Tips for Building a Green Computer

It seems that a day does not go by where all of us are reminded to use green products, and to make sure we recycle. From detergent to the type of water you buy to the food products you purchase, the market is all green. From how something is packaged to how friendly it is to the environment to how easy this item will be to recycle lessening your carbon footprint on this earth. I am all for being green and finding ways that allow us to accomplish our goals in a more thoughtful and positive way.

Being in the computer industry for over 25 years, I began to wonder how the "Green Effect" was impacting the computing world. As households go from one computer for the entire family to everyone in the family having their own, one can see that our dependence on these machines is not going away, nor is it lessening any time in the near future. Take for example a smart phone, these devices have more processing power, ram and storage than any of the first personal computers had back in the early days of computing.

Fortunately for all of us, companies are listening to the world and developing computer components that use less energy, or that are built in a way that impacts the environment less. For example, many manufactures are moving away from lead solder to other forms of making connections on the circuit boards in your computer.

One big help has been the LCD screen which uses less energy and requires less harmful chemicals to make. Not to forget about the glass needed for the screen, tubes, etc. One thing I do with my monitors in ensures that they turn off after say 15 minutes of inactivity. I do not put up a screen saver; I plain have them turn off to save energy. This help in the global warming effect and waste of electricity.

I began to search for products that I would feel comfortable using in building a computer for me or a client. I have fairly strict rules and guidelines that I adhere to when building a computer. First I like to use quality components that I know will work well past the three year average of when computers are replaced. Second, I use items that have a good reputable name and product endorsement. Meaning I like parts that others have found to be cost effective in doing the job, but not over priced for the sake of being over-priced. Third, I gauge all this by one factor, if I am selling the computer and offering a 3 year labor warranty I really do not want to have to visit that computer. Therefore, the equipment I use I must feel will withstand three years in an office setting being used eight to ten hours a day five to six days a week. Fortunately these days there are a number of options, and I cannot get into all of them n this one article, but I choose items for my next computer. Here are the parts that I am looking into purchasing.

I found that Antec has a nice mid-sized case in a variety of colors. These plastic cases are light weight and do not use any lead in the case or the power supplies. These cases are also equipped with special power supplies that can gauge how much power is actually needed and rev up and down to provide just the amount you need at the moment. This is helpful when you are out at lunch and not using your computer this case will help save electricity and is a good 'Green" product to purchase.

Looking for a main board I found an Asus main board that I think is a good product for the environment as well as a good main board for building a system. That is the Asus P6TSE. This main board supports EPU-6, which is a power saving engine by detecting current PC loads and intelligently moderated power in real-time. On top of that this board is RoHS compliant which means that it was built without lead and with the environment in mind.

Next I needed a Processor (CPU) tom compliment my new main board. For this I turn to Intel and their Core i7 processor that boasts power and speed, but also power savings. This CPU support "Idle States" whereas the processor will throttle back how much energy it needs based on when the computer is idle.

My computer now needs a hard drive. For this I look to Western Digital and the Green series Cavalier Drives. The 2 TB drive has a 64MB cache and promises up to 40 percent reduced power consumption. Not only does this drive use less energy it also produces less heat, making it easier to remain cool, thus reducing AC costs. The Green Cavalier drives also have a feature called IntelliSeek which calculates seek speeds to lower power consumption

I prefer the Kingston memory products, and they have been manufacturing RoHS memory since 2003, being one of the leading companies to do so, thus making their product environmentally friendly for a number of years now. Their DDR 3 memory will follow the CPU by using less energy as directed by the main board. For this computer I am going to install 8GB of PC12800 Memory.

Most of the other items that you will need to complete your PC (DVD, Video card, etc) are measuring up to the RoHS rules for manufacturing. By ensuring the above items are compliant and environmentally friendly you are sure to win favor with everyone who wants a green earth.