by Red Bull

Created on: March 24, 2009

Making a computer that is friend of our environtment is not easy. To start you will have to make a lot of changes in both hardware and software. Let's start with the software because it's easier than the hardware, anyone can do it and does not require you to open your computer. The first thing you need to do is to reduce the amount of energy windows uses to work. You can do this by reducing the image quality you see on your screen. This will save you both time and money. As for the environment it will save it because the computer will use less electricity because windows needs less resources to work. Block all the cool graphics you see plus all the cool images you see and all the cool sounds you like so much. Once you get used to it you will never return to the previous thing. Works for me all the time.

Next thing, you need to make sure your processor is not running at full speed if you use the computer just to send emails and to write. The CPU is the most energy consuming component and all it does is processing information at the speed of the light? The next time you turn your computer on, check the energy options and reduce teh speed of the CPU to a level it's fast and you are confortable with.

Next thing is to reduce the way windows works. You can disable a series of services and programs you do not use frequently. Download and install a software called CCleaner and then all you need to do is to install it, run it and start deleting all the programs you do not use frequently. This move will make windows load less programs and also will make the hard disk run in a more efficient way, reducing the amount of electricity it needs to function.

Next thing is all about hardware. You need to open the computer and fisically reduce a lot of voltages to have a less power consuming machine. The first thing to get a cut is the hard disk. An hardisk can spin as much as 14000 RPM and this comes for about 20 years. These things spin almost as fast as a F1 engine at the rev. Reduce it to 4500 RPM. Sure the whole computer will be slower, but once you open the Word and the Thunderbird you won't need that much power anymore. That will do fine.

The next thing is to reduce the voltage of the fans to have less power usage and also less noise. Reduce the voltage of all the fans from 12V to 9V or even less volts. Since you reduced the speed of the computer, you can know the components will not heat up so much.

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