computer power consumption

2007-08-24 17:03:33

I wish mainstream CPUs / GPUs would focus on power

(Score:5, Insightful)

by DrXym (126579) on Friday August 24, @06:12AM (#20341583)

I wish the EU would start rating PCs by their energy consumption, perhaps

accompanied by an energy tax for the worst categories. The amount of power in a

modern PC from CPUs & GPUs wasted as heat, fans etc. is just ridiculous.

[ Reply to This ]

Re:I wish mainstream CPUs / GPUs would focus on po

(Score:5, Insightful)

by DrXym (126579) on Friday August 24, @07:24AM (#20341917)

Everyone pays for the power they consume, be it gasoline or electricity. Who

cares?

Exactly. Who cares? People are generally selfish and sometimes you must do

things that benefit people as a whole instead of individuals. If slapping a tax

on the most energy consuming devices in some category causes people to buy the

more efficient ones, that is a benefit to every one. If you still want to buy

that device despite the tax then nobody is stopping you. But I guarantee that

for everyone who does than many more will choose one which doesn't.

It does not mean either that you're getting a crappier machine as a result.

While there is a relationship between CPU / GPU performance and power, I doubt

it is a 1:1 mapping. Some processors and GPUs are going to deliver more

operations per watt than others. Companies and consumers should be encouraged

to favour the more efficient designs over the less efficient designs and a tax

for the worst offenders in any class is one way of going about that.