[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       opensuse
Subject:    Re: [opensuse] Legacy hardware support in openSUSE 10.3
From:       Adam Tauno Williams <awilliam () whitemice ! org>
Date:       2009-06-16 20:15:41
Message-ID: 1245183341.5347.35.camel () linux-m3mt
[Download RAW message or body]

On Tue, 2009-06-16 at 21:26 +0200, Per Jessen wrote:
> > Average power consumption on the desktop is up, even though efficiency
> > is up too. RAM often now requires heatsink cooling, another sign of
> > increased power consumption, on top of generally increased RAM
> > requirements of newer software. 
> I don't the efficiency of a desktop PC is really much of a topic.  When
> we're talking about computational power per unit-of-energy, it's not
> very useful to talk about a system that is idling and in power-save
> mode most of the time.  In fact, I have to wonder if average power
> consumption on the desktop really is up - I would have thought
> power-saving measures have become so much better in just the last 2-3
> years, that average consumption would have gone down. 

We have ~300 workstations/desktops and we measured power consumption as
part of a cost analysis.  Newer desktops used less power, period,
no-contest.  To get useful results you need a meter that can record
power consumption over time (several days),  just using a watt-meter
gives meaningless results.  Note that we are talking about 'normal'
business-class desktops and not some gaming hot-rod which.

And speaking of power:  older CRTs vs. LCD is also a no-contest issue.

> > Power consumption should figure into the equation whether to take
> > equipment out of service, not just whether kernels still support old
> > hardware (thread topic). 
> Well, the openSUSE kernel CPU support issue has long been cleared up -
> Pentium I's are still supported, period.  Wrt power consumtion, I
> completely agree - except my experience is that modern systems use less
> energy. 

Our dual-quad servers consume less power than some of the [very] old
dual PIIIs we buried out behind the sheds.

-- 
To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org
For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org


[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]