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PC manufacturers like HP continue to explore and develop energy-efficient technologies by providing customers with no-compromise, energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly desk-based PCs. As environmental agencies adopt and promote energy-efficient regulations, it is even more important for businesses to consider deploying computers engineered with power efficient features.
When a PC can deliver maximum energy savings, along with enhanced system reliability and a longer equipment lifecycle, this can lower the overall total cost of technology ownership. This article provides five criteria for choosing business PCs that can lower energy consumption, reduce PC noise, and increase a PC's overall reliability — all of which can increase a system's lifecycle and help businesses achieve an overall better return on their IT investment.
Step 1: Choose a system that has power management technology and enable this technology on your systems.
Computer processor manufacturers are integrating the ability to manage power use directly into their latest processors. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST) and AMD Cool 'n' Quiet Technology both include features that work with the basic input/output system (BIOS) and operating system to lower power consumption.
Business PCs with these types of processors use less power when software activity does not require the full capabilities of the processor. Along with being more environmentally friendly, reduced power consumption results in reduced heat production. Less heat means lower fan speed requirements, thereby providing quieter, more efficient computers. This technology is also especially useful for notebook computers, as reduced power consumption leads to increased battery life.
Step 2: Choose a system with a BIOS that offers a wide range of configurable power management options. Select PCs offer five system states that can be configured to provide increased levels of power efficiency.
PCs with configurable BIOS allow the user or IT manager to balance the thermal requirements and the acoustic levels of the computer to ensure that the computer performs optimally in any environment. Configurable BIOS enables users to control the computer airflow in their computers by adjusting the fan speed to be maximized for environments where thermal concerns are a priority, or minimized for acoustically sensitive environments.
The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface Specification (ACPI specifications) sets the technology industry's standard for energy and power system states. The ACPI defines several system states described below, all of which HP supports:
- S1: Standby state resulting in the processor being halted, but context is not lost. All other devices remain at the normal power state. This state offers the fastest wake-up time and the lowest power savings.
- S3: Standby state known as Suspend to RAM. All devices in the system are powered down, except for computer memory. Recovery is almost instant (approximately 2 to 3 seconds) and power consumption is very low (typically <5 W).
- S4: This state is referred to as Hibernation. The computer's memory content is saved to the hard drive, then most power is removed from the system.
- S5: This state is often referred to as Soft Off. The computer is off. This state offers the slowest wake-up time and the greatest power savings (typically <2 W).
To understand the potential cost savings of user configurable BIOS, consider an example using the power difference between configuring systems to standby in an S3 Suspend to RAM state (system power dissipation is under 5 W) versus simply allowing a system to idle (system power dissipation is approximately 90 W in a mainstream Intel Pentium 4 configuration). In this scenario, assume users simply let their system idle when they are not working — which is typical as many users do not power off their systems at the end of the work day due to the inconvenience of waiting for the system to power up and complete the initial loading of their operating system the next morning.
Calculate the cost savings during after-work hours (5 p.m. to 8 a.m.) in an enterprise with 1,000 systems. Saving approximately 80 W for 15 hours/day at an average energy cost of 12 cents/kWh, for an average work year of 250 days, could result in a cost savings of $36,000.00 annually for an installation of 1,000 systems.
The HP BIOS is available in all dc5000 and dc7000 products and provides five system states that can be configured to provide increased levels of power efficiency. All HP dc7000 and dc5000 products ship out of the factory with all system states enabled to achieve maximum power efficiency.
Step 3: Choose a system processor that provides the maximum level of power efficiency.
Many watt classifications of processors exist, but the most common available today are 95-W, 65-W and 35-W processors. While 35-W processors achieve the maximum in power savings, 65-W and 95-W devices provide mainstream power savings.
Selecting an AMD configuration with an X2 3800+ 35-W processor configuration may yield the best energy efficiency versus other AMD wattage classifications. AMD 35-W processors — at idle, average, and peak — reduce energy consumption up to 5%, 20% and 15%, respectively versus AMD 65-W processors in a similar configuration.
Likewise, selecting an Intel system with a Core 2 Duo 65-W processor configuration can yield the best energy efficiency. Sixty-five watt processors — at idle, average, and peak — reduce energy consumption up to 11%, 36% and 26%, respectively versus Intel 95-W processors with similar configurations.
These types of processors keep power requirements to a minimum. At one time, increased performance often meant higher power consumption and more noise. With the development of power efficient processors from AMD and Intel, performance is treated as "on-demand," which helps reduce processor heat. On-demand processor frequency and voltage switching help decrease power and fan speed — resulting in a cooler PC and a quieter work environment.
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