At an event held in Beijing, Intel has shown with its partners, Acer and Tsinghua Tongfanga computer characterized because 90% of its components can be recycled. Known as Green PC, it has Intel processors, which according to Tom’s Hardware, meet ambitious targets for energy efficiency and carbon emissions.
In addition to supplying the processors for this PC, Intel has shared some guidelines and standards to achieve improvements in terms of carbon emissions and energy efficiency. Among them, he has spoken of ecological controls to reduce carbon emissions from the creation of electronics to its recycling. In addition, it has underlined four key points for its concept of high energy efficiency and low carbon emissions: definition and design, manufacturing and delivery, use and maintenance, and recovery and recycling.
He Green PC that they have revealed, a demo team, uses 12th generation Intel Alder Lake processors, but the company has not specified which specific processor is the one that went inside the PC. It is likely that it is one of the T series, and that in no case is it from the K. The first have a consumption of about 35W, while the others have a consumption almost twice as high: 65W. In addition, the computer also has a cooling system from Intel.
In addition to hardware and cooling, Intel has developed the Intel Green Computer Software Control Center tool, which aims to put the system into low-carbon operating mode. Automatically detects user activity and improves system energy efficiency based on usage.
The motherboard of this equipment has fewer components than a conventional one. Thus, instead of the usual 1,800, it has 1,400, which represents a 22% reduction in materials. Its power delivery subsystem, which seems quite modest, achieves 6% more efficiency than that designed for a conventional motherboard.
As for printed circuit boards (PCBs), they have always caused problems to recycle. They are made from metal, resin and fiberglass, and although the metal recycling rate is good, there have always been difficulties separating the resin and glass fibers. For this reason, Intel has opted for the use of PCB solutions that are respectful with the environment. In this case, Intel and its partners have achieved PCBs with a recycling rate of 95% for metals and glass fibers, and 90% for organic matter.
The design of the motherboard of the equipment is simple and integrated. It has two SO-DIMM memory slots, one M.2 slot and one PCIe x16 expansion slot. Intel hasn’t revealed the form factor the motherboard uses, saying only that the PCB area is 36% smaller than a standard AtX motherboard. This design also helps to reduce the number of cables, since it has almost no connectors. The only cables visible from the computer are the one from the Intel cooling system fan, and the power cable from the power supply.
This equipment uses a gallium nitride power supply, and is 70% smaller than a standard ATX power supply. Additionally, gallium nitride power supplies can reduce carbon footprint, and volume, by up to 90%. On the other hand, it has a fanless cooling system, and offers a single 12-volt outlet. The featured gallium nitride unit is 80 Plus Titanium certified, which means it is 94% efficient at 50% load and 90% efficient at 10% load.
Since the Green PC’s components are so compact, it makes sense that its case be smaller. so, el Green PC has a 7 liter casing, so small that it can be transported comfortably. Only four screws are needed to hold the motherboard in place.
It is unknown if there is an intention to start manufacturing what Intel, Acer and Tsinghua Tongfang have presented as a serial prototype to reach the market, or if it has only been a demonstration of what can be achieved in terms of recycling and carbon footprint reduction carried out by these manufacturers to inspire computer manufacturers for the future.
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