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I built one of the mini-itx systems, using the ME6000 motherboard. The claim of "no
fan needed" is a bit overstated, since if you work it hard it will overheat unless the ventilation is perfect. I played with a number of fans to find the minimal (i.e. quietest) for my case and ended up with a small cpu fan. The software from VIA was also disappointing - I don't think they have ever supplied a driver that properly plays a DVD movie taking full advantage of the built-in decoder, though I have found a combination that's not too bad. Also, I had a lot of trouble running with win98 - all is well with xp. Also, the processor speed lags mainstream offerings. I think they're up to 1.2 GHz, but that won't be fanless. On the plus side, the case is the size of a laptop. The power consumption is under 20 Watts. It has all of the modern connections: firewire, USB, etc. It has two PCI slots and can handle normal drives, though you'll probably want notebook style slim DVD drives and 2.5 inch disks. If you want a dedicated system to run nav software, you can make a fairly small package, the size of a car radio. And best of all, you can open it up and swap out components just like a desktop box. "Eric Currier" wrote in message news:0Okid.98401$tU4.30551@okepread06... I've been looking at the same thing, putting a computer on my boat. But my boat is a smaller 21' trailer-sailor and there is only a small chance that I'll be in salt water. I've been looking at a mini-itx board, these are very small motherboards and use very little electricity, some of them don't even need cooling fans so the motherboard could be mounted in a watertight enclosure with only the heatsink exposed to the air. These motherboards run about $150.00 with CPU chip (aprox 1Ghz) and they also have adapters to run on 12V power. These motherboards also have monitor out, video out, USB, audio out, network (10/100), and the normal seriel ports. If your interested do a Yahoo search for "mini-itx", they have a great site with lots of information. I also own one of those waterproof keyboards, they are great for wet/dirty areas (I got a $200.00 award for suggesting they use them at work) the only problem with them is that the keys are not quite as responsive as normal keyboards and typing with them is slower and slightly less accurate. I would use an optical mouse, find one with a sealed bottom and if you are really worried about water add a saran wrap type covering over the top (rules out wheel mouses). The hard drive and optical drive could be mounted in waterproof enclosures with the only possible problem being heat build up, as I intend to be sailing in mostly fresh water I do not plan on using a waterproof container, but will mount them in an way to reduce the chances of rain/splashes hitting them (maybe in a cabinet). The entire motherboard, power supply, hard drive and optical drive should take up the same amount of space, or less, than a shoe box. I will probably go for a LCD screen mounted so I can see it from the helm, I have a Deluo GPS antenne and mapping software that will let me use it as a navigation package. I love the MP3 music format, a single CD-ROM can hold about 10 hours of music and Winamp is a great MP3 player, the ITX has the normal audio out ports so that it can be hooked into a stereo system (even a car/boat 12V system), because the ITX format also has TV out, I plan on adding a small 13" Tv in the cabin and with a DVD-ROM drive, I will have a small entertainment center. With a large enough hard drive you could store hundreds of hours of music and with software such as Virtualdrive you could store any number of DVD movies (and not even need a CD/DVD-ROM drive). The ITX board also has a network port built-in, because I plan on storing the boat at home I plan on being able to plug it into my home network. If I do store my boat in a slip (a possiblity) I will be able to load data on my laptop, hook into the network port, transfer the data, and leave the laptop safely on dry land. This will let me upload music and movies or any other data to the harddrive before I leave for a sail and have a huge selection while I'm sailing, but a CD/DVD-ROM drive will let me have even more choices enroute. I do not intend to imply that music, movies and entertainment are more important than sailing, my system is intended to aid in navigation while underway, supply music if desired and make my time aboard as relaxing and enjoyable as possible. All of this at the lowest possible price, with as much reliability as possible. Eric "Phil" wrote in message om... I bought a Dell a few years ago and bought the extended warranty. I asked if it covered water damage like if it fell in the ocean and they said as long as I went in after it they would warranty it. Another option if you have the room is a desktop with a flat screen. Dell had new ones for $450 + - with a free upgrade to a 15" LCD |
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