IBM claims it has developed a chip design that will slash power
consumption by 10% of the current rate, writes Eric Doyle.
The design has resulted from an initiative to improve energy
efficiency across all IBM's hardware and software products. This is
not just a reaction to the power cuts that plagued California
earlier this year but a search to address the growing problem of
heat dissipation in IT installations.
Mark Dean, vice-president of systems research at IBM, explained,
"The demand for increasingly powerful systems is driving up the
amount of heat within many new products."
IBM has also set up a consulting practice to assess customer
installations and advise on ways to reduce energy consumption. It
will be backed by the power-cutting research of IBM's labs in Texas
where it is evaluating servers, storage systems, PCs and notebooks
to see where efficiencies can be made.
IBM plans to substantiate its 10% saving claim when it reveals
details at the Microprocessor Forum in San Jose on 15-18 October.