Dell puts PCs on a power diet

Low-power is rapidly becoming the new "extreme" in the world of PCs. In response to rising energy costs and environmental concerns, Dell is putting its computers on a plan to consume less power, with the goal of cutting overall power consumption by 25 percent by 2010, according to Cnet.

The plan applies to both desktops and laptops.

One of the major undertakings is to build ultra-small desktops that require minimal energy. These PCs are even smaller than the "Small Form Factor" (SFF) machines the company currently sells (which are about the size of an unabridged dictionary). The new ultrasmall PCs take up a mere 20 percent of the room of a standard minitower, about half the size of a current-gen SFF.

The new PCs would use only about 30 percent of the power of a standard computer, too.

In the laptop world, power savings has long been a major focus, since battery life is directly correlated with energy consumption. The move to lower-power CPUs, LED screen backlighting, and turning off unused components has been a direct result of such research. Further gains may be harder to come by, with advances from here probably having to take the form of software and firmware enhancements.

In addition to cutting power use in its products, Dell noted that it plans to be carbon-neutral, operations-wise, by the end of the year. Good work, Dell!

Dell puts PCs on a power diet