Mobo/chipset power consumption
The ATOM is a great little chip, put into a terrible motherboard. Is this new motherboard/chipset going to be any more power efficient than the last one? Time will tell...
UK PC supplier Tranquil PC has begun taking orders for a compact desktop PC based on Intel's upcoming dual-core Atom chip. The £299 PC comes with a "dual 1.6GHz" Atom of model number "Z330". Intel's current, single-core desktop Atom is simply called the 230, and the dual-core version is actually expected to debut as the 330. …
Why would Intel go through all the trouble to make such an awesome little chip (In power usage, not raw performance), then couple it with a hog of a Northbridge?
Sometimes I wonder if the guys at Intel are aware that a PC's total power consumption comes for the TOTAL of its components.
Mine's the one with a Geoge in the pocket...
To correct Tony & Peter
The current Desktop 230 Atoms ARE 64bit, the current Mobile 270 Atoms ARE NOT 64bit. I've run 64bit Debian Linux on my Desktop Atom and it flies! And I felt terribly ripped off when I learned my Netbook was only 32bit after starting with the desktop version :(
Atom 230 Spec Sheet:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLB6Z
Atom 270 Spec Sheet:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLB73
"When the 1 TB disk is full, is the owner expected to buy another "home server"?"
Meh, I expect that chucking a couple of 1Tb USB disks would do the job quite nicely.
I could see the use of it as a terminal server/gateway box running a *nix-esque OS though - firewall, mail server/web server if you have a fixed IP, media server [for local stuff only, unless you have a nice 10Mb uplink...] all in one box, with fairly low power usage.
If it's proper silent, I might be tempted to throw my half terabyte hard disk on one of these, get a fixed IP and start toying, actually.
Anyone know of any similar kit that can run Windows/*nix to a useable degree with similar specs/cost? Other than an old Thinkpad, of course...
Steven R
Paris, because I hear she likes slapping disks. Or something phonetically similar...