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        New Message Board Archives >> 2007 General Board Posts >> Upgrade your PC and save money on your electricity
        
(Message started by: MvT on Oct 30^th, 2007, 6:59pm)

Title: Upgrade your PC and save money on your electricity
Post by MvT on Oct 30^th, 2007, 6:59pm

Our top three components, available now, that will make a difference to your electricity bill and your carbon footprint.
By James De Vile on 30 October 2007

It used to be all about speed, but in today's energy-conscious, carbon-footprint-measuring society, component manufacturers are beginning to design parts that won't consume power quite as fast. With the latest news from nVidia about its new 8800GT graphics card, the 'green PC' is rapidly becoming a reality. Here are our top three energy-saving components, available now:

Western Digital GreenPower Hard Drive

Most 1 terabyte hard drives use more than 13.5 watts of power when spinning. Western Digital's GreenPower drives beat that by around 4-5 watts. This might not seem a lot, but Western Digital says this equates to reducing CO2 emissions by up to 60kg a year – the equivalent of taking your car off the road for 14 days. This might not make a huge difference to your personal carbon footprint, but if every PC in the world installed a GreenPower drive, we might just be able to hang on to this planet a little longer.

nVidia GeForce 8800GT Graphics Card

The new 8800 series card, officially announced this week, is almost as fast as an 8800GTX, yet runs cooler and consumes less power. Heat is wasted energy, so both these things contribute to less energy used overall, with only a marginal decrease in graphics processing power.

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor

The Core 2 Duo processors were built from the ground up to be energy efficient, and like the 8800GT, they also run at far cooler temperatures than their counterparts. As the processor is the 'brain' of the PC, it's the most used component, and as a result it really does pay to choose a model which will save you money (and stop you feeling guilty about marathon gaming sessions,

http://www.windowsvistamagazine.com/UK/05582469248015316613/upgrade-your-pc-and-save-money-on-your-electricity-bill.html

http://www.verdantcomputing.com/

Title: Re: Upgrade your PC and save money on your electri
Post by Kevin_M on Oct 30^th, 2007, 7:41pm

on 10/30/07 at 18:59:24, MvT wrote:

make a difference to your electricity bill

A public service announcement? Hey, I found some, too! ;;D

Energy Saving Tips

Free and Low Cost Recommendations

Replace standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and save 75% of lighting costs.

Unplug electronics, battery chargers and other equipment when not in use. Taken together, these small items can use as much power as your refrigerator.

Take steps to cut water use such as installing faucet aerators, low-flow showerheads, and low-flush toilets.

Turn your water heater down to 120° or the "Normal" setting when home, and to the lowest setting when away. Water heating accounts for about 13% of home energy costs.

Reduce air conditioning costs by using fans, keeping windows and doors shut and closing shades during the day.

Turn off unnecessary lighting and use task or desktop lamps with CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs) instead of overhead lights.

Enable "power management" on all computers and make sure to turn them off at night. A laptop computer uses up to 90% less energy than bigger desktop models.

When possible, wash clothes in cold water. About 90% of the energy use in a clothes washer goes to water heating.

Run your dishwasher and clothes washer only when fully loaded. Fewer loads reduce energy and water use.

Make sure your dryer's outside vent is clear and clean the lint filter after every load. When shopping for a new dryer look for one with a moisture sensor that automatically shuts off when clothes are dry.

Test for air leaks by holding a lit incense stick next to windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches and other locations where there is a possible air path to the outside. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need caulking, sealing or weather stripping.

Let us know if you get the scoop on the new Barbie for Christmas this year!!

Title: Re: Upgrade your PC and save money on your electri
Post by MvT on Nov 2^nd, 2007, 7:42pm

windows vista and xp use less power than linux by default but i'm sure they could all be tweaked and do better

http://bink.nu/news/microsoft-touts-cost-savings-of-vista-over-xp.aspx

http://www.digg.com/linux_unix/Linux_vs_Windows_Power_Usage