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Last post Author Topic: Low energy use always on pc -- what's better, a laptop or a mini (htpc) pc?  (Read 33,667 times)

40hz

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@Eóin- re: Wonk


Quote
Slang Dictionary
wonk definition
[wɔŋk]

  1. n.
     an earnest student. (Collegiate.) :

     Yes, you could call Martin a wonk. In fact, he's the classic wonk.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.

8)


Even more "off topic" comment follows. Please feel free to ignore. :Thmbsup:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
In an article from way back in the early days of personal computing, proto-guru Don Lancaster divided the computer world into two camps: the hard & the soft.

The software wonks preferred to fix everything by writing thousands of lines of code, even though adding a simple five cent NOR gate to the logic circuit board would have fixed the problem better.

The hardware wonks, on the other hand,  preferred to wirewrap a few bushel baskets worth of ICs to handle something even if that something could be just as easily accomplished by adding a few lines of code to the kernal.

His point was that you really needed to mix the best of both camps in order to produce an affordable and efficient personal computer. Something Steve Wozniak and company did when they came up with the Apple][. Something IBM did even better when they decided to create their first PC using an existing OS (of sorts  ::) ) and nothing but cheap "off the shelf" hardware instead of the proprietary and custom components they usually used.

It was a classic example of an optimal "build vs buy" decision.

And that decision created an industry that changed everything about the way we communicate, work, and play.

And all in less than 20 years!

Some decision, huh? :)


« Last Edit: March 31, 2010, 08:51 PM by 40hz »

wraith808

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I've always had my laptops on 24x7 and haven't had any problems with any of them (other than the one my ex had put a picture on and turned off the power management so it had one picture on the LCD for weeks... burned in (and out) the lcd.  but the other components still worked)  So IME having the laptop on continuously won't be a problem.

40hz

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I've always had my laptops on 24x7 and haven't had any problems with any of them ...So IME having the laptop on continuously won't be a problem.

I have one client that buys nothing but laptops for its employees.

For the most part, these machines get docked and turned on (and stay docked and turned on) for as long as the employee has it. About the only concession to power management is that they blank the screens after 20 minutes via the screensaver; and everyone shuts the lid to put their machine into standby mode at the end of the day. It's very rare that they get completely shut down. Or used as portable devices for that matter.

Only three or four people in sales will actually tote them around. And nobody ever takes one home or on vacation. Ever. Period.

(Apparently, there's this big CEO-endorsed "company 'culture" thing about not taking work home. ..must be nice... ;D)

I don't go much past two weeks without at least one of their laptops experiencing hardware problems. (And FWIW - they're running nothing but 'top of the line' HPs and Thinkpads.)

So can I maybe clone you a few dozen times - and then have you replace this client's entire workforce?  :mrgreen: Or if not, can you at least share with me what brand(s) of laptop you're running? Anything has to be better than what this client is currently buying.

Thx!  :)



« Last Edit: March 31, 2010, 08:37 PM by 40hz »

wraith808

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Ick... Thinkpads and HP.  When I was running those, I did have problems.  But I went to Dell, and had no problems... and now my wife and I are running VAIOs.  I've had mine on pretty much continuously as a desktop replacement since October, and before I moved in October, had it up in the same capacity for a year before that.  I've only actually used it away from home at a LAN party... a 17" widescreen is pretty nasty to carry around.  My wife's is actually my old laptop, so I've had it since 2005 or so... never had a hardware problem, and the only software problems I've had are her picking up a virus from one of those Myspace games.  She has had it docked as a desktop replacement since we moved- before that she used it as a laptop most of the time... but that's still 6 months+ plugged in and on 24x7.

4wd

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My old Acer Travelmate 2201 ran 24/7 for several months, (7+), without a problem until I put together my EPIA Mini-ITX system to replace it, (power usage is <18W under load).

I have to say I have a preference for the Mini-ITX(DTX) boards over mATX now that I've built a couple of systems using them and their capabilities have come a fairly long way since the early days of the EPIA.

The fit-PC reminds me of the Dell Optiplex SX260, IIRC, which used laptop components and was user non-upgradeable - I guess I must be a hardware wonk since I don't imagine me buying a 'sealed' unit over constructing my own, (except for (net|note)book of course) :)

For your experiment, why not jump onto ebay and see if you can pick up a used working Atom based netbook for under $100 - that'll get you a complete system including monitor and battery backup.
Asus EeePCs and Acer AAOs are rather plentiful and I have to say that I haven't actually used my old Travelmate 15" laptop since I got the AAO.
"I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail." - Muriel Strode, 1903

SchoolDaGeek

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Here is a nice one for $188.

http://tinyurl.com/y4k2nja
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

40hz

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Here is a nice one for $188.

http://tinyurl.com/y4k2nja

Nice find!  I'm already thinking of uses... :Thmbsup:

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