Local vendors of compact systems

Andrew Malcolmson andzy-bYF1QM81rroS+FvcfC7Uqw at public.gmane.org
Wed Jun 23 15:35:17 UTC 2004


> Is there a local vendor selling Mini-ITX hardware with "College St-style
> pricing?"
>
> I could use a machine that combines small/quiet/inexpensive, where CPU
> power isn't too vital.
>
> If I'm being silly, and should look at some other form factor for
> something that's reasonably compact and cheap, is the better choice
> Mini-ATX or NLX?

Mini-ITX are hard to find retail, so unless you really, really need
small, I'd say micro-ATX is the form factor to go for.

The Athlon Mobile 2500+ seems to be the current favorite for a balance
of cost, speed, and low power (45W max vs. 90W for newest Intels) and
will fit in any Socket A motherboard.  Use it with the power management
features of the 2.6 kernel and it will throttle down when idle.

For lots more info on the relative power usages of CPU's, see
http://silentpcreview.com/article31-page1.html

Computer retails haven't 'got' the lifestyle factors such as size and
noise levels that really should be more important now that it's hard to
distinguish the performance of a new computer from one two or three
years old.  

Bigfoot computers on Dundas east of Jane sells the Athlon Mobile for
about $150, though it might be cheaper elsewhere.

-------------------
Andrew Malcolmson

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