Green PCs - Energy Efficient Computing?

Vio1 · May 21, 2008

Hi,
Im currently running a pc (speaks below) that uses a lot of "juice" and i would like to move to a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle and therefore would like to get a pc that matches that aim.

I dont want to underclock, nor go laptop. I want to keep my 24" lcd dell monitor. I dont want to sacrifice too much speed as i use the computer for my business and dont want to be waiting around for the pc to do the things i need it to do. I dont game.

Aim: Low energy usage; preferably made out of more "green" technologies; powerful enough to still be usable.

What are my options?

Thund3rball · May 21, 2008

Hmm, this might be obvious but...

Put your E8400 @ stock
Lose 2GB Ram
Move to OnBoard Graphics
Lose the Water Cooling
Lose the RAID 0 Raptors
Upgrade every time a newer, more efficient peice of hardware is released.

Niku-Sama · May 21, 2008

i dont understand losing 2 gigs of ram, thats not very much mor wattage used but any way.
overclocking, water cooling, raid setups are your biggest users.
mabe check out a lower wattage chip

Vio1 · May 21, 2008

i want to sell what i have and get something smaller. Would a Mac Mini fit the bill?

MooMasster716 · May 21, 2008

Your e8400 is perfect at saving energy in fact its the most energy efficient dual core processor available today. Just lower to stock and enable Intel Speed Step and C1E options in your bios. After that begin lowering the voltage of your processor until you reach stability. Don't you just love 45nm intels. But the biggest energy sucker is that god awful hungry x1950pro. If you don't game please buy a low end gpu or replace the mobo with something that has integrated video. Cut the water cooling while your at it too. after this you should have a rig that runs well under 100w while idling. Also could you go into more detail as to what yo specifically use your computer for?

Hazaro · May 22, 2008

Lower VOLTAGE as much as you can, and enable speedstep and C1E.

Raptors eat a bit more juice than normal HDD, but the main eaters are overclocked CPU and GPU.

Even idle the GPU eats quite a bit. If possible you can set 2D clocks very low with older driver revisions.

Vio1 · May 22, 2008

thnx for the tips, but i DO NOT want to keep my system. I want to look elsewhere. Any ideas on what computer to buy?

reclaimer122 · May 22, 2008

I happen to like this one.

sony-erects-massive-ps3-server-cluster-for-warhawk-mayhem.jpg

Seriously though, the most energy-efficient CPU you can buy would probably be a Celeron C2D. Keep the graphics integrated, under-volt the CPU, maybe a Micro-ATX mobo, I would imagine SSDs use less energy than HDDs too. Cut back on RAM, maybe go DDR3 if you could. If you plan on buying the computer and not building, a Mac would probably be a step in the right direction. I'll hold back the rest of my Mac comments for now, but you're probably right about lower power consumption. I'm surprised they don't have a special "Eco-green-friend PC" or something that is obnoxiously tiny and white (with green recycle logo). OMG! Then they could have the iPod eco-friendly edition!

Haha, I'm just screwing around. If you're really serious I would call up tech support and ask if they know the average energy consumption of their machines. You could really drill 'em and ask what the PSU's efficiency is.

Good luck.

Hazaro · May 22, 2008

SSD use ~1W instead of avg 7W traditional use.

Most important are low voltage (E7200 (3GHz 1.1V or lower) and a integrated video (e.g. one of those new Nvidia mobos with built in 8400 or whatever).

That way you can still retain fast speed while not compromising anything but your gaming ability.

Vio1 · May 22, 2008

ssd are out of the question right now. Still too expensive. I wouldnt mind going the mac mini route, however i would want to add more ram, and not pay apple to do it, but by doing it myself wouldnt i through away my warranty?

MooMasster716 · May 22, 2008

The mac mini will consume probably just as much power as your e8400 because its a 65nm Core 2 Duo. Not to mention that the laptop Hard drive will drive you crazy because its much slower than a Raptor and a dog compared to Raptors in raid. Also the cheapest one costs $599 for a big downgrade in power.If you want a smaller case then just pick up a Shuttle case and Keep your Processor, Ram and hard drives and your all set. Asside from maybe a Atom processor, there really isn't anyting that can run as fast as your processor while maintaining speed. Until Intel builds a single core 45nm processor, you pretty much have the most energy efficient processor around.
Read this article to tweek your system.

Thund3rball · May 22, 2008

I like the idea of building a system with that new nvidia board that has integrated 8400 (or whatever) as Hazaro says, your E8400 and DDR3 Ram. Yup SSD is pricey but cutting back to one non-Raptor HDD will help.

A Mac Mini is easier for a quick fix but is not going to give you the same performance/energy ratio as a custom setup described in this thread.

Vio1 · May 22, 2008

would i need to change my PSU? its a 750w, would it make a difference if i went to a 300w?

Thund3rball · May 22, 2008

I would have to say no. The PSU is only going to pull as much power as your system needs, up to its maximum output.

Vio1 · May 22, 2008

what hdd should i go for? should i venture into 2.5" hdds or is that gonna cripple pc speed.

Malpine Walis · May 22, 2008

Thund3rball said:
I would have to say no. The PSU is only going to pull as much power as your system needs, up to its maximum output.

Yes and no on that. Remember that the existing PSU is pretty big. So it has big beefy parts in it converting the power to what the computer can use. That must play some role, although how much I am not certain. However, I would make sure that if he does get a new PSU, that it be 80%+ certified. Also it certainly would not hurt to have one that is closer to the anticipated load.

Vio1 said:
what hdd should i go for? should i venture into 2.5" hdds or is that gonna cripple pc speed.

Again, look to the specs, the rotation speed is probably going to be the biggest factor performance wise. Although, if you were comparing two drives of different form factors at the same speed, it would do well to note that the larger drive is going to have a more pronounced difference between the linear speeds of inner and outer tracks.

At least that is the thinking behind the matrix raid controllers. I would tend to think that it bears looking into whether a small drive would have the same performance hit as a larger one. You might actually see some amount of better performance on a small drive just because it is smaller.

I would not say for certain on that account as this is a new idea to me. That being said, there is always going to be some value in asking the right questions.

freakdiablo · May 22, 2008

I don't know about ATX boards, but there are mITX boards that use mobile C2Ds. Higher price per gigahert, but they do use about 1/2 the power of their desktop counterparts. Add that to a mobile chipset and mobile onboard graphics, and you have a decent low power. You could go with this with maybe a T8300, maybe get an ssd and your set. Out a grand, but you've got your low power system.

VinnyTAMU · May 22, 2008

General question regarding PSUs. Is a PSU more efficient when it has a higher load utilization or lower load utilization?

Malpine Walis · May 22, 2008

That would depend on how you define efficient.

Consider the circuitry in the PSU. If it is running well below the load that it was designed to handle, then whatever amount of base load it has by itself is going partly wasted. If it is running close to design specs, it is going to be dumping power as heat into your room. Either is not good.

However, for building a green box, there will be a point in between the two that is a sort of sweet spot. Mind you that load does change as you change what you are doing, so you will probably never hit that spot for very long. Even so, for green purposes, I would think that a smaller more efficient design is probably about as good as you can do.

When I build a new system, I try to estimate typical and high load states and pick a PSU that will run in the area of 2/3 to 4/5 of the design spec.

Evilsizer · May 22, 2008

only way then is go with something like this and add a Cpu/HD/Memory. also note the newer C2D's mobile parts are cheaper then last gen parts. the T8100 or T8300 would be more then enough for things like word/excel,ect... the biggest boost you could do for the this setup is use a SSD.
http://www.logicsupply.com/products/mp965_dr
with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819111003
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819111002
then with 4gigs of ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231154
ssd drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820609304

Green PCs - Energy Efficient Computing?

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