Hardware wise there is going to be a clear demarcation between those purchasing new stuff where they have reached sufficient CPU processing power and are looking for ways to lower noise, power supply consumption, and, especially overall heat. Versus the high-profit margin systems which will continue to require large 110/220V power supplies, large CPU heat sinks, and multiple internal air circulation systems inside the case to dissipate the heat - these dogs are going to be required for gamers wanting to look like they are going fast ...
The folks over at http://www.mini-itx.com/default.asp have advocated the advantages of the VIA EPIA, 7 inch by 7 inch, low power consumption motherboard/CPU. VIA is making headway in the specialty use computer marketplace like powering DVD multimedia systems where your processing loading is fixed by the attached hardware. You will have to wade through www.mini-itx.com/ "how-to" projects until you find one which interests you. First one to see is the "Abstract: This Howto explains how to enable Linux on a VIA EPIA mainboard." at http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=378 Another interesting one is "Roll-Your-Own" Network Attached Storage Device" at http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/tuxserver/ Then for the Windows folks out there take a look at "I needed a small Windows XP machine and a Mini-ITX board was the obvious choice. So I decided to build my "Windows XP Box" in a Windows XP box. The external dimensions of the box are a tiny 243mm x 200mm x 48mm." http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/windowsxpbox/ A complete review of the latest VIA mini-itx is at http://www.pcreview.co.uk/article.php?threadid=4125&pagenumber=1 Stateside a new VIA EPIA mini-itx form factor low-powered PC mobo with processors are in the $89 to $150 price range - depending on what CPU you use and where you buy 'em. 12 volt power supplies are pretty common for them. Here in the states it makes a lot of sense to investigate the mini-itx mobo vs. buying a new P-II 850 MHz Slot 1 CPU which goes for $139. to $189; then you have to buy the Slot 1 mobo (and CPU fan unless your putting it into an air-confitioned office). The mini-itx form factor mobo running without a CPU fan seems to be limited to 850 MHz which is same as top speed for the now SurvPC Intel P-II Slot 1 CPU. The next level up in VIA mini-itx mobo requires a fan and has a 1 GHz CPU. Your stuck with a single 184 pin DDR-RAM slot so your limited to 1 GB of system RAM (which will cost a lot more than 256 MB or 512 MB piece). When I think about several car battery's in parallel with a solar powered recharger you could probably put together a small classroom of say five VIA EPIA 533 MHz computers and a VIA EPIA Nehemiah M10000 1Ghz All In One Motherboard as the server. Then load an Open source OS of your choice (get Steven to brew up a variation of his BasicLinux which could include a GUI and some Open Source Office applications) and go teach the neighborhood kids about computing on a resources shoe string. {Still more powerful than my home K-6, 233 KHz with 256 MB of RAM.} FYI: Latest rumor is Intel's next version of their gaming CPU will have to dissipate as much as 150 watts http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=13421 John Oram Bob George wrote: >John Oram is the low-power PC guy here. He's got some seriously interesting >links if you're seriously interested, not to mention some fun ones where people >have built hi-horsepower systems into old chassis. > > > > > To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
