More "Green" PCs - Update

It seems I may have been mistaken with the price of the SolidLogic Little Valley 5677. I quoted the price off a review site and closer inspection of the Logic Supply list of Intel-based systems leads me to believe the 5677 is pricier than I had first thought. If you look at this page, you'll see most of the complete systems are priced in the $500 range. The only exceptions are the Aopen mini-PCs, but those units do not come with any processor, memory or storage options in their sub-$400 configurations.

Now going back to the 5677 . In my experience, when a product is listed with the comment "call" or "call for pricing" it means it is more expensive than the other products in the same page or the price is negotiable. If the former is the case, then it would be better to consider something like System76's Koala. It's a bit more powerful, has twice the memory and has a faster hard drive. It does come with a higher price tag, but if the 5677 is indeed in the $500 price point then the Koala would be a better option at $539.10 USD. I'd ask Logic Supply but I'm not about to call (international) to get a price quote.

Anyway, here are the specs of the Koala Mini according to the official product page:

• 1.46 GHz Celeron 410 processor;
• 512 MB of DDR2 Memory;
• 40 GB 5400 RPM SATA drive;
• CD-RW / DVD-RW (slot-loading);
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet;
• Intel 802.11 abg wireless built-in;
• Extra ports (that the other PCs in my previous post did not have): DVI, FireWire 1394B, S-Video.

The specifications above are for the lowest-priced configuration. You can go with a faster processor, bigger capacity hard drive and more memory if you opt to spend a whole lot more. The configuration above costs $539.10 USD. If that's the price I could spend on a low-power system, I'd rather buy a laptop that can output to an LCD screen. There's a lot to choose from when it comes to satisfying that need. Here's great list from HP. Or maybe even consider a low-end Dell Vostro 1000. It would probably cost almost the same as the Koala Mini with the added benefit of an LCD screen (albeit, small in laptops) already included in the price tag.

So if you go back to my previous post and read it, ignore the SolidLogic Little Valley 5677 in the meantime. Until I confirm its in the $300 range that is.

More "Green" PCs

As I've been wandering the Net the past few weeks looking for interesting "Green" PCs to eventually replace my hulking desktop, I've found very interesting alternatives. Two of them can run XP decently, but all are optimized for Linux - hehehe. The price point is certainly arguable considering they don't have that much power to begin with. But since we are talking about saving energy and since these machines are mostly for "everyday" tasks, then that is how their purpose should be viewed. Some talk on most forums complain their lack of power or their limitations. I say these people should look elsewhere before they shoot off their mouth about how under-powered these systems are. They just don't get the point.

Anyway, here they are (all information here was gathered off the official sites and product reviews. I have had no actual hands-on experience with these devices and cannot vouch for the accuracy of the product specifications):

1. Zonbu PC

• 1.2GHz VIA C7 ULV (ultra-low voltage) processor, 512 MB RAM, 4GB CF Card for storage, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, 20-watt power consumption;
  
• Pros: Supports 2048 x 1536 display resolution (good enough for 19" LCDs!), comes with Gentoo installed (customized for the hardware) ;
  
• Cons: Limited storage -- uses CF Card that are still quite expensive if you want to expand storage.
• Price: $299 USD.

2. Koolu PC

• 500MHz AMD Geode processor, 512MB RAM, 80GB 2.5" Hard Drive for storage, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, 10-watt power consumption;
  
• Pros: Supports 1920 x 1440 display resolution, large hard drive for storage, comes with Ubuntu pre-installed;
  
• Cons: Not the fastest processor, hard drive support is up to 80GB only (as far as I can tell);
  
• Price: $299 Canadian.

3. Fit-PC

• 500MHz AMD Geode processor, 256MB of DDR RAM (soldered on-board), 40GB 2.5” hard drive for storage, 100 Mbps Ethernet, 5-watt power consumption;
• Pros: 5-watt power consumption, video up to 1920x1440 resolution, large enough hard drive for storage, comes with Gentoo (optimized for fit-PC) or Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty);
• Cons: Not the fastest processor, RAM isn't expandable;
• Price: $285 USD.

4. SolidLogic Little Valley 5677

• Intel 1.33 GHz Celeron 215 (soldered on to D201GLY mainboard), 256MB DDR2 RAM, 40GB 2.5" hard drive for storage, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, 22-watt power consumption;
• Pros: Memory and hard drive can be upgraded with standard PC parts;
• Cons: Has the highest power requirements among the four, no OS (you can order Windows XP from them at standard OEM prices);
• Price: starts at $202 USD .

Among the four, the SolidLogic Little Valley 5677 is the most flexible in terms of what hardware you can chuck in. That is, within the limitations of the system's Mini-ITX case. But it is expandable. It's also compatible with DDR2, the current standard in memory, so you don't have to worry about that particular part phasing out in the near future. All of the above though will require the use of an external optical drive and an (optional) external hard drive for additional storage to expand their capabilities. I find the optical drive a must-have for my personal use.

In closing, all these devices would fit what I call "everyday" computing -- basic internet, email, spreadsheet, word-processing and movie watching. Paired with an LCD, these devices will save you a substantial amount in energy costs in the long-run. Add Linux to the mix and you get a completely customizable set-up that you could tune to your needs. Best of all, you have a clean "green" conscience knowing that in your own little way, you've done the planet a favor.

Linux Counter Badge

Had to create a new one after I realized I already lost the email addy for my original number. I upgraded machines from the last time I registered anyway, so this is still a valid count - LOL.

My Nov '07 Build

As a memo to myself, and since I'm checking all the time anyway, I might as well publish the configurations I suggest to friends and co-workers when they ask me what parts to buy. This will also give me an excuse to send them over to my blog instead of creating a fresh file for every curios asker - hehehe.

The prices are based off the Enigma Tech (a local shop here in Angeles City, Pampanga) pricelist, unless specified. I would only resort to special ordering if I find adding a few hundred pesos would increase the quality of the parts I put in there substantially. The first option presented is all Enigma. The second option considers special ordering a better board from Manila.

If you are based in Manila, good sites to scout for prices would be Rising Sun, PC Gilmore and the TipidPC forums. All prices are in Philippine pesos. Another thing before I finish. If you are wondering why I would want to spend 700 extra for another board from a little known brand, then go over to this review at PinoyPC.net to whet your tech appetite.

Updating My Rig

I'm selling my motherboard and CPU so I could buy a newer pair that isn't as much of a power hog. The Athlon LE 1600 isn't a dual-core processor, but its cheap enough. I've been burned by last year's upgrade, choosing to buy RAM when it was still so expensive. Now I'm a bit more grounded and I will make choices based on price point rather than performance, simply because I don't need the performance boost offered by dual-core processors. Why upgrade, then? The newer Athlons and Semprons have a 45-watt TDP. That's a huge drop from my current processor's 62-watt consumption. That's potentially a 20-watt difference when the procesor is working under full load. That's reason enough for me to buy a new processor. Anybody else with me on this?

Really Getting Into It...

I'm too lazy to upload to Imageshack. It's been too long, I've forgotten my password and the email I registered. I'll post 'em here and link to 'em so I could use them as badges on my sidebar.

Tekzilla 6

Yay, Firefox!

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