Intel Publishes More Efficient Power Supply Spec

Intel Corp. published a specification for improving the efficiency of a PCs power supply Thursday, an effort an environmental nonprofit applauded.

Version 2.0 of Intels 12-volt power supply document addresses the power supplies used in todays PCs. The new specification indirectly acknowledges that many PCs dont need to run at their full power for such menial tasks as writing e-mail, and that power can be saved as a result.

In fact, if the new recommended guidelines are adhered to by power-supply manufacturers, the specification will help save 16 billion kilowatt hours per year, or enough power to run a medium-sized city. Rival Advanced Micro Devices, meanwhile, has taken a different tack to reduce power, dialing down the operating voltage as part of its “Cool n Quiet” technology the chip maker has built into its Athlon 64 CPUs.

The new specification won the approval of the Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit dedicated to public health. Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist at the NRDC, said that the organization held a workshop in 2002 on the subject. Afterward, an Intel representative introduced herself and asked how the NRDCs guidelines could be designed in as part of the companys own technical specification.

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