YOU’LL NEED THIS

TIME AND A REASONABLE BUDGET

WHEN THE INDOMITABLE Barry Collins traveled to Lenovo HQ in North Carolina last year on Maximum PC’s behalf, he discovered that despite promises of plant-based PCs, bamboo packaging, and vegan-friendly covers, mass-producing green computers is tough.

We applaud Lenovo and other manufacturers’ efforts to reach for that rainbow, but it’s also up to each of us to reduce our own carbon footprint. With residential energy bills increasing in the US by around 14 percent in the past two years, it doesn’t take a flower child to see that having an energy-efficient PC makes sound financial sense, too.

There are some obvious ways to be greener, including shutting down your PC when not in use. Still, if you’re operating a home server or mining rig, it needs to run round the clock. Equally, having your own solar rig or wind turbine is a win for the planet, but infeasible for most.

In this guide, we’ll focus on the main PC power draw culprits. You’ll learn not only how to better understand how efficiency is measured, but also how to select the best components to lessen the impact on both your budget and the planet.

–NATE DRAKE

calculator/) to determine the minimum wattage that you’ll need.

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1 GRAB AN EFFICIENT PSU

PSU efficiency is calculated by dividing the total power it consumes versus its power output. For instance, a PSU drawing 100 W from an AC socket and providing 90 W to the PC would have an overall efficiency of 90 percent. PSUs achieve higher efficiency under typical loads, the sweet spot usually being around 50 percent of their maximum capacity.

» Traditionally, ‘80Plus’ has been an excellent indicator for PSU efficiency. As the name suggests, manufacturers with an efficiency rating of at last 80 percent can apply for certification. The various levels of efficiency each have their own requirements and for the sake of simplicity are codenamed Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Titanium.

» 80Plus is still an industry standard, and has certifications for both 115V and 230V to keep both US and European PC builders happy. [Image A]

» Still, other standards like Cybenetics’ ETA are sometimes a better indicator of energy efficiency, given that they test a much greater number of loads across a PSU’s entire wattage range. For the sake of simplicity, Cybenetics use a similar naming scheme to rate PSUS : Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Titanium. There’s also a new ‘Diamond’ standard, though currently no PSU has been awarded this honor in Cybenetics’ database (https://www.cybenetics.com/index.php?option=power-supplies).