When Thinking Energy Efficiency, Don't Forget the Memory

It is estimated that memory consumes approximately 15 percent of power in data center server systems today, a figure which is expected to rise with the increased memory requirements needed for virtualization and multi-core data processors. The trend in energy-efficient technology is especially important for data centers because they are always running – 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Until recently, IT and data center managers primarily looked at ways to reduce power consumption with energy efficient processors and power supplies, but they hadn’t looked at the additional savings they can achieve with low-voltage memory.

Addressing this power challenge, Micron last week announced that it is expanding its energy-efficient Aspen Memory module portfolio with the addition of the industry’s first 1 Gb-based DDR3 modules operating at 1.35-volts as well as the industry’s first 2 Gb-based DDR2 modules operating at 1.5-volts; providing the server industry with the lowest voltage DDR2 and DDR3 memory designs for reduced power consumption.