I am very interested in green computing and in particular, in low-energy PCs. Today, I am going to show you the construction of my own Green computer. Let us begin by looking at the components I bought to build this energy-efficient PC.
We have here a mini-ITX case that comes with its own external power supply, Intel Pinetrail D510 motherboard with dual core Intel Atom processor, Intel 40GB solid-state disk, 2 gigabytes RAM, and finally this Windows 7 Home Premium as the operating system. I made a bootable Windows 7 USB Drive because as you there will be no optical disk on this computer to install using the DVD. You can get these components online or in your favorite computer stores. There are also websites about mini-ITX technology which you could get hints on how to buy hardware.
How to Build
After opening the motherboard, which is the Intel Pinetrail motherboard with an embedded Intel Atom processor, take it out of the anti-static bag. You need to be extra careful in doing this. Now you can see the very large heat sink because the board is passively cooled with no fan on the processor and anywhere else. You also have slots for memory, PCI slot that we are not going to use, and connector for power. Around the back, we have a VGA socket, four USB connectors, network connection, audio jacks, and then connectors for a traditional mouse and keyboard, if they are not going to be connected by USB.
Having acquainted you with the components, let us go on with the build. First thing we need to do is to remove the front panel and then we need to take out screws in the side of the case. Put the I/O shield on the case and put the motherboard inside. This requires more patience because of the size of the case and extra wires inside it. Screw in the motherboard.
You also need to attach the grounding wire in one of the screws of the board.
For the wires inside, first you need to do is connect the power connector. The board only requires the 24-pin power connector. You also need to connect the power switch, front USB, and front Audio connectors.
Next, we will fit the memories. You have two sticks that will make 2 gigabytes of memory for your PC. Again, because of the size of the case, you might face some difficulties in fitting the RAMs. After that, all you need to do is tie all the wires to make it neat and clean.
Finally, you need the solid-state drive. You need to connect the SATA and power connector to it. The case comes with a bracket for hard disk. In our case, we will use a solid-state drive. Screw it to the bracket. Be sure to connect the other end of the SATA connector to the motherboard slot. The drive will be positioned on top of the case with enough space away from the processor heat sink.
Put the cover of the case and the front panel cover again and we are ready for the test. Connect it to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and then we are ready to operate the only moving part of the computer, which is the switch.
You should not hear anything from the computer except the tick when you click the switch.
Boot with the USB drive and you can now install Windows 7 to it.
This PC is a very low-energy PC. It is quiet. It has a low power processor; therefore, it is drawing less power from the outlet. I have tested this with a Power Meter. The computer is just drawing 19-20 watts of power in idle. Most desktops use between 80-150 watts. In web browsing, it uses 19-20 watts and 23-24 watts only in playing videos.
If you want this solution, you also need to consider your monitor’s power consumption. With that said, you need to choose an energy-efficient monitor as well, such as LED monitors.
