Environmentalist or just mental?

[colcoo]

Afternoon all,

newbie to the forum so thought I'd say hello.
I've posted 2 threads today; one for an overclocked PC that I'm about to order, but the other on something else I felt I should be considering - low energy computing. With enegy prices going ever upwards, shouldn't I be looking to see what I can do to reduce my bills? Everyone talks about turning off TVs on standby, but what can we do about PCs? There are some specialists out there - think I saw them on Dragon's Den, but how easy is it to do it yourself, and what are the compromises?

 

[PCS]

If energy consumption is of concern to you, consider a low powered mini PC: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/mini-pcs/

They can use as little at 30W...

 

[colcoo]

Found those on the site after I'd posted the message so I'll take a closer look, thanks. Does going for a mini PC mean you end up with something with the performance of a netbook?

 

[jayjay]

enjoy the power while we have it man the black stuff is running out rapidly live it up lol

 

[Gorman]

Yes as a general rule, performance = high power draw.

There are some incredibly efficient components around but you are always going to be trading performance for low power usage.

 

[PokerFace]

enjoy the power while we have it man the black stuff is running out rapidly live it up lol

Right you are jayjay....I've just turned on every light in the house, turned the central heating up to max (had to open the windows tho' as too damn hot!:sweatdrop and I've got the sprinkler going in the garden (yes, I know it's raining and I only have a patio, but I'm not on a water meter yet, so what the hell!).