On Mar 20, 2:38 am, wrote:
On Mar 20, 3:17 pm, wrote:

For $500 you can get a new laptop with twice the disk space and twice
the procesor speed, and a 15" screen. (frys.com, or your prefered
discounter)
I would not in-dash-mount a computer, as you arel likely to replace it
from time to time. Plus, you might like it to be portable sometimes.

Hi Chris;
I see two advantages of a VIA solution for onboard PC over a laptop;
power consumption and fanless, so the motherboard can be isolated from
the marine environment.

Cheers, Jim

Hi Jim,

power consumption is a function of the price (and year) of the
laptop. In the $500 range I wouldn't expect huge differences between
laptop and the VIA box, they will both run on the same (cheap) parts.
[As others said, the screen is by far the largest power draw; included
in the specs you get for the laptop, but not for the box, if I
understand correctly.]

Fanless is nice, but unless you waterproof the box _and_ the sreen,
there is no real advantage over a laptop. You can't douse either
system with sal****er. (Remember, the motherboard is probably cheaper
than the screen. )
Btw., the the laptop fan is not blowing over the motherboard, just
through the heatsink of the processor. (At least in the last one I
took apart.)

I totally agree with Jeff: For ease of use and economics: A laptop.
For high fail safety at a reasonable price: Two cheap laptops, keep
one sealed in plastic as a backup.
For the joy of tweaking and optimizing a neat system: The VIA box.

Have fun,

Chris