Lenovo raises energy-efficiency bar with its smallest, quietest desktop PC

Lenovo has reinvigorated the desktop PC space with the ThinkCentre A61e ultra-small form factor desktop.

As the company` s smallest, quietest and most energy-efficient desktop yet, it has a footprint the size of an average telephone book, whisper-quiet performance and choices of energy-efficient, 45-watt AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core and AMD Sempron single core processors.

Deshan Govender, Desktop Brand Manager of Lenovo South Africa, says the ThinkCentre A61e desktop marks Lenovo`s first product with EPEAT Gold status, the highest designation a product can achieve in the ranking.

"Operated by the Green Electronics Council, EPEAT ranks products on a variety of environmental attributes from energy efficiency to materials use to recyclability," Govender says. "Many organisations use this tool to help make purchasing decisions."

Recognised for its environmental attributes, the ThinkCentre A61e desktop uses up to 90% re-usable and recyclable materials, as well as 90% recyclable packaging. It also can be powered by an optional solar panel.

The desktop surpasses the US Environmental Protection Agency`s (EPA) Energy Star 4.0 criteria, with its 85% efficient power supply. As the first desktop in the industry to run on energy-efficient AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core and AMD Sempron single core processors, it can help users save up to 50% in energy costs annually over previous models (1).

For example:

* One user could save, on average, more than R135 a year in energy costs and the equivalent of the carbon dioxide emissions created by two round-trip plane flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town (1).
* A customer deploying as few as 50 desktops could expect to save more than R6 800 a year in energy costs alone. And it could help avoid more than 10 000kg of carbon dioxide emissions (1).
* A large enterprise deployment of 50 000 desktops could save more than R6.8 million in annual energy costs and cut more than 10 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions (1).

"The importance of maximising energy efficiency and being environmentally conscious is touching all aspects of our daily lives, from the light bulbs we use to light our homes to hybrid cars and the green technology we rely on to run our businesses," Govender says.

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Lenovo is committed to providing an extensive menu of environmentally-responsible, energy-efficient technology choices, and the ThinkCentre A61e desktop is our signature item. For the first time, a major PC vendor has combined small size and consistently quiet acoustics with a lightweight, highly energy-efficient desktop offering at an affordable price.

As energy prices rise, finding ways to control these variable costs through more efficient technology becomes increasingly important.

"Lenovo and AMD have a shared commitment to providing customers the most secure, innovative and energy-efficient computing experience that can exceed their unique business needs," says Greg White, corporate vice-president and general manager of Desktop Division at AMD. "The Lenovo ThinkCentre A61e desktop is an exciting milestone in our relationship as both companies continue to collaborate to raise the bar for PC design and energy efficiency."

According to IDC, the worldwide desktop market grew year-over-year by 4.2% in the second quarter of 2007 with Lenovo growing 20.4% in this period. IDC forecasts worldwide shipments of the ultra-small form factor desktop to grow by 52% from 2005 to 2010.

"Taking up 25% less space than previous models and weighing less than 4kg, the ThinkCentre A61e ultra small form factor desktop fits the shrinking real estate in today`s work environment, making it an especially good fit for customers in education, medical and financial sectors," Govender points out.

"Not only smaller in size, the PC`s typical single, low-speed fan keeps it running cool for ultimate reliability and keeping it consistently quiet whether in idle mode or stretched to the maximum for peak performance."

The ThinkCentre A61e desktop follows Lenovo`s recent introduction of the ThinkCentre A61 desktop in tower form factor to equip enterprise users with leading technologies such as I/O port disablement for security, support for up to four monitors for data-intensive tasks and high energy efficiency by meeting the EPA Energy Star 4.0 criteria.

1. Based on Lenovo and TBR calculations using a single AMD Athlon 64 X2-based processor. Based on a 5% per year increase in electricity rates and on a daily PC usage pattern that includes 70% of time spent in sleep state, 5% of time spent in idle and 25% of time spent in an operational state.