Friday, July 4, 2008

Dell ships 80 PLUS Gold server

If you're always looking to improve your green credentials, or if you just want to save a few quid on your electricity bill, then an efficient power supply is a must. For servers, the current leading name in this field might surprise you.

Dell announced last week that its new range of servers come equipped with power supplies that meet the 80 PLUS Gold standard of efficiency – and they're the first box shifter to hit the target. Awarded to PSUs that achieve at least 92 percent efficiency, the 80 PLUS Gold standard is set to be a part of the Energy Star 5.0 standard due next year.

Obviously, the company is keen to gloat. Long having been considered the 'safe' bet for cheap and cheerful servers, it's nice to be talking about Dell leading a given market segment again – and no-one is more pleased than the vice president of Power and Infrastructure Solutions at Dell, Albert Esser. In a statement to press, Esser described the company as "designing next-generation Energy Smart technology that reflects customers' feedback, collectively avoids millions of tons of CO2 emissions and drives unprecedented cost savings."

The news isn't all that great for end-users, however: Dell's power supply units have been customised to fit their cases for quite a while, and these new units are no exception. If you're looking for an 80 PLUS Gold standard unit to power your own box, you'll have to look elsewhere – unless you happen to run a Dell server, of course.

Are the efforts made by Dell to gain 80 PLUS Gold certification to be lauded, or should we hold back our adulation until the entire range of PCs sold by the company meet such a lofty goal? Share your thoughts over in the forums.

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