On 8 Aug 2004 21:36:41 -0700, (Rolf) wrote:


I think the problem with a desk top PC on a boat is that they are
power hogs. If a desk top PC uses 240 W, that is 20 Amps at 12 V. That
is a lot of power. If you use an inverter then you also have the
losses of the inverter. I think people use a Laptop because they use
much less power. I personally would love to use a desktop PC because
they are much cheaper and componenets are much easier to replace, but
the power consumptions is preventing me from going that route.
Does somebody have an solution to this problem, ie a desk top PC that
uses the power of a Laptop?

Don't confuse the power supply rating of a PC with the average power
consumption. They may be rated 240 watts and are capable of delivering
it but to use it you would have to add a bunch of accessory cards,
fans, drives, etc. A given processor uses a given amount of power
regardless if it's in a desktop or laptop. According to Via, a low
power processor manufacturer, a 1GHZ Celeron processor has a maximum
power consumption of 27 watts. Yes, there many laptops with low power
consumption processors but some laptops have a regular processor in
them.

For the original poster, if you want to use 12v be sure it's regulated
to the specs of the computer.. Also a flat screen display is
beneficial. I think they have the same power use as an equivalent
display in a laptop.

Does somebody have an solution to this problem, ie a desk top PC that
uses the power of a Laptop?

Look at: http://www.argonautcomputer.com/minicomputer.htm It is a little
pricey but is possible solution or
https://www.cybernetman.com/default.cfm?DocId=617