Power could cost more than servers, Google warns

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 16 May 2006 16:33

BalinorNZ wrote:The huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum of about 50 computers.

This was an article a while ago but Nic's comment made me think about this issue again

http://news.com.com/Power+could+cost+mo ... &subj=news

Basically the article says that the cost of powering servers is eventually going to exceed the actual price tag of the servers. Various system builders and chip designers are working on design that consume less energy. It would be like the cost of gasoline exceeding the cost of your car. What do you think? Discuss.

BainbridgeShred · Post by **BainbridgeShred** » 16 May 2006 20:11

I'm not smart enough to discuss stuff like this.

janis · Post by **janis** » 17 May 2006 00:33

yeah, the power consumption issue is very interesting. Apparently running a big CRT monitor takes a similar amount of energy as it does to keep a hot water urn boiling. Reducing the power consumption of electrical goods is imperative in order to preserve the environment and stop global warming.

HighDemonslayer · Post by **HighDemonslayer** » 17 May 2006 07:07

Why is Google fear-mongering about the energy required for servers?

It probably means they will try to regulate speech.

Servers are "gas guzzlers".................. so systems that contain ideas they dont like, will be shutdown to, "save the environment".

Clearly, us rabble must give up our computers, because a Google server "serves" millions of users, and our systems are only used by a few people.

Google's computers are like alternate-fuel buses.
Our computers are like Lincoln Navigators

-n

HighDemonslayer · Post by **HighDemonslayer** » 17 May 2006 07:11

Do flat-screen monitors use a lot less power than the old CRT?

I remember that CRT's use something like 90% of the power required to run the system, so turning it when not in use saves a bunch.

-n

professor · Post by **professor** » 17 May 2006 08:29

Do flat-screen monitors use a lot less power than the old CRT?

Yes. On average, CRT's use about 60% more energy than LCD's do.

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 17 May 2006 22:25

I don't understand the implications of this at all. I don't understand how it would change anything - maybe costs of some things would change a bit - I don't know. Can somebody explain why this could be at all significant.

janis · Post by **janis** » 17 May 2006 23:00

CRT monitors use 2-3 times more electricity than LCD monitors.

The whole cost issue is somewhat misleading as it only shows how more money is being put into the development of new products, as opposed to more energy efficent products. In the energy efficency is relevant because there is a huge over consumption of energy in Australia (which ultimately comes from coal power) and many other countries.

james_dean · Post by **james_dean** » 17 May 2006 23:12

Actually the original question was refering to server power usage specifically. And I also have been wondering what there is to discuss about it.

janis · Post by **janis** » 18 May 2006 00:10

james_dean wrote:Actually the original question was refering to server power usage specifically. And I also have been wondering what there is to discuss about it.

Not a great deal really, the news article was from cnet after all...

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 18 May 2006 01:03

Yeah I'm aware of the energy issues in Australia - I would like to know specifically why it would be an issue that the cost of power would be greater than the cost of servers or why the cost of gasoline being greater than the costs of cars would be an issue.

In fact I don't even understand what that means. I mean fuel for a car or energy is an ongoing cost while the initial cost of a car/server is a one off cost. If you have the car/server for long enough the fuel/power costs will be greater than the initial cost.