Small Green Boxes

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2009-02-21T09:28:00.004Z

If you are interested in the latest developments in low power computing or just concerned about the environmental impact of your computer use then subscribe to this blog.

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Alternatives To the Intel Atom - Part 1

2009-02-20T19:49:00.004Z

For some people the Intel Atom is not going to provide a powerful enough platform for their computing needs. As I write this you can't actually go and buy a NVIDIA ION, so what alternatives are there if you wish to have a low power computer on your desktop.

There are several companies selling desktop PCs which appear to have very low power consumption. The Advent Eco PC being one and the Dell Studio Hybrid being another. How do they do it? Have a look at the CPUs these machines are running, you'll notice that they are mobile processors, not the power hungry desktop versions. Mobile processors are designed from the outset to use less power. Less power is very important for a laptop, it means longer between charges or a smaller/lighter battery is needed.

These machines are known as Mobile on the Desktop solutions, or Motd. Compromises have to be made to achieve low power, often this is at the expense of graphic performance, so they probably don't make good games machines. It should however be possible to buy or build a Motd machine that is quite capable of running Vista and even the Aero interface, this is not something that is really possible with Intel Atom solutions . They do attract a price premium over an equivalent power machine made with traditional desktop components.

Unfortunately you cannot simply buy a mobile processor and insert it in your motherboard. Most motherboards cannot operate at the extra low voltages required and the CPUs themselves have different sockets. There are specialist motherboards available that will allow you to use mobile CPUs, although you may struggle to find a reseller that stocks them and as specialist items, expect a price premium. You will find that many of these motherboards are in the mini ITX format, i.e. 17cm x 17cm, this often means limited expansion options are available.

If you do decide to build a low power PC using mobile processors you'll need to consider the following.

What power is consumed by the the processor?
Can I find a motherboard that supports it?
Is the chipset/processor combination suitable for my needs?

Over the next few posts I'll be looking at the components available for you to build your own MOTD system.

Intel promise lame graphics with Pineview Atom

2009-02-12T10:59:00.003Z

Intel obviously have very different ideas of what is needed from small low power PCs from NVIDIA. The folks over at Fudzilla are reporting that the Pineview CPU the successor to the Atom will have graphics courtesy of the GMA950. The GMA950 formed part of the 945GSE chipset that has been criticised by the press in recent months for limiting the potential of the Atom processor.

The new chipset called Tiger Point will include the graphics and memory controller on the same chip. The GMA950 will be clocked faster than in the 945GSE chipset so there will be some improvement but it still will not support DirectX 10. Intel also claim that there will be a significant reduction in the total power consumed by systems based on Pineview/Tiger Point.

This new solution from Intel fails to excite when compared to the new NVIDIA ION. I'm sure it will find some application in budget nettops and the Windows Home Server market but as for providing a really useful Vista experience I suspect we're in for a disappointment.

NVIDIA ION - now they are just showing off!

2009-02-12T09:39:00.005Z

You have to admire NVIDIA, they are very confident about their new NVIDIA ION system and are not shy about showing it off. Over at Tweaktown there is a video of the NVIDIA ION doing all sorts of impressive things within Windows 7 Beta. The first part of the clip shows it multitasking between PowerPoint and a HD movie clip. Then for the next piece of magic at the same time as the movie is running the system is creating a compressed copy of the movie for use with a portable media player. All the time the clip runs smoothly with no noticeable glitches.
They then swap to demoing a game Left 4 Dead that's running at 720p, all looks good, lots of bad people get shot and no juddering of the video.

In separate news, NVIDIA have announced that the NVIDIA ION system has become certified by Microsoft to run Windows Vista Home Premium.

What's the most energy efficient monitors available?

2009-02-08T23:54:00.011Z

In my previous post I talked about the ENERGY STAR database for energy efficient office equipment. To be an ENERGY STAR qualified monitor it must use not more than 23W per mega-pixel, the number of mega-pixels is rounded up. For example a monitor with a resolution of 1280x1024 has 1310720 pixels, this is rounded up to 2 mega-pixels, so must not consume more than 46W.

I have picked two monitors, one standard and one wide screen from the ENERGY STAR database which are available today and are very energy efficient.

Lenovo L1900 1280x1024 19" Monitor

This monitor consumes 17W typically and no more than 24W maximum. It also has good environmental credentials having 50% less mercury content than typical monitors of its class.

You can find the cheapest price here.

LG W2252-TE-PF 1680x1050 22" Monitor

This monitor only consumes 22W in normal use and 0.3W in sleep mode.

You can buy it from here

ENERGY STAR - Choosing low power office equipment

2009-02-07T20:26:00.007Z

How do you know if the latest bit of office equipment you're considering buying is energy efficient? It's not easy, you may be lucky and have the manufacturers specification available. If not you could look for equipment with the ENERGY STAR logo.

The ENERGY STAR program is an agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency for the US and the European Commission for the European Union to provide a common set of energy efficient specifications for office equipment. They maintain a database of equipment that has met this specification. Manufacturers who produce equipment that meets their specification are allowed to display the ENERGY STAR logo.

The limitation of the ENERGY STAR program is it only indicates that the equipment meets the standard laid out in their specification. If you want to know if the equipment is the most efficient available then you need to consult the ENERGY STAR database. Here you'll find information such as power consumption on full load, standby off etc.

The database for the EU can be found here
The database for the US can be found here

Nvidia Ion Reviewed

2009-02-07T09:15:00.005Z

Tom's hardware has done a review of the NVidia Ion reference system, comparing it to an Atom 230 board made by Intel, the D945GCLF.

The Geforce 9400M in the NVidia Ion system performed very well, taking a lot of the strain of the Atom processor. It was able to play back Blu-ray movies at 1080p and even play games such as Spore and Call of Duty at an acceptable frame rate. Improvement wasn't just limited to graphics heavy applications, a test, copying files over USB and Ethernet showed significant improvement.

The power issue was less clear cut, but as was pointed out the two systems were not comparing like with like. The NVidia System had it's own power supply so the results were not a true comparison. They concluded that there was a power saving of between 19% and 35%, depending if the system was idle or running at full load.

Go and check out the full review and see for yourself.

Will 2009 bring truly useable low power PCs?

2009-02-06T19:41:00.004Z

Nvidia’s CEO was recently quoted saying that “I think that so far, what a netbook is, is a low-cost PC that doesn’t work that well.” His argument was that the current range of Atom based PCs are only good for running old software. He was of course promoting Nvidia’s solution, the NVidia Ion which should come out before the end of the year. If the initial reviews and specification are to be believed the Nvidia Ion based systems should consume 25% of the power of existing PC’s but still be powerful enough for 90% of the uses that consumers have for their PCs.

Why should we care? We’ve all been doing our bit for the environment, replacing those old light bulbs with low energy alternatives, buying low power fridges, turning the thermostat down a notch. Most people agree that reducing our carbon footprint is one of the most important challenges we face in today’s world. Here’s a fact for you, according to the environmental charity Global Action Plan the carbon footprint of the ICT industry is more than that of the airline industry.

Many Pc’s don’t get turned off, they either are just left doing nothing in idle mode or they’re put in standby. Sometimes there’s a genuine need to keep them running, e.g. servers but often it’s because people don’t want the hassle of waiting for the operating system to boot. There are many things that the consumer can do to reduce the power consumption of the PC but manufacturers have a role to play as well.

Goverment legislation and initiatives will make demands on PC manufacturers to consider the power of new PCs. Even President Obahma is pushing for more action from manufacturers. Market forces, as consumers demand more energy efficient devices, should also encourage manufacturers to produce lower power machines.

Low power PCs have been around for a few years. Via, for example, have had been producing a range of low power boards. The problem is they are great for building embedded systems but far too sluggish for use in an office environment. 2008 brought a new range of low power processors, the Intel Atom 220 and 330 and the Via C7, these processors will run Windows XP and perform Internet browsing and basic word processing tasks adequately. Intel’s solutions support 64bit operating systems and the Atom 330 is a dual core processor that supports 64bit operating systems. They are even certified for use with Vista Home Basic.

However, you’ll probably be disappointed when you get your new Atom machine home running Vista; it’s not going to be a great machine. The problem is partly that the Atom isn’t a powerful processor but mainly Intel’s interesting decision to partner the Atom with an old chipset (Intel® 945GC ) , a chipset that takes the 4W of power of an Atom 220 and adds another 25W, a chipset that has very low spec graphics that aren’t not capable of running DirectX 10.

NVidia have got it, they recognise the importance of low power computing, not just for laptops but for desktop PCs as well. The NVidia Ion has a low power chipset, the GeForce 9400M, with good graphics built in that takes a lot of the strain off the CPU. It really does have the potential to replace 90% of PC’s in use today.

One possible fly in the ointment is the rumour that Intel are reluctant to sell the Atom processor separately from their approved chipset. Hopefully that's all it is, rumour because if it is true there will be little incentive for manufactures to design their own Atom based solutions.

Intel have plans as well. They plan to replace the 945GC chipset with a new design the GN40, this should give the NVidia Ion a run for it's money. By the end of this year, not only should we have practical low power Pcs, but a choice!