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By Alexis Lawrence
How to Build an Energy Efficient Computer
By conducting an energy audit on your home computer, you can identify ways to make your power supply and computer components more energy efficient, without sacrificing performance.
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By Alexis Lawrence
OverviewWith global warming and green living becoming hot topics in recent years, many people are looking for ways to cut down on their energy usage at home. Though a PC doesn’t use as much electricity as an appliance such as a refrigerator, between all of the necessary hardware and extras you may choose to install, a powerful computer system can take up a lot of energy. If you are concerned about saving energy, it is possible to build an energy-efficient computer.Step 1Use an 80 Plus-certified power supply. Unlike traditional power supplies, 80 Plus supplies pull only the power required for the computer and components to run, saving up to 85 kilowatt hours for each PC.Step 2Go for a low-watt processor. VIA is the market leader for processors that use limited wattage, using around 12 to 15 watts for some processors, while standard processors drain more than 65 watts. You will lose some performance with a low-watt processor, but if you are more interested in energy efficiency than performance, this will really cut down on waste.Step 3Select a motherboard with integrated components, such as surround sound and 3D graphics. With these items included, you will need fewer expansion cards, which saves energy.Step 4Opt for a SATA drive with dual capabilities. These burners can read and burn CDs and DVDs, making it possible to have only one drive instead of multiple drives, and a SATA drive uses less energy than IDE.Step 5Get an energy-efficient monitor. Smaller monitors consume less power, and LCD consumes less than CRT monitors. Large LCDs can use upwards of 100 watts, but ViewSonic’s VA503B 15-inch LCD screen uses 23 watts of power.skill3ingredient80 Plus-certified power supply
Low-watt processor
Motherboard
SATA drive with dual capabilities
Energy-efficient monitoringredients80 Plus-certified power supplyingredientsLow-watt processoringredientsMotherboardingredientsSATA drive with dual capabilitiesingredientsEnergy-efficient monitorkeywordBuild energy efficient computerkeywordsBuildkeywordsenergykeywordsefficientkeywordscomputerResourcesreferenceEnergy Efficient Computer Article
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