Seems some super-zippy latest-generation PCs are banned in California (and some other states) under "energy efficiency" regulations.
They use too much power, for some arbitrary value of too much.
Here's the thing: energy efficiency isn't a matter of using less energy per unit time (i.e., power). Efficiency is a matter of how much work is accomplished per unit of energy consumed. So if a new computer uses 50% more power than the old one, but can complete some epic task (rendering animation, crunching the numbers for a finite element analysis problem, whatever) in half the time, it's more energy-efficient, at least when kept busy crunching on big calculations.
... Flashback to EU regulations forbidding electric tea kettles that use "too much power" without regard to the increase in efficiency of spending less time heating the water and thereby reducing losses.
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