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>Is it energy waste if it does something productive? To the extent that it’s not a 100% efficient system, yes. A quick search says about 60%-80% of CPU energy
by bumby 2y ago
>Is it energy waste if it does something productive?
To the extent that it’s not a 100% efficient system, yes. A quick search says about 60%-80% of CPU energy is waste heat. On top of that, it’s usually required to be removed by air-conditioning, so there is considerable “waste” even if you value the end product.
A manufacturer doesn’t get to claim all their scrap isn’t really waste because the rest was used to build something meaningful. So tracking waste is still important.
- ipdashc 2y ago> A quick search says about 60%-80% of CPU energy is waste heat. That's an odd metric. Doesn't effectively all input energy leave the CPU as heat (ignoring reactive power and stuff like that)? Is there a theoretical minimum energy-per-unit-computation that makes up that 20%-40%?
- bumby 2y agoThat’s a good point. I’m definitely biased by thinking about it in terms of mechanical work. Some work is getting done, even if it’s just electrons being pushed around in transistor junctions. Maybe sometime with a better background can clarify.