Slashdot Mirror
Building an Energy Efficient, Always-On PC?
An anonymous reader asks: "Like many readers, I find it necessary to leave my home PC running 24/7, for things like web or FTP servers, BitTorrent, or simply to make sure I don't miss any messages on IRC or my instant messaging client. It has been about 3 years since I built my current PC, and keeping it running all the time uses a lot of juice. With my next PC, I would like to do what I can to keep the power-consumption to a minimum, without sacrificing processing power or other features. What should I look for when choosing components for my PC, and what other ways are there to keep the power consumption down?"
Using an LCD monitor instead of a CRT will drastically cut your power usage. Turning off the monitor while not at your computer will help as well, instead of just letting the screensaver run. The monitor can consume more power than the PC itself.
A good option is to get a cheap virtual host. You get root, install what you like, run what you like, and it uses less power - none of yours - because there are several mostly-idle virtual machines on the same host.
Disk space is relatively expensive, and this may not be an option for you if by 'BitTorrent' you mean 'fill up my 500GB hard drive'.
Well, the OP didn't say whether he was interested in low power in order to save on his electric bill, or for ecological reasons, or both. But you're right, it's not necessarily ecologically sensible to buy new hardware. In my area, the garbage company runs a disposal site for hazardous household waste, and when you go there, you see big stacks of computers. They have a program where if you ask, you can take computer hardware for free. For someone who really wants to do a favor to Mother Earth, it might be a very sensible way to pick up a case, a CD drive, and a hard disk. If there isn't anything like that in your area, chances are you can get those parts pretty darn easily at a garage sale. I picked up a really nice CRT recently at a garage sale for $10. I put it on a machine at the school where I teach that doesn't get used very often, so the electricity isn't a big issue. It sure beats dumping that same CRT in a landfill.
Find free books.