Dell servers aim to save power

Dell has launched two servers, one of which, the company claims, will offer substantial power saving.

The PowerEdge 2970 server comes in a standard version and the second is manufactured with Dell's EnergySmart option, which the company claims will reduce power consumption by up to 34 percent. The latter will also deliver 105 percent greater performance per watt, which is the standard measure for energy efficiency.

In another move away from Dell's normal territory, the servers will use AMD processors instead of Intel. Dell had long shunned AMD, but it now appears to be embracing AMD's technology advances enthusiastically, particularly in terms of energy-saving. Dell based its efficiency figures on tests running AMD Opteron processors against servers running on Intel Xeon processors.

The PowerEdge 2970 rack-mounted servers can handle multiple generations of Intel Opteron processors and will offer an upgrade path to the AMD quad-core processor, which is due out later this year.

The Dell EnergySmart systems use low-flow fan technology, improved power supplies, low-voltage/high-efficiency processors and have a factory-integrated Bios and component combination designed for increased efficiency and air flow. According to Dell's enterprise marketing manager, John Coulston, the server aims to "improving power consumption, space constraints and cooling, while lowering overall lifecycle costs and delivering flexibility".

The PowerEdge 2970 is available now, with prices starting at £1,199. There is no price announced yet for the EnergySmart model.

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