New energy regulations prompt Dell to stop sales of high-performance PCs in six states
Six U.S. states have implemented new regulations on high-performance PCs, saying the energy-hungry computers contribute to increased utility fees and green house gas emissions.
Dell stopped shipping the Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 to six states due to energy consumption regulations.
Following the institution of a California energy bill, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington recently adopted new energy consumption standards that impact sales of certain pre-built PCs, reports The Register.
In response, Dell recently yanked all but two of its Alienware gaming desktop models in the affected regions. The sales stoppage appears to nearly run the gamut of available configurations and includes machines with Intel and AMD processors, as well as those sporting high-end Nvidia and AMD Radeon GPUs.
Disclaimers posted to Dell's website read:
"Yes, this was driven by the California Energy Commission (CEC) Tier 2 implementation that defined a mandatory energy efficiency standard for PCs - including desktops, AIOs and mobile gaming systems. This was put into effect on July 1, 2021. Select configurations of the Alienware Aurora R10 and R12 were the only impacted systems across Dell and Alienware," the company said.
As the regulations apply to pre-configured computers, buyers might be able to skirt the restriction by customizing their order.
A CEC spokesperson told The Register it was not aware of any vendor disruptions in California caused by the Tier 2 rules.
It is unclear if Apple's top-end Mac, the 2019 Mac Pro, falls under the purview of the states' energy consumption restrictions. According to Apple, a well-equipped Mac Pro with a 2.5GHz 28-core Intel Xeon W processor, two Radeon Pro Vega II Duo MPX Modules, 1.5TB RAM, Afterburner card, and a 4TB SSD consumes 302W at idle and a whopping 902W when its CPU is maxed out. Those figures are much higher than specifications quoted by Dell (PDF link) for an Alienware Ryzen Edition that no longer ships to the six states.
As noted by The Register, hardware requirements vary depending on device type and configuration, so it is possible that Mac Pro falls within CEC guidelines.
AppleInsider has reached out to Apple for comment.
California in 2016 approved a pioneering set of regulations regarding energy efficiency limits for computers as the state worked to meet climate policy goals, the report said. A CEC staff report published at the time noted computers and monitors accounted for about 3% of residential and 7% of commercial energy use in the state.
A subsequent study published in 2019 took a closer look at computer gaming and its effect on power consumption. According to the report, gaming PCs in California consumed 4.1 terawatt-hours per year in 2016, equating to $700 million in energy bills and 1.5 million tons carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions. That accounted for one-fifth of all electricity use assigned to the residential "miscellaneous" category.
Within all energy consumed by gaming equipment, 66% went to consoles, 31% to desktops, 3% to laptops and less than 1% to "emerging media streaming devices," the CEC found. Despite accounting for a bulk of California's gaming energy toll, consoles are not affected by the new regulations.
Read on AppleInsider
Dell stopped shipping the Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 to six states due to energy consumption regulations.
Following the institution of a California energy bill, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington recently adopted new energy consumption standards that impact sales of certain pre-built PCs, reports The Register.
In response, Dell recently yanked all but two of its Alienware gaming desktop models in the affected regions. The sales stoppage appears to nearly run the gamut of available configurations and includes machines with Intel and AMD processors, as well as those sporting high-end Nvidia and AMD Radeon GPUs.
Disclaimers posted to Dell's website read:
Dell confirmed the decision in a statement to the outlet, saying California's energy regulations are to blame.This product cannot be shipped to the states of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont or Washington due to power consumption regulations adopted by those states. Any orders placed that are bound for those states will be canceled.
"Yes, this was driven by the California Energy Commission (CEC) Tier 2 implementation that defined a mandatory energy efficiency standard for PCs - including desktops, AIOs and mobile gaming systems. This was put into effect on July 1, 2021. Select configurations of the Alienware Aurora R10 and R12 were the only impacted systems across Dell and Alienware," the company said.
As the regulations apply to pre-configured computers, buyers might be able to skirt the restriction by customizing their order.
A CEC spokesperson told The Register it was not aware of any vendor disruptions in California caused by the Tier 2 rules.
It is unclear if Apple's top-end Mac, the 2019 Mac Pro, falls under the purview of the states' energy consumption restrictions. According to Apple, a well-equipped Mac Pro with a 2.5GHz 28-core Intel Xeon W processor, two Radeon Pro Vega II Duo MPX Modules, 1.5TB RAM, Afterburner card, and a 4TB SSD consumes 302W at idle and a whopping 902W when its CPU is maxed out. Those figures are much higher than specifications quoted by Dell (PDF link) for an Alienware Ryzen Edition that no longer ships to the six states.
As noted by The Register, hardware requirements vary depending on device type and configuration, so it is possible that Mac Pro falls within CEC guidelines.
AppleInsider has reached out to Apple for comment.
California in 2016 approved a pioneering set of regulations regarding energy efficiency limits for computers as the state worked to meet climate policy goals, the report said. A CEC staff report published at the time noted computers and monitors accounted for about 3% of residential and 7% of commercial energy use in the state.
A subsequent study published in 2019 took a closer look at computer gaming and its effect on power consumption. According to the report, gaming PCs in California consumed 4.1 terawatt-hours per year in 2016, equating to $700 million in energy bills and 1.5 million tons carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions. That accounted for one-fifth of all electricity use assigned to the residential "miscellaneous" category.
Within all energy consumed by gaming equipment, 66% went to consoles, 31% to desktops, 3% to laptops and less than 1% to "emerging media streaming devices," the CEC found. Despite accounting for a bulk of California's gaming energy toll, consoles are not affected by the new regulations.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Ummm, calm down Chicken Little and try reading before you start foaming at the mouth. This is about the efficiency of pre-built computers being sold by OEMs. Users are still able to upgrade their systems to whatever they want and desire. So, the entire second half of your rant is moot and asinine.
It feels like going after PC OEMs is clumsy. Dell doesn't design nor make the wasteful components like the CPU and GPU. They're not banning the sale of those parts, so it seems like a loophole. In the end, I don't think these measures will have the impact that the politicians think it will have. I also think there should be net increases in renewable energy sources so that consumption isn't always the solution.
"Such concern about energy efficiency appears to be appropriate given the findings of a 2015 Semiconductor Industry Association report [PDF] that, given a benchmark system of 10-14 Joules/per bit transition, "computing will not be sustainable by 2040, when the energy required for computing will exceed the estimated world’s energy production."
Exceeding the world's energy supply does seem like it might cause problems, no?
I dunno about sales restrictions, but that ridiculous machine should be subject to widespread mockery.
If Dell were still a publicly owned corporation there would have been a crap-storm of major proportions and Dell stock would plummet. I sometimes wish that Apple could go private so it could give the finger to stupidity. Buy me out, Apple! I’m ready.
They've got to start somewhere, and high wattage gaming systems are probably a good place to start - probably better than cycling your AC off during peak load.
Oh, and if you haven't been vaccinated you're an idiot anyway.
I used to think the anti-vaxxers were just endangering themselves, their families, and those close to them - evolution in action - but due to the explosion of infections among the unvaccinated we're getting mutations which can break through the vaccine's protection, spawning variants which are tremendously more infectious. Someone infected with the Delta variant supposedly sheds 1280 times more infectious particles than those infected with the original strain.
The Delta variant comes from India, where most would get a vaccination if one were available - but in the US where vaccines are plentiful there is absolutely no excuse.
You may not die if infected but that's not necessarily true for everyone you pass it on to - and those you infect will pass it on to others. Since no one appears to be doing contact tracing in the US, the only way to limit transmission in this country is to limit the spread through vaccination.
Apologies for the off-topic tirade but this attitude is pissing me off.
SWEET!