New Controller ... recommendations

[toscal]

However, now I'm thinking of getting a very low power PC just to run Cortex. Currently Fit-PC is ticking quite a few boxes and runs at less than 10W.

For my other functions, email, file sharing, print sharing, audio streaming. I'll continue to use a Mini-ITX machine with a Atom processor. From experience these come in around 40/50W. Then I have a beast machine that I use for DVD ripping and streaming live TV as well as a home lab for new server software (obvioulsy not everyone will requires this type of setup). The beast is a quad core with high performance graphics card, etc, etc; it consumes 120/150W.

So my thinking is Fit-PC running 24x7, Cortex is isolated from other programmes (although I may include a piece of email software to store and forward for when the email server is off). The home server will run during the day only when I am at work and at home, but whilst we sleep it'll be off. Then the beast will only fire up when it is needed. This setup will also allow me to turn off the core Linksys Gigabit switch overnight which takes another 50W. All of this functionallity is possible because Cortex can control the power to the other machines.

The above is my own example and thought process that I have gone trhough. It is therefore difficult to make a general recommendation on the PC for Cortex.

HTH

Paul

With the fit-pc comming in at about 420 pounds excl VAT for the windows 7 version. The Zotac looks to be good value at about 380.71 including VAT with W7.
The Zotac consumes about 30 to 40W when its working and this drops to about 24W when idle and 0.5W when in standby mode. SO not quite as green but still not bad.
And the small UPS they do for the FIT looks cool. Wonder if it would work with other small PC.
Talking about tiny PCs I have one of these (complete with DVD/CD dock which needs a good project idea for and the time to implement it.

[Paul_B]

Agree with your comment on price of the Fit-PC it isn't the cheapest option, you could probably do something similar with an older Via CPU and flash memory and it would consume somewhere between what the Fit_PC and Zotac do.

@Chris the Live TV stream is part of GB-PVR although this only works with PC and Media Tank (Popcorn Hour, etc) devices

[JonS]

So my thinking is Fit-PC running 24x7, Cortex is isolated from other programmes (although I may include a piece of email software to store and forward for when the email server is off). The home server will run during the day only when I am at work and at home, but whilst we sleep it'll be off. Then the beast will only fire up when it is needed. This setup will also allow me to turn off the core Linksys Gigabit switch overnight which takes another 50W. All of this functionallity is possible because Cortex can control the power to the other machines.

I have thought about that route too and the v low power of the Fit is attractive but the whole cost of running
10W Fit 24/7 + 40W Atom based Nettop or similar on say a 50% duty cycle still means the 24/7 consumption will be 30W .. more than an energy efficient i3 based system - which doesn't seem so attractive... Which is why I am sticking with a 17W laptop for now I've got it working again!!

As for camera cards I have seen 4 camera cards on a USB stick in www.Henrys.co.uk but not tested for quality / capture rate.
I am also awaiting results of the USB voice modem for Cortex which I think is being trialled.

The Zotac looks v similar to the box I referenced on the linitx site but with a slightly earlier processor. I am hoping this new gen of Atoms will prove more efficient at the system level but will wait until confirmed by a review...
Still baffles me why Fit PC can make a box that appears to have the same Atom + ION internals as the Zotac ION in the review Toscal mentioned but about a quarter of the power consumption... and several times the price!

YGWYPF I guess

[toscal]

Mind you I would like to see the Fit PC cope with all USB sockets used up and supplying power to the things plugged in.

[Gumby]

I'm currently running Cortex + SqueezeServer on a Asus AT5NM10-I (Dual Core Atom D510) box with laptop hard drive. Perfectly responsive and still showing quite light average processor load. Cameras are on a separate machine that also does some other server duties.

Can't tell you the power consumption (real consumption) at the moment.

The thing that attracted me was that the motherboard was totally passively cooled - so no whiny 40mm fan needed. The motherboard is built into a shoebox style case with a pretty quiet vibration damped 80mm case fan and hard drive silencer from QuietPC.

As you might guess, my priority was dB over W and £. But it's not worked out bad on the W and £ front.

[chris_j_hunter]

on the subject of low-power controllers, 'see the new AppleTV includes an A4 processor, 256MB RAM, 8GB flash storage, WiFi (n), HDMI, IR, USB, Ethernet, and a power supply rated at under 6W, for 99GBP ...