10 IT Power-Saving Myths Debunked

snydeq writes "InfoWorld examines 10 power-saving assumptions IT has been operating under in its quest to rein in energy costs vs. the permanent energy crisis. Under scrutiny, most such assumptions wither. From true CPU efficiency, to the life span effect of power-down frequency on servers, to SSD power consumption, to switching to DC in the datacenter, get the facts before setting your IT energy strategy."

Re:Kitteh pr0n

[rugatero]

Show them some nice pictures of kittens. Or some pr0n.

I, for one, was very relieved to see the word or.

Re:Questionable grasp on the problem space.

[Vagnaard]

CPU , PSU are near. This might have been an abbreviation error.

Still , shame on them for not editing their stuff properly (If they meant PSU)

Power

[Windows_NT]

Turning off your computer is always a good time to give the hamsters food and water, lets them rest, so in the morning your computer will be nice and fast. If it takes parents computer 15 minutes, his hamster need less weight

You mean ...

[khasim]

... something like monitoring system usage and bringing additional boxes up when usage hits something like 80%?

And then suspending boxes when usage drops down to 10%?

All in all, trying to maintain a level 50% utilization level? Maybe with the utilization level setting being an option that the sysadmin could change?

I'd recommend you patent that idea.

Re:For mere mortals there is speed

[RMH101]

It's possibly a combination of the two. My old work laptop (Tosh Centrino, 1.6 or 1.8GHz, 1GB RAM, Win2K) used to take around 12 minutes to boot from cold. Quite a bit of this is due to the Pointsec full disk encryption software, followed by SAV, followed by the usual corporate crippleware. Horrible. In the end it became a tethered desktop as I couldn't be bothered taking it anywhere.

Re:I dunno..

[halcyon1234]

hey must be using a different version of XP than I am... When I 'Hibernate' my laptop, it dumps the RAM to a file on the hard drive and then powers off completely.

You must be using a different version of XP than I am... When I 'Hibernate' my laptop, it attempts to dump the RAM to a file, throws a hissy fit like a coddled freshman after their first exam, fails miserably, flickers the screen, disables the Hibernate option, and then just sits around until the battery drains.

Re:Debunk this

[halcyon1234]

They have a 17" monitor up their asses? Well, good to know goatse guy is getting steady work these days, even if he isn't well-versed in the scientific method.

They have their own fans...

[pmandryk]

My favourite story (or urban legend) is when an employee came in to an IT shop on the weekend and shut down all of the A/C cooling units for the Data Centre. He claimed that he was "going 'Green' and saving power" because "...all of those computers in that room have their own fans." I'm pretty sure he was let go after that...or promoted to management.

Re:I dunno..

[sorak]

For a Web site, put up a static page asking users to wait while additional resources are brought online.

We're sorry for the inconvenience, but our systems seem to have been shut down. We've asked leroy, rufus, and heraldo to hit the power button, and we assure you that, once they've found that button, they will push it, and then, once the mandatory scandisk operation has completed, the Windows server screen will appear, and once the kernel operations have completed, the services you have requested will be available.

And that will be awesome!

While you're waiting, here are some links to our competitors' sites. Remember to open them in a new tab, so you can occasionally come back and hit "refresh". We promise, we're almost ready to serve you.

Re:For mere mortals there is speed

[Bobfrankly1]

You must be the guy who bought my old 386 66. You need to hit the turbo button to get it to boot faster!

Re:Did I miss something?

[camperdave]

Yes, they've been redefined by Messrs Hyneman and Savage. Basically, if something takes a ridiculous amount of effort to blow up, then it is debunked, or "busted". If it blows up without too much provocation, it is "confirmed". If it merely catches fire, it is "plausible".

Re:I dunno..

[geminidomino]

Hell, the way things are going, soon hiring a cadre of hookers to rub on you for heat will be less expensive than oil.

Re:I dunno..

[somersault]

I like your thinking! But wait, on second thought forget the hookers and the rubbing.. no wait, that isn't right..

Re:I dunno..

[hclewk]

From South Texas. I pay 20 cents/kWh for electricity. Unfortunately, there is no non-electricity version of air conditioning, so I cry myself to sleep at night (and yes, it's still fricken hot here).

Re:I dunno..

[crenshawsgc]

I might be overly practical, but for anything you'd be doing out of an apartment with sub-gigahertz machines, you don't need a seperate dedicated hardware firewall.

Re:I dunno..

[tsa]

I'm not sure I would want to put my balls in the fireplace if the power or gas goes out.

Re:I dunno..

[Jim_Maryland]

Are you saying you prefer electrical nodes attached to them?

Re:I dunno..

[R2.0]

You're right.

They don't use Transistors, Inductors and Capacitors at all, do they?

Functionally, the devices might not be used to perform the same precursory things... However, silicon is silicon, capacitors are still made from the same things, and inductors are little more than (get this!!!) lumps of a constant controlled by the turns ratio and other things.

Nope, totally different animals, huh?

Right. And I'm the same as Albert Einstein because I have DNA, amino acids, and funny hair. Where's my Nobel Prize?

A Pinto is the same as a Mercedes because it's made of steel, has 4 wheels, and an engine. I want $75,000 for my used Ford.

My wife is the same as Elle McPherson because she has hair, tits, and a vagina. My wife should be the supermodel (no, really, honey, I was serious on that last one. No, wait...WAIT!...")

Re:Debunk this - monitors

[Anonymous Coward]

The other benefit of a 19-foot CRT is that you can give free X-rays to the entire neighborhood. Think of the savings on health care!

Re:I dunno..

[operagost]

hair, tits, and a vagina.

For most geeks looking for a girlfriend, that list is followed by the phrase, "Pick any two."

Re:I dunno..

[R2.0]

"For most geeks looking for a girlfriend, that list is followed by the phrase, "Pick any two.""

Hmmm, lets see.

Hair+Vagina-tits - pre-pubescent. No thanks - I like being on THIS side of a jail door.

Hair+Tits-vagina - Pre-op transexual. That's and example of an UNHAPPY surprise.

Tits+Vagina-hair - Sinead O'Connor. RUN!!! RUN AWAY!!!!

Re:For mere mortals there is speed

[RMH101]

hey, why did I get modded funny?

Re:Daylight Savings Time

[Spykk]

It sounds like you need to tighten your tinfoil hat. Clearly the power companies say this so they can reap the rich rewards of an extra hour of artificial lighting.