SGI First to Ship 80 PLUS-Certified Single-Output Power Supplies, Allowing Customers to Reduce Energy, Cooling Costs

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (August 13, 2008)—As more organizations look for ways to battle soaring energy costs, SGI (NASDAQ: SGIC) today announced that all its blade-based servers incorporate 80 PLUS® certified power supplies. The certification signifies that all SGI blade servers meet aggressive efficiency and power factor criteria across the full range of operating conditions.

The energy efficiency of SGI servers translates into lower power and cooling costs for customers. SGI servers also reduce the environmental footprint of data centers by significantly reducing carbon emissions associated with powering today’s data centers.

In fact, SGI was the first server manufacturer to ship 80 PLUS certified single-output power supplies for redundant data center applications. SGI® Altix® 4700 and SGI® Altix® 450 servers have shipped with 80 PLUS Bronze certified units since January 2007. SGI® Altix® ICE 8200 has shipped with 80 PLUS Silver certified units since June 2007.

“At a time when utility companies and users alike are increasingly concerned about the financial and environmental impact of today’s computer systems, SGI continues to push the envelope for improved power supply efficiency,” said Geoff Wickes, director, commercial and industrial programs at Ecos Consulting, which manages the 80 PLUS Program. “SGI has distinguished itself as an industry leader by making significant technical contributions to our development efforts. We look forward to our continued collaboration on this important initiative.”

In 80 PLUS tests, SGI power supplies maintain 89 percent or better efficiency[1]. This means for every 100 watts of power running to the SGI blade-based servers, users can typically expect at least 89 watts will be available to run high-performance applications for scientific research, manufacturing, and enterprise computing. Many power supplies still deliver only about 60 watts for every 100, allowing up to 40 percent of supplied electricity to be wasted.

"80 PLUS is doing vital work by providing the industry with an unbiased certification for redundant server power supplies, and we are pleased to be part of this collaborative effort," said Dr. Eng Lim Goh, Chief Technology Officer, SGI. "Power supply systems play a major role in the overall energy efficiency of servers. By blending state-of-the-art technologies with industry best-practices, SGI delivers power supplies that lower recurring operating expenses and environmental impact."

For more than a year, SGI has been shipping servers equipped with 80 PLUS Bronze and Silver certified power supplies. "This serves to validate SGI's early and long-term focus on high efficiency as a key platform design parameter, enabling leadership-class applications performance per watt," Goh said.

For a list of participating manufacturers and certified single-output power supply models, visit http://www.80plus.org/manu/psu/psu_join.aspx and select the “Single-Output” tab.