Green computing – Dell releases energy-saving server

Green computing – Dell releases energy-saving server

Green computing – Dell releases energy-saving server
mongabay.com
December 4, 2006

Dell released a premium line of energy-efficient servers that consume considerably less power than regular models, joining a list of firms that offer consumers “greener” products.

“The Dell PowerEdge Energy Smart 1950 and 2950 can deliver up to 25 percent greater performance per watt while reducing power consumption by up to 24 percent,” read a news release from Dell. “These improvements can save hundreds of dollars per server every year which can translate to millions of dollars per year in large data center deployments.”

The new servers will come at a cost though: a regular “1950” model starts at $1749, while the starting price of the “Energy Smart 1950” is $2449. Dell says that the new “Energy Smart” models cost about $100 more than comparably featured models and that customers can expect to save $200 per year in energy costs.

Last year Dell enabled an energy-saving feature on its new OptiPlex 745 desktop which it said could have prevented some “12.5 million tons of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of removing about 2.5 million cars from the road” at a savings of about $1.6 billion in operating costs for customers.

Still Dell says that its Energy Smart computers aren’t for everyone.



“We would expect somewhere in the 10 to 20 percent range of our customers to be interested in this product and to ultimately migrate to this,” said Jay Parker, director of PowerEdge servers, in a statement. “But there is a whole other set of customers who need more configurability, or (for whom) power efficiency is not a priority.”