Need a new computer - can it be green?

January 8, 2008 3:16 AM

It’s that time again – I need a new computer, as my old one struggles with Windows XP and Word and basic functions. However, with all the publicity the Green lobbyists have been getting, I was wondering just how green I can realistically make my new computer?

I’m reasonably comfortable building my own computer from all of the components, and was thinking that it would be rather nice if my next machine could be as green as possible. Not just energy efficient, but actually, truthfully green – as few non-recyclable materials and polluting nasties as possible.

I know this may be a bit of an oxymoron, searching for green electronics companies, but I was just wondering if there are any companies that make components that claim to be green / causing less damage to the environment in their manufacture. After a bit of googling I can find plenty of “energy efficient” products, but very few components that claim to have fewer toxic materials or damaging components when disposed of. I’ll be recycling as much as possible of my old machine, but if we’re honest most of the computers today are going to end up in landfill / waste management facilities at somepoint. And I don’t see any of it biodegrading.

What companies make components that are claimed to be “green”? Is this project realistic, without costing much more than a conventional desktop? Or is my head simply in the idealistic clouds? I’m in the UK if it makes much difference, and my budget is around £1,000 ($2,000 USD), and I was hoping for a reasonably specced Windows Vista machine.

posted by philsi to computers & internet (12 comments total)

Apple's Environment section gives you an idea of the sorts of things you'll see from the name brands. The "take-back" program is of particular note. As such, if you're getting a whole new PC then your best bet is probably a name brand product, rather than piecing it together yourself, and using the take-back program at the end of the PC's life.

Asus do parts and have a "Green Asus" program, but it might just be for systems and small devices. You might want to call the UK number there and see what's what.

Otherwise, the way to be green is not to buy a new computer. Powerleap offer a range of upgrades you probably didn't think were an option. There used to be another company that did this too, Evergreen Technologies, but their old website address appears to just be a Verisign parking page, so they're probably gone.
posted by krisjohn at 3:40 AM on January 8 [1 favorite]

Dont go with a desktop then. Laptops use a fraction of the power of a desktop, especially if you shut it down at night instead of putting it on standby.
posted by damn dirty ape at 6:46 AM on January 8

What do you need your computer to do? The greenest solution might be rolling back to a previous version of Windows or trying out Linux.
posted by nathan_teske at 7:35 AM on January 8

I can't say that I always practice what I'm about to preach, but often the greenest upgrade is just wiping your drive and reinstalling Windows and whatever apps you need. I'm often amazed by how much faster everything seems when you don't have a few years worth of junk in the registry. Maybe if the upgrade path is too tempting, more ram, a bigger hard drive, or a new graphics card is what you really need.

If you do get a new machine, consider donating your old machine to a local non-profit. It's so much better to get a little more life out of something than even the best of recycling.
posted by advicepig at 9:25 AM on January 8

Any computer is a righteous affront to entropy. Beating back that much entropy requires enormous amounts of energy and exotic materials. Just building a timer chip for your watch is probably less green than chopping down a douglas fir.
posted by Netzapper at 10:03 AM on January 8

Desktops shouldn't be ruled out. Many of the smaller ones meant for HTPC use or other space-constricted environments use laptop parts and other low-power, low-wattage components. Compare that to a hulking 17-in screen laptop that uses a processor meant for a desktop and a power-hungry gaming graphics card.

You might also keep on eye on this year's CES news, there're are lot of green products and announcements being made.
posted by aerotive at 10:08 AM on January 8

Take back programs are not green. They preclude re-use, and that is really quite horrendous!

If you want up to date performance with a minimum impact, go find an old case and power supply in the garbage and put a new motherboard and parts in.

What companies make components that are claimed to be “green”? Is this project realistic, without costing much more than a conventional desktop?

I don't think you'll find much. Certainly not for CPU, probably not for motherboard/ram/hard drive. The manufacturers of those core components are highly consolidated and their major goal is pushing the price-performance ratio.

I was hoping for a reasonably specced Windows Vista machine.

There's your problem.. Vista isn't going to be a green solution :)
(it needs more CPU/GPU power to do the same old thing, it needs more memory and hard drive space to do the same old thing, and etc.)

What do you do with your computer? What are the current specs of your existing computer? The greenest solution is to make modest changes that will optimize your performance and energy consumption.

Laptops certainly are energy efficient, but they are decidedly not green in many other respects. Keyboard failed? Time to buy a new laptop! And the battery, and etc..
posted by Chuckles at 10:30 AM on January 8

Well, I thought of some things you could do, but frankly everything below 1 and 2 is mostly useless:

1) Recycle old computer safely by taking it to an approved government disposal facility, or give it away to someone who needs it.
2) Make sure everything you buy is ROHS compliant.

3) Get a power supply that is 80+ certified (that is, 80% or more efficient at all loads.) I have an Antec Earth Watts that I like because it's super quiet, but also I am a big fan of the Seasonic S12 series, of which I have several as well.

4) If you really want to, you could get an energy efficient, low power AMD BE series CPU. They have a Thermal Design Point (TDP) of only 45 watts (a normal chip will have a TDP of anywhere between 65w-130w). Bonus is that you can probably cool one extremely silently, or maybe even passively. Definitely stick with XP on one of these suckers, though, because they will chug.

5) Asus is selling some boards now with an "EPU", which aparently will do... something. I don't really believe it, but Asus certainly does make a fine motherboard, anyway.

Overall, really the best thing you can do is to build a PC with a new CPU and motherboard that implements a modern architecture. Don't go over the top, have a decent power supply and video card, and that's about as green as you can go. It's nice of you to think of this, but there are better ways to spend your time and money to help out the environment.
posted by tracert at 11:30 AM on January 8

Opps, I forgot. Also you could get a Western Digital Green Power edition drive. Even if the power savings are minimal, they are also really quiet while still maintaining okay performance, which is always good too.
posted by tracert at 11:37 AM on January 8

...annnd I just finished reading your question again. Apologies.
posted by tracert at 11:58 AM on January 8

I dont think vista is that bad, especially if you turn off aero which uses the GPU. Older equipment isnt great and older software is even worse. Older OSs may not support the HLT command thus keeping the CPU at 100% all the time. At least the older Windows OSs were like this. NT and 2000 were the first version to use this. Not sure on linux and osx/os8-9.

The performace per watt profile of newer cpus is spectacular. Going for an older P4 machine is a huge waste of energy as opposed to buying a dual-core machine.

I think at a certain point youre hitting a very real wall of diminishing returns. The money youre going to spend on saving a handful of watts can be better spent on cf light bulbs or timers for your standby devices. Or replacing yoru CRT TV or Monitor for a LCD flatpanel.
posted by damn dirty ape at 12:17 PM on January 8

Going for an older P4 machine is a huge waste of energy as opposed to buying a dual-core machine.

It all depends, which is why I left them as questions :P

In particular, all CPUs based on the pentium 4 architecture (includes pentium D dual core units), and all CPUs by AMD pre opteron, are really power hungry. On the other hand, old PIIIs (tualatin or coppermine) are pretty reasonable choices, depending on your computing needs.
posted by Chuckles at 12:57 PM on January 8