Building a green PC to be a part of the global warming solution

The global warming today has taken the word on plunge it is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, which absorbs heat and did not let it to escape in the atmosphere. The major contributor to these are cars, factories and power plants which do most of the damage, the computer is at least partially to blame.

A computer uses 200 to 400 watts of power supply, depending on its configuration and usage. By comparison, where as a refrigerator uses about 725 watts, but a DVD player uses only 25 watts, and your TV is right around 100 watts. A high-performance gaming rig with a powerful graphics card, multiple hard drives and optical drives, a flash memory reader, and a 30-inch LCD might consume as much as 750 watts! Leave such a swine running constantly and you might see an extra $40 to $50 on your monthly electrical bill. Jesus.

Still the consumption on the end of a PC is only part of the concerned problem. The manufacturing procedure for computer parts also has a consequence. The typical computer these days contains significant amounts of lead, which is used in soldering motherboards, processors, and other parts. Since the average lifespan of a PC is just three years—according to the EPA—the toxic effects of disposal are quite high.

But it is not that we are right there with only the concern to the global warming measures are being taken in Europe, set of laws for lead-free computing such as RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), are designed to trim down the effects of hazardous waste. Yet many U.S. PC makers have all but ignored the problem.

That's where you can help. Building a green PC means you can be branch of the solution by using all lead-free parts that are also more energy-efficient.