* wrote, On 3/20/2007 11:37 PM:
Don't get me wrong, I like my mini-itx machine: I use it every day,
and I keep looking for ways to upgrade it. But bang-for-the-buck, a
cheap laptop beats it easily.

Thanks Jeff; I hear you. The new VIA mini boards (EPIA EX with the
CX700M2 chipset or EPIA EN) look very cutting edge, and cliam 13.2
watts power consumption without the screen as you pointed out.

Laptops are now outselling desktops and they are getting better all
the time. It's the fanless aspect that really appeals to me; perhaps
fanless would work in a purpose-built environment. I haven't
researched laptops yet beyond learning that the newer, faster laptops
use less power that the older, slower laptops.


Check out the "Operating Manual" downloads on the Via website. They
show typical main board power usage under different applications.
Playing a DVD on an EN12000 uses about 14.5 Watts, at idle its 12.3.
Add between 1 and 4 Watts for the EN15000, similar numbers for the EX.

http://www.via.com.tw/download/mainb...PIA-EX_101.pdf
http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/ma...erboard_id=450

However, these numbers are for the board only, and don't include the
disk, dvd player, etc. They don't say how much memory is loaded, and
probably don't have USB devices added. If you run mapping software
connected to GPS and instruments, will that keep the CPU pegged? You
should probably figure on 18 Watts or maybe even higher.

As for laptops and fans, the machines I've had (such as the IBM A30
I'm typing on) run fanless much of the time, turning on the fan as the
CPU heats up.

Since I've gone down the route and been a bit stymied by some of the
issues, in particular the screen, I really curious as to what screen
you plan on using, and what size boat this will be on. In my case,
the general power usage on my boat is so high (90 to 180 AH/day) that
saving one or two AH is of little consequence. I don't run the
computer all day so it isn't a big deal.

I know that many people use PC based navigation software, but it
bothers to rely on Windows for something so critical. But that a
whole separate discussion ...