Restricting shipping based on power restrictions

[MHS]

Dell not shipping Alienware to 6 states (including mine) because it potentially falls out of line for energy restrictions.
https://www.pcgamer.com/dell-is-cancell ... us-states/

But what if you have solar or other green energy solutions (hamster on a wheel)? What if you undervolt your cpu and gpus? Texas doesn't have to worry since Dell is based there.

Mods, if this is too R&P for EBG, please feel free to move.

[Isgrimnur]

Extraneous apostrophes not withstanding, discussion has started over here.

[MHS]

Ah, I checked R&P (government overreach!) but not GC.

[Isgrimnur]

No worries. That one stays dormant for long periods.

[Jaymann]

I heard about this.

Computer manufacturer Dell will no longer be shipping high-end Alienware gaming PCS to liberal-controlled states such as California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont or Washington due to new restrictions on “energy efficiency” implemented in July 2021. California will begin banning “computers with high-speed networking capability, multi-screen notebooks, notebooks with cyclical behavior, and monitors with high refresh rates” in December.

Methinks there is something else going on here. I once heard that once a PC is fired up it uses about as much power as a light bulb.

I also wonder how this will affect buying your own components for assembly.

[The Meal]

I've been paying attention to video card wattage for the past few years. YMMV.

[Kraken]

I once heard that once a PC is fired up it uses about as much power as a light bulb.

That was when light bulbs used 100W. My PC has an 800W power supply. LED bulbs use, like, 8W, so I'd be burning about 100 LED bulbs if I ever used its capability, but since I quit gaming I barely sip any of that wattage.

To the larger issue, my uninformed opinion is too uninformed to opine.

[Brian]

To the larger issue, my uninformed opinion is too uninformed to opine.

Maybe this will help. JayzTwoCents has a video that does a pretty good job breaking this down.

Spoiler Alert: There is at least one Alienware system that meets the requirements to be sold under these regulations.

[Kraken]

To the larger issue, my uninformed opinion is too uninformed to opine.

Maybe this will help. JayzTwoCents has a video that does a pretty good job breaking this down.

I get it now, thanks.

[Anonymous Bosch]

To the larger issue, my uninformed opinion is too uninformed to opine.

Maybe this will help. JayzTwoCents has a video that does a pretty good job breaking this down.

Spoiler Alert: There is at least one Alienware system that meets the requirements to be sold under these regulations.

Amen to his conclusion re: the California Energy Commission: "So… the commission that is in charge of this can't even keep their web site up to date."

[Jeff V]

Holy crap. My gaming laptop stays on all of the time, and yesterday, Com-Ed had a summer hours alert and credited me almost $10 for reducing my usage during a peak period. The PC was on the whole time, we were out all day so the air conditioner was off. Maybe they should ban air conditioners?

[Blackhawk]

Holy crap. My gaming laptop stays on all of the time, and yesterday, Com-Ed had a summer hours alert and credited me almost $10 for reducing my usage during a peak period. The PC was on the whole time, we were out all day so the air conditioner was off. Maybe they should ban air conditioners?

First off, watch the video. They haven't banned anything. But as to air conditioners - they restrict those, too. Try comparing an air conditioner now to a comparable one 30 years ago. The kind of restrictions that are hitting PCs now are the same kind that hit AC units in 1993, and we still have air conditioners. They just had to innovate to get the same results more efficiently.

So the electric bill you pay now is less than it would have been without those restrictions, and the power production and all of the pollution that comes with it was also reduced.

Shall we do TVs? Cars? Other large appliances? Lighting?

[Jeff V]

Most of my life was without central air. Now that I've had it, I'm giving it up over my overheated dead body.

[Isgrimnur]

Shall we do TVs? Cars? Other large appliances? Lighting?

[malchior]

This could drive improvements for sure. My AC is 2 times more efficient than the 20 year old one it replaced and my furnace went from a 80% natural gas to 98%. Without a carrot or stick they don't have much incentive to improve.

[Blackhawk]

Most of my life was without central air. Now that I've had it, I'm giving it up over my overheated dead body.

For a good third of my life I didn't have any form of AC, and I still don't have central air. But nobody is asking you to give it up. Or your PC.

[Kraken]

This could drive improvements for sure. My AC is 2 times more efficient than the 20 year old one it replaced and my furnace went from a 80% natural gas to 98%. Without a carrot or stick they don't have much incentive to improve.

We have this program called MassSave that's financed by a small surcharge on everyone's electric bill. One can obtain a free and thorough energy audit that provides some freebies like showerheads and light bulbs and extends discounts on energy-saving improvements...including upgrading fossil fuel burners. If MA is to hit its emissions targets, we can't afford to encourage any more of those. This has sparked a backburner political kerfuffle. MassSave is financed and contracted out by the utilities, who aren't real receptive to dropping their gas heat subsidies. But we've already wrung out most of the possible savings from converting from oil, and the remaining gas efficiency upgrades aren't sufficient to meet our mandated goals. The incentives have become awkward for the state.

[Jeff V]

For a good third of my life I didn't have any form of AC, and I still don't have central air. But nobody is asking you to give it up. Or your PC.

My wife is.

[Blackhawk]

Then get rid of it!

(The wife, of course.)

[Isgrimnur]

Eh, I already lost my pool bet, anyway.

[Pyperkub]

This could drive improvements for sure. My AC is 2 times more efficient than the 20 year old one it replaced and my furnace went from a 80% natural gas to 98%. Without a carrot or stick they don't have much incentive to improve.

And, TBH, GPUs - the primary culprit here, really do need to be more efficient. nVidia in particular has never even really tried to make energy-efficient GPUs, and, while AMD made some highly efficient ones with excellent performance (but the usual crappy drivers) for awhile, they've had to 86 that approach to stay competitive.

[malchior]

Right and GPUs have recently crept into the realm of the absurd power wise. They are bolting leaf blowers onto these things. It'd be not too surprising to see them naturally pivot to performance per watt anyway just to make the designs manageable from a cooling perspective.