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Sergei Surabekyants
Intel held a presentation in Beijing today to highlight efforts to build green commercial computers. The semiconductor giant and its partners Tsinghua Tongfang and Acer took the opportunity to showcase “the first mass-produced environmentally friendly PCs» – 90% of their components are claimed to be recyclable.
Image Source: Intel
Intel supplies processors, chipsets, and some other chips, so it takes a lot of effort from other manufacturers to make computers greener. The company shared some recommendations for achieving very ambitious energy efficiency and emission reduction targets. Intel unveiled its cradle-to-cradle manufacturing model and talked about environmental controls to reduce carbon emissions from electronics creation to recycling. Four key points of the concept of low carbon energy saving were identified: definition and design, production and supply, use and maintenance, and recovery and recycling.
The demo system uses a 12th generation Intel Alder Lake processor, but Intel did not specify which one. Since the CPU was cooled by a stock Intel cooler, we can assume that the system was unlikely to use a K-series chip, whose maximum power can reach 241W, rather it could be a T-series chip with a lower TDP of 35W. The Intel Green Computer Software Control Center was specifically designed for this PC to put it in a low carbon mode. The program automatically detects user activity and improves system energy efficiency depending on the usage scenario.
The motherboard has a simple integrated design. There are two SO-DIMM memory slots, one M.2 SSD slot, and one PCIe x16 expansion slot. Intel did not disclose the form factor of the board, it is only known that its area is 36% smaller than that of ATX standard boards. The design of the motherboard helps to reduce the number of cables due to the almost complete absence of connectors. Only the fan cable of the stock Intel cooler and the cable from the power supply are visible.
The number of motherboard components has been reduced from 1800 to 1400, resulting in a 22% reduction in materials. The power subsystem has become 6% more efficient than on a regular board and looks very modest, although appearances can be deceiving. PCBs made from metal, resin and fiberglass have always been a challenge to recycle, mainly due to the difficulty of separating resin and fiberglass. Intel and its industry partners aim to achieve 95% recycling rates for metal and glass fibers and 90% for organic matter.
The “green” PC uses a power supply unit (PSU) 70% smaller than ATX standard units. It is made using gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors, which reduces the carbon footprint by 90%. The PSU has a fanless design, provides a single 12V output, and boasts 80 Plus Titanium certification, which guarantees 94% efficiency at 50% load and at least 90% efficiency at 10% load. The PC comes in a compact 7 liter case. It’s even smaller than the old Intel Beast Canyon NUC, which had a 8 liter case. The board is fixed in the case with only four screws.
During the event, Intel encouraged the use of green materials and clean energy in the manufacturing process, and recommended that suppliers only work with manufacturers that adhere to the same green philosophy. It’s hard to say if we can expect such eco-friendly PCs to hit the retail market anytime soon, or if it was a tech demo for PC makers.
