PC for a narrowboat

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23-06-2005, 01:27 PM
oshta

PC for a narrowboat

I've been thinking of geting a nice SFF rig based around a lowpower Epia eden set up.
- Then i though about what i could use it for, and ditched the idea :heckle:

Then somone on anther forum (about canals, of all things) mentioned the possblity to use a PC/laptop as a home entertainment unit, in a narrowboat. Bingo, perfect excuse!

So, this is just a quick system i knocked up as a start.
- It has to play DVDs, CDs, and MP3s, watch and record TV, and power a 5.1 surround setup, and run directly of a 12v system. (an cost under £600)

Code:

MOBO/CPU - VIA EPIA SP 13000 Mini-ITX Motherboard 1.3Ghz * £151.58 RAM * * *- TwinMOS PC3200 DDR-DIMM 512MB CL2.5 * * * * * * *£33.01 CASE * * - Mini-ITX - Vehicle Case 12V - Black * * * * * * *£88.13 HDD * * *- Seagate Barracuda 160GB 7200rpm 2MB Cache * * * *£44.46 DVD-RW * - NEC DVD recorder Slimline (Dual) * * * * * * * * £56.00 TV CARD *- PowerColor ATI Theatre 550 Pro TV Tuner * * * * *£70.44 K/board - Logitech Cordless Desktop Kbrd/M (Black) PS2/USB £25.67 * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * ** * Total: (inc vat) £469.29 Or to use less juice, you could use the Seagate Momentus 80GB 2.5" laptop hdd (£116.33)

Does that look about right, other than the fact ive gone over budget already, but i can work on that. (done)
- Also, it would then be hooked up to a 3G phone, and would have skype installed, with a dedicated skype usb phone. So it would sure the net and make calls wirelessly.

Daniel
23-06-2005, 01:35 PM
scotty6435

If you can bear a slightly larger setup I'd seriously go for a 3.5" HDD (in the 400gig range) and a normal sized DVD drive. They're both a lot faster and the extra capacity will allow you to store a lot of media. Don't forget XP media edition :)
23-06-2005, 01:47 PM
oshta

One thing i was thinking is power consuption, the 2.5" ones 2/0.9watts, and the 3.5" are 12/7w (seek/idle)
- Although a 80GB drive is a bit small if your going to be recording onto it much.

Simularly, the DVD-drive, which proberbly wont get much use anyway, but geting a fullsize one would also keep the cost down a lot.
23-06-2005, 01:47 PM
Mike Fishcake

scotty - i think the power consumption is the issue here, not the physical size.

If you want to keep it below £600, i'd personally get a slower version of the mobo, and surely there must be a cheaper PCI TV card?
23-06-2005, 01:49 PM
Mike Fishcake

Also, the RAM that's in there? What size is that? 1GB? 512 should be plenty for a HTPC.
23-06-2005, 01:50 PM
Atomic

Running off of 12v, that'll be fun...
23-06-2005, 01:51 PM
oshta

Yeah, there are cheaper TV cards, but i was attracted to the haradware mpeg1&2 encoders, although, it is noted to draw a fair bit of current in itself.
23-06-2005, 01:54 PM
Mike Fishcake

Erm, how are they displaying / listening to the output?
23-06-2005, 01:59 PM
oshta

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Fishcake

Erm, how are they displaying / listening to the output?

On a 12v TFT TV, using the motherboard TV output.
23-06-2005, 02:05 PM
Rave

512MB will be easily enough, and that price is well over the odds for a 1GB DIMM anyway....as is the DVD drive:

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=309824&cks=PRL

Edit: and to be honest a £4-500 Celeron-M laptop (bung in more RAM and HD as necessary) would be pretty much as capable and a lot less hassle. You'd lose the hardware MPEG card but gain a lot more processing power.
23-06-2005, 02:14 PM
oshta

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rave

512MB will be easily enough, and that price is well over the odds for a 1GB DIMM anyway....as is the DVD drive:

Ok, thanks for the link.

edit: are the komplett prices inc vat, i cant rember
23-06-2005, 02:26 PM
schmunk

Quote:

Originally Posted by oshta

edit: are the komplett prices inc vat, i cant rember

Yes they are
23-06-2005, 02:52 PM
oshta

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atomic

Running off of 12v, that'll be fun...

And why not?
- If you can run a 2kw microwave, and a dishwasher of 12v.
23-06-2005, 11:02 PM
oshta

Made a few alterantions, now comes in for well under £600, although im not sure the spec'd PSU will cope with the 3.5" HDD.

- Better now?

Daniel
23-06-2005, 11:31 PM
Mike Fishcake

Spec looks fine, though I suspect your reservations about the HD are probably correct.

You might actually want a price check on an 80GB 2.5" HDD. Dont think you need 5400RPM for a HTPC...

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Product...07&GroupID=209
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=79229
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=165185

or you could get a 100GB:
http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/comp...quicklinx=3HD2
24-06-2005, 01:04 AM
oshta

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Fishcake

Spec looks fine, though I suspect your reservations about the HD are probably correct.
- You might actually want a price check on an 80GB 2.5" HDD. Dont think you need 5400RPM for a HTPC

Yeah, thanks.
- There a fair bit cheaper, about £1-a-GB, which is good.
- And as you say, 4700's more than enough really.

Daniel
24-06-2005, 11:15 AM
scotty6435

Fair enough a 3.5" HDD will pull another 10 watts of power but put it this way: Look a the power rating of a single lightbulb.... think the generator can take it? :P You're going to be kicking yourself if you get an 80 gig HDD and the slim DVD will cost you £100 more on top of the price of a similar spec full-sized drive.

If you want a small, power efficient system just get a laptop witha USB 2.0 TV card :)
24-06-2005, 11:41 AM
Mike Fishcake

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotty6435

If you want a small, power efficient system just get a laptop witha USB 2.0 TV card :)

That's probably the most sensible option, and more flexible as well.
24-06-2005, 12:10 PM
autopilot

On the power side, if it's a 12v DC suply it will be worth looking into the growing in-car PC scene. More specifically the Opus 150W Car PSU or simular. With that you don't need the energy wasting DC to AC then back to DC convertion. Makes a massive difference in power consumsion and you will be able to run it for much longer periods without the engine/generator running.

http://www.karputer.co.uk/karputer.php
http://www.stevieg.org/carpc/

That said, i would go with a laptop. You can carry that up onto the deck/roof and enjoy some PC action while sunbathing ;)
24-06-2005, 05:33 PM
oshta

Yeah, i agree that the laptop would be more flexable, and possabley better.
- I was tring to condider all angles and possabiltys.

Scotty. I know 10w is a huge amount, but it all addes up, the whole room is only lit with an 11w lamp! - And tis not running off a genny, its runing off batterys, charged up during the day of the engine.

Dom. The case i was planning to use is the "Cubid 3677 Mini-ITX Vehicle Case 12V" which uses the Morex 60 or 80w 12v PSU. Very simular to the Opus, only a bit more PC-like. - Thanks very much for the links tho.

Daniel