The Go Green blog has just published a great article on undervolting your computer’s processor. Now, this is an idea that’s been around for a while, but this new article offers a particularly good, step-by-step description of how to go about it.

Manufacturers factor in safety margins when it comes to the voltage they feed their products. This means that you can feed your processor less energy usually without much adverse effect on performance.

Not only will this reduction in energy cut down on the amount of carbon emitted and save you a few dollars on your power bill, but if you’re a laptop user, undervolting can lengthen your computer’s battery life. To top it off, this also lowers the amount of heat the CPU emits resulting in a cooler, longer-lasting system.