[sunandoghosh]

Laptop substitute - indigeneous idea...!!!

Hi everyone,

I always wanted a laptop but still till date it seems there will never ever be a situation where i will purchase one with the configurations i want...(2 GB RAM; atleast 80 GB HDD; etc etc)...as budget for laptop that i desire will run in almost two thousand dollars...

Now I am thinking of an alternative and need to know what u people think about it...???

MY SITUATION:

I travel say to a different city and stay there for say 1-2 months...then again move to a different place and so on...this essentially means that I am mobile but staying at different locations for longer periods...

WHAT I AM THINKING:

I need basically a computer system when I am say in city A for 1 month and again in city B for say 2 months like this...its NOT that i need it while travelling in train/ air for that day...

SO what if i purchase say.....

A. a FLAT MONITOR (may be 15" or 17") along with

B. APC 500 VA UPS (which acts as laptop battery for me) and

C. The smalllest available cabinet (CPU Box) so that I can put 2 GB RAM; Intel Motherboard; P4 3.2 Ghz; CD/DVD writer; 1 or if possible 2 HDD and say antec smps...

I am thinking (correct me if i am wrong) that this way:

Cabinet (with everything inside) + Flat Monitor + UPS (smallest) can act as my laptop at different locations....

Cabinet + Flat Monitor + UPS = One suitcase = Virtual Laptop

I understand that obvious disadvantage is that I cannot use it while travelling thats when on move but only at different prolonged staying locations...

MY QUESTIONS TO YOU KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE:

Q1. How far is my idea feasible / practical / implementable / insane / sane....?????

Q2. What are potential risks / problems/ difficulties I may face....????????

(apart from not being able to use while on move)

Q3. Is there any modification/ refinement/ alternative to above idea where I can have best configurations like i stated above at minimum cost...????

I would seriously urge that anyone and everyone to please reply to this concept of mine as to how far is it implementable and is it worth it....??????????

You may add/ suggest/ criticise or for that matter put forth whatever u feel is ur reaction to above idea...

thanks again for ur time and patience....

thanks again...

best and warmest regards,

sunando

sunandoghosh at rediffmail dot com

p.s. IN case u feel i should go ahead with the idea please say me which company's cabinet box is SMALLEST and BEST and can accommodate Intel 915 motherboard for above configurations that i desire....THANKS SO MUCH MUCH FRIENDS.....

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Lol, thats an interesting one!

I can't find any reason at the moment why your idea cannot work but I do have a few suggestions/comments for you.

Firstly, you say you want to smallest possible case (I suggest a desktop instead of a tower in this case), but be aware that it will need sufficent airflow through the case in order to keep a system of that spec cool enough. (Wise move going for Intel instead of AMD as they tend to require slightly less cooling).

You will also need to make sure the power supply in the case is powerful enough to run that system. I suggest in this case maybe a SFX / micro-atx form factor as they tend to be physically smaller but make sure it can provide sufficient power.

I understand why you want a flat screen monitor as they are small & light. However in my experience, they are not very robust when being transported. Unless it is very well packed, its likely it will be damaged during transportation.

As a possible alternative to a TFT screen - I assume that wherever you stay, there is always a TV there? If so, maybe you could run the computer using a TV-OUT video card & hook up direct to the TV instead of having a monitor at all?

[Samm]

Lol, thats an interesting one!

I can't find any reason at the moment why your idea cannot work but I do have a few suggestions/comments for you.

Firstly, you say you want to smallest possible case (I suggest a desktop instead of a tower in this case), but be aware that it will need sufficent airflow through the case in order to keep a system of that spec cool enough. (Wise move going for Intel instead of AMD as they tend to require slightly less cooling).

You will also need to make sure the power supply in the case is powerful enough to run that system. I suggest in this case maybe a SFX / micro-atx form factor as they tend to be physically smaller but make sure it can provide sufficient power.

I understand why you want a flat screen monitor as they are small & light. However in my experience, they are not very robust when being transported. Unless it is very well packed, its likely it will be damaged during transportation.

As a possible alternative to a TFT screen - I assume that wherever you stay, there is always a TV there? If so, maybe you could run the computer using a TV-OUT video card & hook up direct to the TV instead of having a monitor at all?

[dsenette]

also most UPS systems arent the kinds of batteries that you would want to run a computer on long enough to use it...they are basically there to keep the system alive long enough to turn it off.

[warriorscot]

A barebones pc seems to be what you want , although i have never seen an intel cooler than an AMD the athlon 64s are positively frosty compared to P4s.

[Samm]

A barebones pc seems to be what you want , although i have never seen an intel cooler than an AMD the athlon 64s are positively frosty compared to P4s.

Yeah? Ok, I maybe wrong then
I've always found that AMDs are more sensitive to overheating etc than Pentiums, but I haven't had many dealings with P4's on that level to be honest.

I do know though that P4's have a step down facility that means they slow down when their temperature gets too high, thereby reducing the cpu's temperature.

Edited by Samm, 26 July 2005 - 03:38 PM.

[warriorscot]

They need it most p4s run a good 10 degrees hotter and AMD, they have speed step because otherwise it would cut it out pretty regularly. My load temp is 45 degrees(if my room is warm lower if i take it into a cooler room about 42 is the load) everyone i know with a p4 is lucky to idle at the temps i get under load.