Did Google, Intel Discuss Hotter Chip Specs?

Google’s practices on data center temperature have prompted discussions with Intel, according to The Register, which says Google has asked Intel to certify its chips to operate at temperatures five degrees warmer than its standard specs. Intel denies that it has extended any special guarantees to Google, which buys chips and motherboards directly from Intel for its custom web servers.

The story cites a former Google employee, who also says that using data center containers is ”now the norm” for Google. We reported last week that Google’s patented containers may be among the innovations helping it achieve exceptional energy efficiency ratings.

Google says it can operate its data centers at 80 degrees, and is among a growing number of companies advocating higher cooling set points as a strategy to save on data center power costs.

The Register story is also being discussed at Slashdot.

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About Rich Miller

Rich Miller is the founder and editor-in-chief of Data Center Knowledge, and has been reporting on the data center sector since 2000. He has tracked the growing impact of high-density computing on the power and cooling of data centers, and the resulting push for improved energy efficiency in these facilities.