The Technology Context – B101

AMD Energy Efficient Processors : A Move to Greener Pastures

Background, Objectives and Current Status

Microprocessors of old were inefficient! They wasted energy, produced plenty of heat and as a result, the cooling required to keep them operational was noisy. The AMD K6-2 processor was state of the art in 1998. These processors ran on around 29 watts. This doesn’t seem like a lot, however, there was no kind of system idle power saving. In other words, these processors always ran at 29 watts. Also, the performance for that amount of power was appalling! A 500 MHz single processing core using 29 watts continuously is far less efficient than a 2.6 GHz dual processing core using 45 watts only at full load and dropping to only 12 watts when at low load.

PC owners these days are becoming more and more concerned about the amount of energy that computers use and the heat and noise that’s produced as a result. IT professionals and enthusiasts alike agree that more power consumption leads to more heat and therefore more noise and let’s not forget, more money and waste. Consumers and producers are realising that sustainability is the key. This keeps pushing AMD to release more efficient processors.

AMD has been interested in building energy efficient processors for years now. The company now prides itself on creating green products without sacrificing performance. A few years ago when AMD’s Athlon 64 processor was released, they also added a technology called “Cool & Quiet” to the benefit of a more energy conscious consumer. This was the company’s first attempt to market a greener processor. Cool & Quiet works by lowering the clock speed of the processor during periods of inactivity or low workloads to save energy. As soon as the processor encounters a heavy workload and requires more power, it steps up to its normal clock speed. In 2005, AMD were awarded an Energy Star rating by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the processor range which included the Cool & Quiet technology.

Sustainable Technology Issue

The sustainable technology issue is obvious. Can you continue to make improvements to energy efficiency in processors without negatively effecting the performance of the component? Also, how can energy efficient processors help customers and, in the long run, the planet?



Taken From: http://www.hothardware.com/articles/Athlon_64_X2_Energy_Efficient_Processors/


As you can see, the EE series of AMD processors fare pretty well on the graph. At an idle processor use state there is only a 9 watt differential between the two chips and they are easily the lowest power consumption of the group.
So these processors are definitely energy efficient, but how do they perform against the competitions performance-per-watt rating?



Taken From: http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=2889

As you can see, the energy efficient AMD Athlon processors have the best performance-per-watt out of all tested. This means that consumers wishing to get a new processor for their computer can have an eco-friendly system without sacrificing too much performance. So what about the rest?



Taken From: http://www.hothardware.com/articles/Athlon_64_X2_Energy_Efficient_Processors/


Taken From: http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html



The AMD Athlon X2 EE range of processors is not the fastest on the market because the Intel Core 2 Duo range beats it on raw power. However, it is more energy efficient than the Core 2 Duo, it runs Cooler and in a price comparison, its performance-per-dollar is very competitive!

Possible Technical Alternatives and Consequences

As far as technical alternatives are concerned, there have been implementations of other energy efficient processors in PC’s. One interesting possibility is the use of laptop standard processors in desktop computers. This technology is in the early stages of use and has not yet made the mainstream although when it does, super efficient PC’s will land. As laptop processors aren’t as powerful, the main implementations will be in the increasingly popular living room PC’s or HTPC’s (Home Theatre Personal Computers). These are always-on computers used to record TV or push media to other systems around the household.

Another alternative is a VIA super energy efficient processor. Recently, VIA has started to release its super energy efficient embedded processor bundle to manufactures in a hope to make computing more eco-friendly. Computer manufacturer Everex recently integrated one of these embedded processor systems in a laptop and the company now claims that it is “the world’s most energy efficient laptop”. The downside is that the performance is supposed to be quite bad as the processor runs at a low clock speed to save those extra watts.





One last alternative is to make other PC components more energy efficient. Graphics card manufacturers Nvidia and ATI are both trying to make their components more eco-friendly by implementing similar technology to AMD’s own Cool & Quiet technology. This would mean that the cards only run at full speed when complex graphical programs such as 3d games or CAD software are used. All other times, the hardware just waits in low power mode.

There are of course, consequences. For a start, research into energy efficient hardware is going to be expensive. This is going to mean that the hardware is going to cost more to the user too. However, this is probably not going to be a problem in the long run as the money saved on electricity bills will soon add up. Especially in businesses with many networked computers. Using AMD Energy efficient processors, regardless of the extra cost, is soon going to save the organisation money. Also, the manufacturing process itself may be harmful to the environment. Having more processor models using different technology is going to mean more machinery. More machinery means more power usage.

Potential Political and Financial Effects

According to http://www.austinchronicle.com, AMD’s new processors have caused the company to hire new employees in Austin, Texas. Austin Chronicle says that only 31% of employees live close. That means that 69% will be driving in from other areas. 58% live within 10 miles of the workplace which certainly isn’t a small radius! This raises many environmental and political arguments as to whether these processors are actually saving the environment. It is also possible that even more employees are going to be needed as the company expands its product line with its new AMD Phenom processor. More people means more cars which leads to more pollution.

The financial effects of AMD’s new energy efficient processors on large networks such as businesses, universities, charitable organisations and government organisations could be substantial if they switched from the processor that they are using to an AMD EE processor. Although the initial setup costs could be expensive, the processors would soon pay for themselves on a larger scale, especially if the organisation goes energy efficient during their next standard upgrade. The same goes for home users. Energy is continuously getting more expensive and these processors are a good way of lowering the bills. 

Potential Effects on Sustainable Development

All in all, the AMD Athlon EE series of processors may have some negative effects such as pollution related to manufacturing such as machinery or staff. However, company’s producing energy efficient products can only be a good thing. Other companies such as Intel are going to try to compete with the energy efficiency statistics and all in all, the push towards environmentally computing has started. Many computer and hardware manufacturers are now starting to develop sustainable technology and this can only lead to one thing – truly green computing!

Could the AMD Athlon X2 EE processor change the world? Probably not! However, it’s a step in the right direction and the idea behind it possibly could. If a lot more companies concentrated on creating energy efficient products, combined with other sustainable technology’s such as environmentally friendly power sources and carbon offset schemes, we could save the planet. It’s up to every company and every individual to make a difference.

Refferences

http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/Athlon_64_X2_Energy_Efficient_Processors/
http://www.amd.com
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~108324,00.html
http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2007/10/11/42350/amd+rolls+out+energy-efficient+processors.htm
http://www.hardwarezone.com/news/view.php?id=8884&cid=4
http://www.intel.com/design/embedded/downloads/315336.pdf
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/amd-energy-efficient.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/21/intel_green/
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/tsearch/Processor+energy+efficient+intel+core.htm
http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/2169203/intentions-little-action-energy
http://whitepapers.silicon.com/0,39024759,60261390p,00.htm
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/
http://freespace.virgin.net/roy.longbottom/cpuspeed.htm
http://www.ecogeek.org/component/option,com_tag/tag,AMD/
http://www.crn.com/channelcommunity/thread.jspa?messageID=3133
http://www.crn.com/hardware/201806092
http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=2889
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/06/new_ecosystem_p.php
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/26/via_everex_most_energy_efficient_laptop/
http://www.austinchronicle.com