The latest statistical data on the number of PCs and servers around the world states that there are more than 3 billion personal computers and 30 million servers in operation as we speak. In fact the number of computers and servers is so great they consume 2.5 per cent of all electricity generated on Earth. This number will only grow with the addition of billions of smartphones and tablets and the development of cloud services.
To counter this trend the US maker of chips AMD has proposed the 25×20 initiative that aims to improve the energy efficiency of AMD APUs 25 times by the end of the year 2020. This task may seem impossible but this is not quite so – the chip company has improved the energy consumption of its own APUs 10 times in just 6 years (2008 – 2014).
AMD envisions three important steps in achieving this goal. First, the company will use more and more advanced tech processes for making its chips that will go well below 20 nm. Second, the future AMD APUs will use the so-called Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) that allows equal access to RAM memory for both CPU and GPU. Third, AMD will implement very advanced algorithms for lowering chip operating speeds; in addition new AMD APUs will enter low power modes easier and faster than before.
Only the future will tell whether AMD will achieve its goal but as of now things look optimistic.
Source: AMD