Build a Green Computer
Ok, you are a little more knowledgeable with these computer machines. You feel confident you can build/upgrade your own computer or you have done it several times before. There is no reason anyone, from a first time computer builder to a hardware enthusiast, shouldn't be looking to build greener. Here are some things a computer builder can look for in each computer component.
Monitor
What is this, 1998? Ditch that old CRT monitor already! Not only are they ugly and take up tons precious desk space, they eat energy. Most energy sipping LCD monitors only use about 25% of the energy a CRT would. They also come with much better energy saving modes.
Processor
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the most important factor for determining the computing power of a system. Most processes run through the CPU, so it is working almost every time a computer does a task. It is no wonder then that it uses a large portion of the total energy in a computer system. If a computer builder wants to make an energy efficient computer, this is a great place to start.
Many techniques have been implemented by CPU manufactures to decrease the amount of energy a CPU uses. Some involve the actual development and manufacturing process of the CPU to make it run using less energy. Hardware companies are now releasing CPUs that are a mixture of old and new CPU tech to make fast yet very powerful low energy CPUs.
Look for places where you can use a low energy CPU. Storage servers, media streamers, home theater computers, and other computers can often use these low energy solutions. There are also lower wattage versions of dual and quad-core CPUs that are, in many cases, just as powerful as their energy eating counterparts.
Video Card (Graphics Processing Unit - GPU)
If you have spent any time on a computer, you know that there are two distinct types of graphics rendered on a computer. One is two dimensional graphics (2D graphics) and the other is three directional graphics (3D graphics). To produce these graphics, two GPU types are available in the marketplace; integrated and discrete graphics solutions.
Integrated GPUs are incorporated into the chipset of the motherboard of a computer system. Because of this, integrated GPUs will use much less power than discrete graphics solutions. The use of an integrated GPU will create instant energy savings. They are not as powerful as discrete GPUs for 3D graphics, but will run 2D applications perfectly. 2D graphics encompasses the vast majority of software interfaces in productivity software, web browsing software, and operating systems. Therefore, computers only doing these types of tasks only need an integrated GPU.
3D graphics, on the other hand, are involved with more stressful types of graphics programs like 3D rendering software, video games, and some 2D graphics programs. The best way to run these programs is with a discrete GPU. Discrete GPUs often require their own separate supply of power and cooling. They use much more energy than an integrated graphics solution even when only 2D graphics are being shown.
There are integrated GPUs that are suited for video playback and some light gaming. Look for these types of integrated GPUs when building a home theater computer.
Some computer manufacturers are including the option to turn off discrete GPUs when not in use. The computer will switch to using an integrated solution to save energy and battery life. Look for this option in your next desktop, notebook, or motherboard purchase.
Hard Drive
Due to their relatively high energy use, hard drive manufacturers are designing drives that are more energy efficient. Companies have even released green versions of some models. Not only are these drives energy efficient, but they are often quieter and cooler.
These drives are often not the fastest drives available, but they are fine for saving documents, music, pictures, movies, and other media. If you are just looking for extra storage they will save you some electricity.
Another option is Solid State hard drives. They benefit from not having any mechanical parts because they are built using flash memory. This allows SSDs to be extremely fast, energy efficient, and very quiet. Small SSDs are becoming commonplace in netbooks and other low energy computers. Larger versions are available for regular desktops and notebooks, but they are currently very expensive. It is expected that they will become more price competitive with standard hard drives over the next few years.
Motherboard
The motherboard is the main circuit-board of a computer where all devices and hardware are connected. It is easy to understand that it draws a great deal of the total energy of a computer system.
Many modern motherboards come integrated with sound, network, and video devices built in. These integrated devices take away the need for discrete solutions, therefore reducing the energy of the system. When building a computer, it is important to look for motherboards that have integrated solutions to reduce the system's power drain.
Another way to use less energy is by reducing the actual size of the motherboard. The standard board size is called the Advanced Technology Extended (ATX) form factor. With the advent of Small Form Factor (SFF) computers, smaller form factors like Mini-ATX (mATX) and Mini-ITX (ITX) are in higher demand. The best part about many of these newly sized designs is that they do not cut out integrated devices to achieve their smaller size. Most are as full featured as their larger counterparts, but can help you save energy.
Many motherboard manufacturers are including energy monitoring tools build right into the hardware. They have software that will allow you to monitor your computer's energy use. You can even get information on your carbon usage and electricity costs associated with your computer.
Power Supply
The power supply an important component to ensure a reliable and green computer build. The efficiency of the power supply is an important factor in how much energy a system will use. A quality power supply will provide a better regulated flow of electricity to all computer parts. It will improve efficiency and increase your computer's life span.
Several manufacturers have begun including ratings to their power supplies. One example of this is the 80 Plus certification. This means that a power supply will run at least eighty percent efficiency at all times. This is currently considered a high efficiency for a power supply, but there are already power supplies that run at even higher efficiencies. A great side effect of this is that they run cooler and quieter.
It is important to note that the wattage rating on a power supply is not directly related to the amount of energy it uses. If, for example, a power supply is rated for 300 Watts it may not use less energy than a 500 Watt power supply. These ratings are markers for determining the maximum amount of power that can be drawn from the power supply. If you wanted more devices in your computer (IE: several hard drives, multiple GPUs, multiple core CPUs, etc) then you would require a power supply with a high wattage rating. The efficiency of a power supply is more important than its wattage rating when trying to reduce energy use.
Cooling
Generally, the more powerful a computer device; the more energy it requires. This energy causes the devices to produce heat. This heat must be dissipated for the computer to perform properly.
There are many forms of cooling solutions on the market. These solutions come in two flavours; active cooling and passive cooling. Active cooling requires a moving mechanical device that requires a source of power (like a fan). Passive cooling uses a device that has no mechanical parts and requires no external power to operate (like a heat sink or heat pipe). Most computer systems employ a combination of these cooling solutions.
It has become important to hardware designers and computer system builders to increase the amount of passive cooling solutions. Active solutions are noisier and require more power than passive. Passive cooling has made great advancements in the last decade. Large heat sinks and heat pipe systems have been developed for many devices like CPUs and GPUs. They dissipate heat from these devices well and usually only require a small amount of active cooling to be effective.
Look to add more heat pipes and other passive cooling systems to your computer build instead of more fans and water cooling solutions. This will help you reduce the energy use of your computer.
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