Some US states tightening power consumption requirements for high-end gaming PCs

didn't they already try this with drugs?...how did that turn out.

 

https://www.semiconductors.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Decadal-Plan_Interim-Report.pdf

SRC is basically saying by 2040 semiconductor power requirements will outstrip total global power supply. Due to that there is a large push by a consortium of companies to reduce overall power usage. The CRC used this as guidance in 2016 to implement a bunch of restrictions on PC usage. Since that time California in particular sees 7% of its total energy usage going to computers/monitors - this is simply a tightening of restrictions put in place in 2016. I don't see the issue.

It's slowing but not in decline.

Limit no, massively tax the frack out of them? Yes.

That being said CA building code has restrictions on power usage in newly constructed homes, including requiring solar power installation. Various other government bodies have other power restrictions - an example I saw on reddit was EU puts a cap at 900w for vacuums sold after a certain year. These caps and policies mostly lead to efficiency improvements in the various items they effect.

I don't see the issue.

 

Why is Vermont doing this? As far as I know, they don't have an energy supply problem, or a pollution problem.

In any case, this is a really bad move. I think it'd be fine if there was a tax applied to these PCs, where you're still allowed to buy the product but discouraged in doing so. The money earned by that tax could be used to plant trees, or fund a power plant that doesn't run on fossil fuels. But to outright prohibit the sale is just plain stupid. Both the companies and customers lose in this situation, and since each of these states except Oregon have sales tax, the state loses too. High-end gaming PCs may draw a lot of power but they aren't a threat to the grid.

If this is supposed to be in response to miners, they aren't buying Dells...

 

New York City will be underwater by 2020

Al Gore, 2001

 

Maybe they should start taxing electric cars then. Pulling 5KWH from the grid (for many many hours at that) is much more taxing than the occasion 400W-800W or so that a PC pulls.

 

I thought this thread couldn't get any dumber then I came across this absolute gem, thank you.

 

Eh, some regulations make sense given their payoff or are present to prevent powerful groups/individuals from screwing over everybody else. Not all regulations really make a ton of sense though and a regulation like this is dumb -- I have no other words for it. I can see why they said it limits people's "free will" in the sense that you can't make certain choices anymore without a hassle. Sometimes this is necessary, sure, but in this case? Nah, they need to find a better way to regulate mining if that's their aim.

As for forcing companies to make more power efficient products, unless way more states hop on board this and other countries join in, it's not gonna change the design targets for PC components. They sell out their top end ones anyway these days and people will just go a state over to pick it up. It solves nothing as it is except to serve as a big annoyance.

 

actually they will give you $7500 free "tax payer dollars" if you buy an electric car.

go do the math on that one.

could you imagine a world full of lithium battery-powered Vehicles only!

 

DIY + Me = not worried at all

 

I'm not in a state that's affected by the change, but I still think it's reasonable to upset about this type of policy. One doesn't personally have to be affected by something to be opposed to it after all and who knows if this sort of policy will be enacted by other states/countries down the line. If my state ever ended up implementing something like this, having to drive a state over for a prebuilt or for parts is something I'd do to work around it, but my god that would be irritating. I would bet this is aimed at crypto mining, but if that's the case I wish they'd just find a better way to tax crypto gains or some such rather than screwing over PC gamers.

 

In my state they make you pay more in taxes since if you have an electric car they assume you're not buying gas and therefore not paying the built in gas taxes lol.

I'm not super in the know on electric vehicles since I frankly can't afford one (the prices are mostly very high where I live and there aren't many electric charging stations -- I rent so no way to charge there either I don't think), but one thing I wonder about now that I think on it is how the lithium ion batteries age and how much they cost to replace. For example, a smart phone with a lithium ion battery decays over time and you usually will have to replace the battery in 2 or 3 years.

 

Oh I know. I've probably said too much on here already, lol. Don't me started down that road.

 

yea, me to....wouldn't want to trigger the tree-huggers with facts.

what about them California wildfires?...

 

Guys I think they're onto us

Instead of just speculating into the ether why not just google "cost to replace electric car battery" and "expected lifetime of electric car battery"???????

Well it's a good thing individual parts are unaffected then huh

I wonder if it could be some kind of global problem that spurred them on. I think we're getting warmer.

 

Ya, I thought of that a while ago. SOK someone can have my kid that I didn't have thank god.

 

Mixing politics with tech can cause temporarily or permanent banning, advertisement, name calling and trolling.
Please avoid mixing those two.
Caution, mods are watching.

 

Correct!....around my parts we call it summertime...But hey, give it 6 months it will be freezing here.

 

Ok so if one wants a high power PC in these states they will need to build it themselves.

 

This is my hope forces them all to make faster gpu/cpu WITHOUT jacking up the wattage to do so