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Low energy use always on pc -- what's better, a laptop or a mini (htpc) pc?

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JavaJones:
none of you have actually addressed my 2 explicit concerns:
1) power usage? (is one much higher than the other?)
2) longevity of device? (is one more likely to outlast the other if they are on 24/7?)

the portability and built in screen on a laptop is a plus, but not a showstopper.

since the device does not have to be placed in a really tiny space, i dont need a really tiny beagleboard type thing; in terms of size, a mini-itx would be fine, as would a laptop.
-mouser (March 30, 2010, 05:16 PM)
--- End quote ---

Well, it's a tough thing, hehe. Here's my best answers:

1: Generally speaking an equivalent laptop hardware-wise is going to use less power per component because they're all optimized for super low power, *including the PSU*. So an Atom-based laptop or netbook will generally use less power than a desktop of equivalent specs, *especially* one with a separate LCD monitor. That being said, if you go for all low power desktop components, you can get close or perhaps even beat a laptop, with a carefully configured build.

The average laptop uses between 10 and 20 watts of power at idle, some less. That goes up to 30-60-ish when under full load, depending on the laptop and CPU. When charging and running at the same time, it's more, but that's not likely to be a common thing in your usage scenario.

Atom-based netbooks/laptops generally use even less, of course. Idle is 5-10 and load is up around 20-25. e.g. http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/dell-inspiron-mini-im1012/4505-3121_7-33970177-2.html?tag=txt;page
Asus Eee is the stand-out here at least than 20w at load:
http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/asus-eee-pc-1005peb/4505-3121_7-33970187-2.html?tag=txt;page

Remember also that these numbers include the display! A comparable desktop, even super low power, will use similar levels of power *without the display*. Cnet actually has some good power usage info in its reviews, as you can see above, and they do desktops too. Here's an Atom-based desktop review and you can see the power usage is actually fairly comparable, but again remember this is without the monitor:
http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/acer-aspire-revo-ar1600/4505-3118_7-33777218-2.html?tag=txt;page

Here you can see an all-in-one Atom-based system with very low power use, and it includes the monitor of course. Still more than a netbook, but the screen is probably larger, so that may account for some: http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/emachines-ez1601-01/4505-3118_7-33721162-2.html?tag=txt;page

2: Unfortunately point #2 contradicts #1 which is that laptops tend to be less reliable over the long term *and* are more expensive and more difficult to fix if they do break (generally speaking). Still, most of the wear of a laptop is in moving it around and having exposure to lots of dust on a regular basis. If you keep the air paths clean, keep the bottom and sides well ventilated, and don't move the laptop around much, it has a good chance of surviving for an acceptable amount of time.

As for size, it's not the fact that the small boards are small that makes them appealing, it's just that a helpful byproduct of size is generally lower power use as well. Hence the mini-ITX approach vs. full-size ATX. The tiny size is not a requirement, but smaller size does enable as well as generally go along with lower power use in the market.

If it were me I'd get the laptop just for versatility, unless you already have one, or you really want to tinker with a hardware project. The laptop option will generally be faster and easier and get you closer to the results you want in short order, but the hardware build would be more challenging and potentially enjoyable. If it's the software side of things you really want to tweak, the laptop will give you the quickest, easiest platform to do that.

- Oshyan

mouser:
thanks JJ -- very useful  :up:

Carol Haynes:
I would say a micro-tower type would be your best bet in terms of reliability and longevity as it is easy to fix if anything goes wrong (not true of a laptop). Also micro-towers are easier to use passive cooling whereas laptops generally have to have fans kicking in all the time to keep them at sensible temperatures.

A micro tower isn't going to be as energy efficient as a laptop but by chosing sensible hardware (such as using onboard sound and graphics, not too much memory or ultra fast CPU, bare minimum of anything else and keeping drives to a minimum and use slower models) you should keep power to a minimum and mean you don't have to run a very powerful PSU. I would guess the extra running cost is likely to be easily outweighed by the purchase price and potential repair costs.

The Atom is an interesting idea but I have never used one so can't really offer constructive comments on that.

Eóin:
here's another idea, the Viewsonic VOT132. iI admit it doesn't address either power or longevity questions but one cool feature is CUDA and you did say you're interested in running simulations and generated art on the display.

40hz:
From my experience, unless you already own or plan on cannibalizing an existing laptop, I'd go with a mini-PC. Reliability is just not there when it comes to a laptop that's being run 24 x 7.

One alternative worth looking into is some of the new "net top" systems.

The only one I've had direct experience with is made by a company called CompuLab. They make a line of net tops marketed under the name fit-PC. The model I'm familiar with is the Slim XP model. This got used as a small office media server by one of our clients.

The Slim XP is a 4x5x1.5 box w/60gb HD, 512 RAM, E-Net and WiFi connections that came to about $250 including a copy of Windows XP Home. Power consumption runs around 6W max. Very nice product.

They've since upped the ante with a  newer line that packs more RAM, bigger HDs, Gb NICS, and faster processors. They have Linux and Windows (including Win7 Pro) based systems, along with some "bare-bones" configurations. Power consumption is still below 10W.

Link to fit-PC main site:  http://www.fit-pc.com/web/

We bought the one we installed through CompuLab's storefront on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&me=A3J2VUK9571N8X

A recent in-depth review of the new fit-PC2 model can be found over at the Phoronix.com website.

Link:  http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=compulab_fitpc2&num=1

Video presentation on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtM8ScjjwnA



Cool tools.  8)

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