Which pentium 4 for low(ish) power

[Richard Ferryman]

I have a new computer which is about half the hight of a mini tower, ideal
for mounting below the chart table. This has two serial ports which is an
advantage over my laptop, so can connect GPS and my radio comms, and has all
the other ports and slots I would need but is supplied without processor,
ram or hard disk etc. The board has a socket 478 for a Pentium 4. The
question is which P4 to optimise power consumption. I suspect that
power dissipation/processor speed is a non linear function and there will be
an optimum processor
speed for both processor power dissipation and cooling fan power consumption
above which energy is consumed at an exorbitant rate.
My old tower system at home would loaf along at about 60W, twice what the
laptop takes, and I suspect the new one will consume about the same when
relatively idle. Naturally I want to keep the power down as it will run
whenever at sea with ust solar panel and wind generator to top up the
battery.

Also does anyone know if any of the 15" LCD displays can run on 12V or will
that have to run off the inverter too?

Richard
G4BBH = G4BBH/MM

 

[Dennis Pogson]

I have a new computer which is about half the hight of a mini tower, ideal
for mounting below the chart table. This has two serial ports which is an
advantage over my laptop, so can connect GPS and my radio comms, and has all
the other ports and slots I would need but is supplied without processor,
ram or hard disk etc. The board has a socket 478 for a Pentium 4. The
question is which P4 to optimise power consumption. I suspect that
power dissipation/processor speed is a non linear function and there will be
an optimum processor
speed for both processor power dissipation and cooling fan power consumption
above which energy is consumed at an exorbitant rate.
My old tower system at home would loaf along at about 60W, twice what the
laptop takes, and I suspect the new one will consume about the same when
relatively idle. Naturally I want to keep the power down as it will run
whenever at sea with ust solar panel and wind generator to top up the
battery.

Also does anyone know if any of the 15" LCD displays can run on 12V or will
that have to run off the inverter too?

Richard
G4BBH = G4BBH/MM

Since none of the applications you will be running at sea will need much
processing power, I would opt for a 1GHZ P4 or less. 15" TFT flat panel
monitors usually have a 12 volt DC connection, but you would be advised to
check this out before purchase.
[/QUOTE]

 

[Matt/Meribeth Pedersen]

Have you considered a Smart Display? These are LCD displays that have a
wireless communication ability so you can get up and walk around without
being tethered to the computer. They are pretty pricey because they are
still a relatively new technology, but they do have some benefits.

 

[mike]

Since none of the applications you will be running at sea will need
much processing power, I would opt for a 1GHZ P4 or less. 15" TFT flat
panel monitors usually have a 12 volt DC connection, but you would be
advised to check this out before purchase.

[/QUOTE]

Did they make a 1Ghz P4? P4 423 pin started about 1.4ghz I think and the
P4 478 pin where 1.6Ghz... again, I think..

If low power is a real issue then a 478 isn't a great starting point, but
still better than P3 and AMD. The low end P4's are going down in price too.
The 400mhz bus P4's all use about 28 watts, there's very little difference
between 1.6 and 2.0Ghz unless you're manually upping the voltages to over
clock. The power requirements of the cooling fan(s) and the hd would be as
significant. The newest video cards can draw more than the CPU too....

 

[Richard Ferryman]

That is useful info. I chose this machine purely on size as it is about the
same as the old 'shoebox' industrial ones I used to work with. With a front
of only about 9" square it will fit the boat nicely. It comes with a mini
atx board that has built in video/audio/network etc. The one I saw running
did not seem to be pushing out a lot of heat. It has two pci slots and agp
but will not need the agp. The pci slots will do nicely for firewire card
and professional audio card which I use for video editing on board (when
moored). The machine would be navigation/comms only when at sea. The video
editing means I have to put up with a second hard drive (120 MB Maxtor) and
a compromise processor. Fast for video editing and low power to minimise
battery consumption. Not exactly compatible! It looks as if I might end up
with about 2 GHz or so
As a guide my laptop is PIII at 1GHz and the built in graphics is fine for
all apps (SiS 630 chipset) and speed just about bearable for video editing
so a 2GHz P4 would be a real bonus. I am going to the other machine as it
is more rugged and expandable, has two serial ports etc. The laptop will
remain as backup and in case of power problems. I can network the two when
necessary. Final backup is the sextant, magnetic compass and clockwork
chronometer - I have worked on computers for over 40 years and still don't
trust their reliability!
Richard

 

[Graham Stephen]

I have a new computer which is about half the hight of a mini tower, ideal
for mounting below the chart table. This has two serial ports which is an
advantage over my laptop, so can connect GPS and my radio comms, and has all
the other ports and slots I would need but is supplied without processor,
ram or hard disk etc. The board has a socket 478 for a Pentium 4. The
question is which P4 to optimise power consumption. I suspect that
power dissipation/processor speed is a non linear function and there will be
an optimum processor
speed for both processor power dissipation and cooling fan power consumption
above which energy is consumed at an exorbitant rate.
My old tower system at home would loaf along at about 60W, twice what the
laptop takes, and I suspect the new one will consume about the same when
relatively idle. Naturally I want to keep the power down as it will run
whenever at sea with ust solar panel and wind generator to top up the
battery.

Also does anyone know if any of the 15" LCD displays can run on 12V or will
that have to run off the inverter too?

Richard
G4BBH = G4BBH/MM

Not remotely what you want, but a complete PC that consumes 2W.

http://www.kontron.com/products/pdproductdetail.cfm?keyProduct=31923

It is cute and I want one. If only I could think fo something useful to do
with it.

Graham

 

[Vassil]

The laptop will remain as backup and in case of power problems. I

can network the two when necessary. Final backup is the sextant,
magnetic compass and clockwork chronometer - I have worked on
computers for over 40 years and still don't trust their reliability!
Richard

Richard,

I will strongly suggest you use the laptop as the primary navigation
computer at sea if you want to minimize power consumption. I am using an
old, tiny Pentium laptop, the Portege 3020CT, Letter size, less than an
inch thick. You cannot beat it for low power and it has plenty of muscle
for navigation, charts, digital music, etc. Get two of those for $250 each
on ebay if you want reliability. They only have a USB port but then you
use a USB to Serial converter to get 4 serial ports for your legacy
sensors.

Keep you desktop to do digital editing when docked. Anything else is a
waste of space/money I think. Better use it to get new sails or something.

Vassil

 

[Richard Ferryman]

Gosh - I wish a new sail was as cheap as the desktop box! For the cost of a
new main I could buy the desktop box, a generator to run it and enough fuel
for 6 months.
Richard

Keep you desktop to do digital editing when docked. Anything else is a
waste of space/money I think. Better use it to get new sails or

something.