Via readies 'carbon-free' PCs

Via Technologies is working with two computer makers in the U.K. to offer systems under a program designed to reduce the environmental impact of PCs.

Evesham Technology and Tranquil PC Ltd. will both produce systems based on Via's C-7D processor, the Taiwanese chip vendor said. Billed as a carbon-free processor, the low-power C-7D is available in version that run at clock speeds of 1.5GHz and 1.8GHz. The processors are sold with a commitment by Via to offset their environmental impact through a partnership with Carbon Footprint Ltd., a U.K. group that offers to plant trees and undertake other measures intended to offset the production of carbon dioxide by industry.

Evesham's Crusader Carbon 3 PC includes a C-7D processor, 256MB of memory, a 40GB hard disk, and a 15.4-inch widescreen LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor. The system, which runs Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition operating system, costs £299 ($555).

Specifications and pricing of Tranquil's C7-D system were not immediately available.

Via measures the environmental impact of a processor by its TreeMark rating system, which is based on the amount of carbon dioxide that is produced to generate the power needed by the processor. This figure is then divided by the rate of carbon sequestration to determine how many trees are required to offset the carbon dioxide produced over the life of the tree. The formula that Via uses to calculate this rating can be found online here.

Both versions of the C-7D have a TreeMark rating of four. By comparison, Via claims that the average desktop chip has a rating of 28.