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.
