Go green with SSD upgrades

Whether you are an environmental crusader hoping to change the world one hard drive at a time, or you are just trying to save a bit of energy from your overhead, it can pay to be environmentally conscious. Now, thanks to advancements in SSD and DRAM technology, it’s easier than ever for you to save energy and help the environment.
Computers waste a lot of energy. Emissions from data centers show this on a large scale. According to a 2008 report by the Economist, American data centers are responsible for more carbon dioxide emissions per year than the entirety of Argentina or the Netherlands.
According to the report, data centers could exceed the aviation industry in carbon output by 2020.
If data centers can emit so much energy, imagine what the output of a country’s worth of home and business computers amounts to.
“How many other industries are promoting a clean image that, on more critical examination, makes a significant contribution to growth in energy use? And what more can be done to push them to account fully for their carbon footprints?” Experts.
The SSD and DRAM industries have since done just that, making it easier than ever for consumers to upgrade their computer’s performance and be green about doing it.
Several companies have launched green SSD and DRAM lines. Micron offers energy efficient DDR2 and DDR3 DRAM that operate at lower voltages than standard DRAM. The company’s Aspen Memory portfolio offers 1 GB DDR3 modules that operate at 1.35 volts and 2 GB DDR2 modules that operate at 1.5 volts. Standard DDR3 memory operates at 1.5 volts and standard DDR2 memory operates at 1.8 volts.
''The trend in energy-efficient technology is especially important for data centers because they are always running 24 hours a day, seven days a week,'' said Brian Shirley, vice president of Micron's Memory Group.
Another manufacturer recently launched a new line of RAM with low voltages.
“The memory features high 2,133MHz speeds and a low-voltage of only 1.5V. Two 2GB modules are included, totaling 4GB, while DHX+ heatsinks and a GT Airflow module are also included to improve cooling,” Experts.
Even more so than DRAM, solid state drives are at the forefront of energy efficient computing. According to a 2009 study , SSDs could allow "the world’s data centers to reduce their cumulative electricity consumption by 166,643 megawatt hours from 2008 to 2013." According to the study, that is enough energy savings to power a whole country.
Imagine what that could do for your PC.
SSDs use about half the power of hard disk drives, a fact that many manufacturers have taken advantage of to create environmentally friendly storage drives. “[The] SSDs use 1.9 watts of power in active mode and 0.6 watts in idle mode, minimizing power and heat loads,” Experts say about one line of green SSDs. “These ‘green’ ratings tower over typical 15K HDDs, which consume between 8 to 15 watts in active mode and 1 to 2 watts in idle mode. Servers with high-rpm hard-drive solutions lead to increased power bills and larger carbon footprints.”
It’s not hard to install a new storage drive or DRAM. With the technology that is in place, it’s easier than ever for you to make your computer environmentally sound while increasing its storage capacity and speed. You might save some money while doing it, too