink at all -- it was more of a hyped-up soft drink called Jolt Cola. The "jolt" in the cola was a lot of added sugar and caffeine. Introduced in the 1980s, Jolt Cola quickly became a staple of college campuses.

I hate energy drinks, just full of sugar, and they don't even taste good.

5 hour energy has many of the same ingredients that the phenylalanine cocktail has in it... i think it was a bit low in niacin to be as good as it could be and lacked the 200mg of caffeine...

but hell, if you have the right things in your body to cause it to process the phenylalanine into dopamine, that would be broken down into adrenalin which would wake you up...

I don't mind 'em but I would never rely on one to keep me awake or anything. They do seem to ease mental fatigue a bit for me (assuming I drink like a whole 16 oz Monster).

5 Hour Energy does work for me, actually. It's rather subtle in effect and you likely won't even notice it working because it doesn't really mimic your classic stimulant beverage but I've repeatedly noticed at least minor if not moderate improvement to alertness etc. with them. Does lasts around 5 hours for me, too.

Totally NOT worth $3 though.

They do in fact do things. Definately wiki what you don't know. Taurine is a wicked stimulant and I'm pretty sure the next noticeable after caffeine.

Caffeine is the only drug in there that will actually make you less tired. It makes your 'tired chemical'(who's name I forget) meaningless(I forget whether it inhibits it or does something else.)