[Nottingham] A quiet compact PC?

[Martin]

On 10/03/14 21:43, Duncan wrote:
> On 09/03/14 12:49, Martin wrote:
>> Folks,
>>
>> Any recommendations/experience of any x86_64 hardware based 'quiet' PCs
>> that are in a small box suitable for bolting onto the back of a monitor
>> or that can be used as a monitor plinth?
>>
>> This is to install Linux ofcourse. And it is to be something a little
>> more powerful/responsive than such as a RasPi.
>>
>> My first thoughts are something along the lines of the AMD "APU" CPUs.
>> Could look at the latest Intel dual-core Atoms.
>>
>> ARM SoCs are still a little too fringe for non-computer-literate use ;-)
>>
>> And all to be in a nice small box...
>>
>>
>> And the various all-in-one style PCs all look to be rather clunky and in
>> any case are unnecessarily knobbled by a restrictive OS pre-installed...
>>
>>
>> Any suggestions/experience/ideas?
>>
> 
> Hi Martin,
> 
> You've been here long enough ;) you know the drill. The more you tell
> us the better the help we are able to give.
>     What usage are you expecting (office apps, HD streaming, running a
> mame cabinet ...) ?

This is for the usual email, web surfing, office docs, and arranging
graphics and photos into collages for printing to a colour laser printer.


>     How hostile is the environment (kids with coke, OAPs with gin ...) ?

Technophobe that is used to the world of Apple as was, 1990's style.


>     Are they existing monitors (needs specific video connectors) ?

HDMI (VGA would be a bonus to use old projectors).


>     CD-ROM/DVD/Audio ?

Audio yes,

CD-ROM/DVD not important.


>     What kind of disk space (local HDD/SDD only or netwroked disks too) ?

Local SSD.


> Below[1,2,3] are some of the X86_64 small box providers I've got on my
> list.  x86_64 small boxes seem to carry a premium compared to
> ARM small boxes.  Remember, the older generations of atom processors
> are x86_32 only.
> 
> Someone else mentioned the Intel Next Unit of Computing[3,4].
> There is an older generation using Sandy Bridge (i[357]-3???)
> and recent update to the spec using Haswells (i[357]-4???).

Do those NUCs not require (irritating) fan cooling?...


> Main memory sharing graphics chipsets are better than they used to be
> but are
> still a poor mans choice compared to dedicated cards (the memory contention
> for desktop graphics can be noticeable even on a lightly loaded system).

That very definitely used to be the case. For DDR3, the GPU/CPU
contention now seems to be less noticeable.

(I'll certainly be keeping with discrete graphics cards for any 'grunt'
machines. However, for a 'silent' or low power system, then 'integrated
graphics' looks to be the best option.)


> The only one I've seen in action is a silent tinygreenpc acting as a
> media server.
> 
> 
> [1] http://www.tinygreenpc.com/
> [2] http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/list.aspx?s=47&ck=104
> [3] http://www.mini-itx.com/store/
> [4] http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/overview.html
> [5] http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-006-IN

Thanks for those.


So far, the best looking 'fit' looks to be:

http://www.saverstore.com/product/20376523/ZOTAC-ZBOX-AD06---Mini-PC---1-x-E2-1800-17-GHz---RAM-0-MB---no-HDD---Radeon-HD-7340---Gigabit-LAN---WLAN---8


Still considering... The main considerations are must be non-laptop and
that there must be no Windows installed!

Will be using a bluetooth keyboard and mouse.


Still looking for possible other contenders.

I'm still looking at the various SBCs for myself. However, a bare SBC
would be far too scary to be 'granny-friendly'!



Suggestions welcomed!

Cheers,
Martin


SBC: Single board computer such as RaspberryPi...

See:
http://nottingham.lug.org.uk/2014/02/raspberrypi-and-multiple-sbcs-desert-arm/4575



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