[OPLINTECH] Public Access Computer purchases

Wed Mar 18 11:56:37 EDT 2009

I love it....
And I'm still paying an extra $20 to get floppy drives pre-installed.

Jim Mann
Technology Coordinator
Greene County Public Library
76 E. Market St.
Xenia Ohio 45385
(937)352-4000 x1210
mailto: jmann at gcpl.lib.oh.us<mailto:jmann at gcpl.lib.oh.us>
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." - Mario Andretti.

From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org [mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org] On Behalf Of JKENZIG
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 9:13 AM
To: Eric Maynard; oplintech at oplin.org
Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] Public Access Computer purchases

Wait a few months maybe, and Windows 7 will be out and it runs on quite a bit more types of hardware than Vista can.  We are going to have to give up XP sooner or later.

Most manufacturers are starting to offer the option of SSD's in there PC's also and by years end  I expect they all will.  I think it was Seagate that last years CES announced a 2 TERAbyte SSD will be out this year,  other drive manufactures have followed suit with announcements.  16 gb ssds are generally well available.

Jim Kenzig
Network Manager
Cuyahoga County Public Library
Administrative Offices
2111 Snow Road / Parma, OH 44134-2728
www.cuyahogalibrary.org

From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org [mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org] On Behalf Of Eric Maynard
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 9:00 AM
To: oplintech at oplin.org
Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] Public Access Computer purchases

Jim,

Good point on the SSDs, but is there anything out there that runs XP besides netbooks?  Also, I'd be curious if anything like that had built in optical drive options.

I'm sure you could custom build something like this as Chad was suggesting, but I'm not sure that is the route we want to take in terms of long term support.

Decisions... decisions.....

Eric Maynard
Head of Information Technology,
Holmes County District Public Library
Millersburg, OH  44654

Email [emaynard at holmeslib.org<mailto:emaynard at holmeslib.org>]
Phone [330.674.5972 x.224]
Fax   [330.674.1938]

On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 8:43 AM, JKENZIG <JKENZIG at cuyahogalibrary.org<mailto:JKENZIG at cuyahogalibrary.org>> wrote:
Remember that Solid State drives(SSD) are also starting to become the norm and they consume way less power.
Also if you can try and get the VPro chipset.  It has enhanced functionality for remote wakeup and control.

Jim Kenzig
Network Manager
Cuyahoga County Public Library
Administrative Offices
2111 Snow Road / Parma, OH 44134-2728
www.cuyahogalibrary.org<http://www.cuyahogalibrary.org>

-----Original Message-----
From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org<mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org> [mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org<mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org>] On Behalf Of Chad Neeper
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 1:46 PM
To: oplintech at oplin.org<mailto:oplintech at oplin.org>
Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] Public Access Computer purchases

I don't think that's going to be so true in the very near future. A week or so ago I was looking into the Mini-ITX form factor (6.7 x 6.7 inch) motherboards from Intel for a client that wanted to buy some new computers. Intel has a few Mini-ITX boards that supports standard desktop processors. One I'm glancing at now supports the Core2 Quad.
While I'd like to start using the smaller form factor, I didn't end up suggesting it yet because the selection of Mini-ITX boards available from my distributors are still primarily using underpowered processors...just like you said. I only found one mini-itx board SKU supporting standard desktop processors at one of my secondary distributors. I haven't looked for release dates from Intel, but I think they're probably right around the corner since they're already being shown on Intel's website in full detail and my distributors already have at least one SKU.

The mini-itx case I was looking at had a 120W power supply. If the processor alone takes up to 65W, that leaves 55W for the motherboard, 2.5" or 3.5" hard drive, and 5.25" or slimline CD/DVD-ROM drive. That should be just enough power. Heat could definitely be an issue, as you said, but if the case is designed well, it could be managed well enough.
The only thing really proprietary is the motherboard itself, with built-in video, USB, network interface, etc. But that's really no different than full ATX or mATX style motherboards.

This is all from a white-box perspective, though. There probably IS more proprietary components in a Dell, Acer, or whatever other big names are left out there in this economy! But then, with those you also get things like being able to hang the computer on the back of the monitor. I haven't looked, but I think I'd probably be hard pressed to find something like that in a whitebox config.

Just my 2 (more) cents.

Chad

-----------------------
Chad Neeper
Senior Systems Engineer

Level 9 Networks
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)

--   Full LAN/WAN consulting services   --
-- Specialized in libraries and schools --

Industry Standard Computers wrote:
> The problem with ALL micro computers except laptops are the power
> supplies are too underrated. The computers run hotter.
>
> Seldom do micros have the newest or faster processors as buy options.
>
> Next the micro computers are generally 95% proprietary parts inside
> even the hard drives sometimes are proprietary designs or interfaces.
>
> People who are rich can afford to replace computers every 3 years or
> whenever the warranty runs out, most others can not.
>
> Butch
>
>
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