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Thread: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu box

  1. #21
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    Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu computer

    Hi, it was actually a CP1215 and once I got over to Melbourne and was able to have a look at it myself, I had it re-installed and running faultlessly in less than five minutes. Not sure what happened there as it was running fine when it left here five months prior. All good now. I imagine the CP1210 would respond in the same way as I think it requires the same additional add-on (which you are now invited to add on through HPs' new Linux driver installer - yay, HP!)

    Hope that helps.

  2. #22
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    Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu computer

    Thanks both for the heads up and for the great writeup (even though I'm beginning to suffer from laptop addiction). I'll pray for it working identically to CP1215. Don't wanna end up with an expensive paperweight... Already got 2 Lexmarks (bought against my advice) in the office for that purpose I'm glad that HP has a proper driver installer. They'll be the first our wallet-votes in the future.

  3. #23
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    Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu computer

    I take it all back. Go here:

    http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web...ces/index.html

    There is no cp1210 listed, only the 1215.

    This is the place to be for all things HP and open-source incidentally:

    http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/index.html

    Hats off to 'em. My mother-in-law is very happy with the 1215 and it was about AU$200 in Feb '09. It superceded the 1210 as far as I know. Might pay to call or email HP. Good luck.

  4. #24
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    Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu computer

    Thanks again. I almost pulled the trigger on the buy. Back to the drawing board for me. Might just get an ink-jet instead as we don't do much colour printing (mostly the occasional map/profile for the report).

  5. #25
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    Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu computer

    Interesting read!

    My notebook uses on average 30W with ubuntu and 23W with gentoo/crunchbang. For me, the power usage is more about energy efficiency rather than just conserving battery life since most of the time, I just leave it plugged in with the battery out. The only problem I really have with this notebook (Dell Vostro 1710, Nvidia 8600M GS) is that the hard drive is pretty slow (5400 RPM). I mean, it's great for normal work and even data intensive tasks but it is a real bottleneck when booting up ubuntu. Gentoo and chrunchbang seem to be fine on that front.
    Do you know if faster, more energy efficient disks exist for notebooks? I'm guessing that if I chose the 7200 RPM option when ordering, the power usage would increase by about 7W? I would love to swap it out for an SSD but I can't realy afford one on my student budget.

  6. #26
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    Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu computer

    If looking at a new drive, think carefully about whether your primary reason is performance or energy efficiency.

    If you need a better drive for performance reasons, go for it.

    But if you're chasing energy efficiency, you'll find that the cost of any item is roughly proportional to the resources used to create that item. Therefore although a new drive might use less electricity while running, it will have used more energy to build it (than if you just kept using your old one that has already been built). You are unlikely to ever recoup the purchase price in saved electricity, and likewise are unlikely to ever offset the higher energy usage during production through saved electricity.

    Short version - a new drive, even a more "energy efficient" one, might give better performance, but will be both worse for the environment and worse for your bank balance, however much electricity you save.

  7. #27
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    Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu computer

    I gues you do have a point but if I do want a higher performance and more energy efficient one, would they exist? Or would SSDs be a better choise?

  8. #28
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    Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu computer

    Don't expect higher performance in practice from a SSD. Eventually they should get there but the current performance is similar or only fractionally better than a HD, e.g.
    http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...rd_disk_drives

    Furthermore, they may even use more electricity, although if you get the right one you can save power:
    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...tery,1955.html

    Their main advantage at the moment, as far as I can see, is safety if you drop the computer while the drive is spinning.

    If you're aiming to save money, save the environment, or boost your performance for an affordable price, don't go there yet.

  9. #29
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    Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu computer

    Hmm, good idea. My other thought was to use a CF card with an adapter for the /boot partition but I need to check if my laptop has a spare sata or ide connector.

  10. #30
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    Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu box

    I didn't read the whole thread, but given the hardware addict I am, all I can say is that keeping this kind of a thing up to date, with good bang for the buck and low power parts WILL be possibly an impossible task.

    Good luck trying though.

    Quote Originally Posted by samden View Post
    Don't expect higher performance in practice from a SSD. Eventually they should get there but the current performance is similar or only fractionally better than a HD, e.g.
    http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...rd_disk_drives

    Furthermore, they may even use more electricity, although if you get the right one you can save power:
    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...tery,1955.html

    Their main advantage at the moment, as far as I can see, is safety if you drop the computer while the drive is spinning.

    If you're aiming to save money, save the environment, or boost your performance for an affordable price, don't go there yet.

    First of all, the article is almost 18 months old. SSD's are very fastly evolving area, anything older than a year can be considerd "old".

    The thing with them is that they are expensive. Multi Level Cell(MLC) based drives are generally slower and cheaper than Single Level Cell(SLC) drives.

    http://www.guru3d.com/article/ocz-ve...gb-ssd-review/
    Last edited by Calmatory; September 13th, 2009 at 09:14 AM.

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