Ars Technica dishes out guide for building your own green PC

There's certainly no shortage of companies out there touting their own ready-made green PCs, but if that's not your thing, the ever-helpful folks at Ars Technica have now let loose a guide for building your own. As you might expect, there's no shortage of compromises involved in this particular endeavor, although Ars has at least laid out a pair of different options to accommodate different needs, including a Green Gaming Box and an Extreme Green Box. All told, that former option will run you just over $1,000, with one of the biggest energy-saving trade-offs coming from the video card (a Radeon HD 3850) which, as we all know, is one of the biggest power hogs in any system. The Extreme Green Box, on the other hand, pushes things up past the $1,400 mark, and includes no-comprise options like a VIA C7 processor, integrated graphics and, of course, a 32GB SSD drive (which is obviously responsible for a huge chunk of that total cost). Needless to say, Ars thinks you'll have to make fewer such compromises in the not too distant future, what with things like cheaper SSD drives and VIA's low-power, high-performance Isaiah processor on the horizon.

[Via Slashdot]

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Feb 26th 2008 9:43PM]

It'd be better than the gPC for sure..

[matt @ Feb 26th 2008 9:50PM]

no thanks. I'll stick to my skulltrail system.

[Aguiluz @ Feb 26th 2008 10:18PM]

If you want to have a "green" PC, spray your case with a shade of green. That way, you will have performance and green-ness! Genius!

[/sarcasm]

[Carl Vitullo @ Feb 26th 2008 9:59PM]

the 3850 actually isn't that bad. it doesn't run crysis at max well (at all), but it does run CoD4 at 60fps.
and it works off a 250 watt power supply.

[Abuzar @ Feb 26th 2008 11:08PM]

Runs Crysis on high on 1024*768.

[Carl Vitullo @ Feb 26th 2008 11:11PM]

not very high tho. that's what i meant. i get around 20-30 fps on high.

[Aguiluz @ Feb 26th 2008 10:11PM]

Arse Technica's (what's with the name!?) guide is nice, but I will substitute the SSD for a laptop HDD.

[Aguiluz @ Feb 26th 2008 10:12PM]

WHAT?! Oh no! I can't edit my post! (Just imagine the "e" was not there, ok?)

[phanbouy @ Feb 26th 2008 10:16PM]

awesome

[Flashpoint @ Feb 26th 2008 10:13PM]

And how exactly is a PC green when you stuff it with ELECTRICITY GUZZLING components?

The Xbox 360 for example uses more wattage than most refridgerators.

A PC that can run Crysis will suck down almost twice that (video card + Dual Core CPU + cooling devices, etc).

[matt @ Feb 26th 2008 10:24PM]

http://reviews.cnet.com/4531-10921_7-6398157.html

[site+engadget @ Feb 26th 2008 10:44PM]

Just get a laptop.

[Sauerkraut @ Feb 26th 2008 11:00PM]

Green PCS are nice but won't make a big impact, gotta think bigger. Manufacturers are using them as an excuse to not do more imo

[asphixiated @ Feb 26th 2008 11:05PM]

For every hour that you guys run your green machines, i will run my Netburst Pentium 4 3.8Ghz overclocked to 4.2 Ghz + GeForce 5800 Ultra for three hours.

[asphixiated @ Feb 26th 2008 11:06PM]

at load, of course.

on my 24" CRT

[Ethyriel @ Feb 27th 2008 12:04AM]

That's great, because my E8400 overclocked to 4.2ghz will beat the hell out of you in benchmarks, run cooler, and save me a bundle on electricity by using about 1/2 the power.

And my NEC 2490WUXI looks better than your 24" CRT.

[phanbouy @ Feb 27th 2008 12:09AM]

i smell some pwnage

[bot @ Feb 27th 2008 12:16AM]

I love how on every "green" topic there's always that someone that tries to 'negate' the effects of the productive activity. For example, on stories about vegetarian/veganism there's that someone that says they will eat 3 Big Macs for every person that doesn't eat one. And they're the winners right? Consuming more for no apparent reason really shows off your point. You get to pay more for electricty for absolutely no reason other than your own egotism. Woo!

[Leach @ Feb 27th 2008 8:53AM]

Amen brother. lol

[wootman @ Feb 27th 2008 2:19PM]

meh. ill run whatever the hell i want off of my solars.

[Motoken @ Feb 26th 2008 11:07PM]

i don't care how much power (or whether its green or not) my PC takes, as long as it lets me run crysis on very high (i wish). Its not like throw away a computer every month.

in conclusion, build your own PC and save money!

[Motoken @ Feb 26th 2008 11:09PM]

*note* they need to spend money on greener batteries, power plants and cars! Stop trying to make the consumer guilty!

[Ethyriel @ Feb 27th 2008 12:09AM]

Please, it's not about guilt, it's about doing what's best for the world. The more people who make a conscious effort to be more eco friendly with our choices, and the more difficult it will be for manufacturers to ignore us. There are those of us that appreciate such guides so we can take that extra step.

[Motoken @ Feb 27th 2008 12:15AM]

and the less they have to spend to be eco friendly and with growing intrests in environment the more they can charge for "greener" products! Sounds great! so when can i take the plung... i mean the "extra step"

[Ethyriel @ Feb 27th 2008 1:02AM]

See, that's my whole point. The more people who make the effort and help drive the smaller companies who base their existence on the effort, or bigger companies that go out on a limb, both of which are doing the R&D; the more individuals who personally help with the consumer level integration of more experimental technologies; the sooner we'll have affordable solutions with fewer compromises for people like you who don't want to make compromises or make that extra effort.

I'm not insulting you for your stance, I'm just hoping you'll see a level of nobility. Even if some companies are exploiting terms like 'green' and 'organic,' not all of them are. And honestly, better for the environment is better for us. It's our habitat, you know?

[phanbouy @ Feb 27th 2008 1:27AM]

I'm with Ethyriel. It's the height of hubris to think we can match the efficiencies found in natural process. Green is about better overall design, period. Not just being less consumptive.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Feb 26th 2008 11:18PM]

For much less money, they could have easily used Westen Digital's GreenPower HDD that uses around the same amount of energy as a SSD. But the power savings between a standard HDD and an SSD usually is not that great to begin with, because the average HDD uses around 10 watts (13w on starup) and NAND Flash SSDs seem to use around 6-9w. This can further be proven correct by examining MacBook air battery life.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/23/western-digital-announces-new-greenpower-hard-drives/
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/11/wd_caviar_gp/
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/greenpower/index.asp?language=en

[Ethyriel @ Feb 27th 2008 12:06AM]

Did you rtfa? They compared and contrasted a bunch of options, and left things open ended based on need. The WD GP was one of the three HDd options given. What's lacking is the Samsung F1, which appears to use minimally more power than the GP, yet has denser platters and a faster rotational velocity which both lead to more speed.

[ScooterDe @ Feb 27th 2008 4:16PM]

don't forget that anything more expensive requires more inputs (money). Since our wealth is largely built on carbon-based fuels, that could make it a less green option (Prius, anyone?). Be sure to understand the total capital and running costs over the lifetime of the product.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Feb 27th 2008 10:30PM]

What you missed, is that the Western Digital GreenPower Hard Drives use about the same amount of energy as an average SSD.

[Stevo @ Feb 26th 2008 11:24PM]

How many carbon credits can you buy for $1400?

[phanbouy @ Feb 26th 2008 11:45PM]

42

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Feb 27th 2008 12:09AM]

Carbon Credits are a sham, like a ponzi scheme.

[Stevo @ Feb 27th 2008 12:18AM]

SHAM!?!?!?!!?






agreed

[athousandleaves @ Feb 26th 2008 11:44PM]

funny i would have thought that greenpeace would have tossed something out there long ago...

[Reader @ Feb 27th 2008 12:02AM]

Step 1) gather grass from outside
Step 2) place grass on PC case
Step 3) ???
Step 4) Profit

[Andrew @ Feb 27th 2008 12:40AM]

I don't want to negate the value of energy-efficient electronics, but none of this would make near as large a dent in air pollution as people simply driving less.

[r3loaded @ Feb 27th 2008 3:03AM]

Exactly what I've been saying for so many years. I hate the patronizing "are you going green?" or "what's your carbon footprint?" slogans that are spewed out by companies and governments alike, and that somehow we are personallly responsible for destroying the planet by leaving the TV on standby.

They fail to point out the massive amounts of energy used by industry, by cars (especially US drivers. C'mon, dya really need a V8?) and by businesses - the office facing my dorm room in London has never switched its lights off since October last year, and it's not even been fully furbished yet! Then we have govt officials who clock up massive aviation miles on their "business trips" (i.e. family holidays).

Move along ppl, nothing to see here. Go back to playing Crysis on Very High on an overclocked E6850 and GeForce 8800 GTX. Don't worry about energy consumption unless u want to reduce your own electricity bills. Don't stand for the green crap until others actually do the same.

[Ethyriel @ Feb 27th 2008 3:27AM]

But we do hold some power. You two made the perfect example, drive more efficient cars, and walk or ride a bike when you can. It's better for you, and for the environment, which circles back to you. Eat organic food. Again, there's less risk of negative medical impacts, it's more likely to be properly ripened and thus tastier, and again, less environmental harm. And a step that a lot of people overlook, and is currently harder to live with, wear organic clothes. Do you have any idea how much fertilizer is used for conventional cotton? (and for that matter, coffee... organic fair trade!) Hemp grows like a weed basically everywhere, without need for fertilizers and pesticides, and organic cotton and flax are both gaining ground.

I don't know if you were in fact making an excuse or just a point, but we have to live by all these ideas we have to make things better. Just having the ideas isn't enough, and there are a lot of people "doing the green crap"

And yes, reducing carbon footprints and energy usage IS a good thing. It's certainly not the only thing, though.

[Andrew @ Feb 27th 2008 11:27AM]

I was just trying to add some perspective, because it seems that "green" and "organic" are largely becoming campaign and marketing buzzwords that cause people to lose sight of real environmental solutions. Honestly, how much energy does that high-end gaming rig use in comparison to one's other daily habits, such as driving 10+ miles daily or buying lots of consumer goods that have been shipped across the Pacific? Only a fraction, really.

So while every little bit helps, we should really focus on the big polluters first before moving on to the small stuff.

[Ethyriel @ Feb 27th 2008 12:03PM]

I don't think they're making people lose sight, really, because I don't think it was on most people's radars to begin with. If anything it's helping to raise awareness, and even when people are eating organically because it's a trendy buzzword, it's helping to reduce fertilizer and pesticide usage which is a very serious issue.

We do need more talk about fuel consumption, not just by us but by industry, but I think it's coming. We have to take this step by step, and more regular joes integrating healthier and more eco friendly lifestyles is going to be big later. A lot of us regular joes have some input into how one company or another does business, or how the government regulates things. And we certainly have the power of public opinion.

[mattclarkie @ Feb 27th 2008 11:57AM]

My 110w power consumption suits me fine, I have no idea what it would be if I used it for gaming, I expect the needle on the power gauge would fly off.