Comments on: Reasonably quiet PC: an update

By: walt

walt — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:02:01 +0000

MJ: It’s Gateway M-6752. It may not be available online. (Gateway M-6750 and M-6751 are identical configurations exclusive to Best Buy; Gateway M-6753 is a silver equivalent for retail sales at some stores.)

By: MJ

MJ — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:15:56 +0000

Walt – I have been looking for just such a notebook…could you please email me the brand you ended up with? search of Office Depot with your configuration elements didn’t turn up anything close (at least that I could see)

Many thanks – and for all your work for libraries!

By: walt

walt — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:44:07 +0000

Seth: Well, I don’t really run continuously–typically 3.5 hours in the morning, another 2-3 hour stretch early afternoon, maybe another hour end of the afternoon. Yesterday, though, the notebook was running continuously from noon until 6:30, and running fairly hard (a long stretch migrating files & settings–22GB worth–and another long stretch doing volume-leveling and other checking on MP3 files). Sometimes the fan ran a little more often, but never offensively so. I’m not using the notebook on my lap (and don’t ever intend to); it’s really a “mini-desktop” (unlike my “desktop,” which was a full tower sitting on the floor). I checked just before turning it off; the bottom of the notebook was warm but not uncomfortably so, and it hadn’t really heated the desk significantly.

I didn’t buy a “desktop replacement” notebook–it doesn’t have the fastest CPU, it doesn’t have a 7200RPM disk, it doesn’t have a separate GPU. And it’s using a Core 2 Duo CPU, which should run cooler than previous incarnations of Intel chips.

I certainly agree that the screen isn’t comparable to a good desktop monitor–which is why I’ll be doing most of my real work on the “secondary display”–my 19″ 1280×1024 Sony LCD–and using the “primary display” (the 15.4″ 1280×800 Gateway) for secondary uses, e.g., source documents I’m working with. (As I write this, that window shows mostly desktop but also has my open work mail window–and Firefox is maximized on the “secondary” display.)

Blake: Well, ASUS does some interesting things–the eee would still be my choice for a “road PC–but, as you say, it’s a few days late.
Hmm. I just checked–and, at least from PC Connections, it’s woefully underconfigured for a relatively high price: $893 gets you 1GB RAM and a 160GB notebook-class disk. The CPU’s a little faster, but running Vista Premium with 1GB RAM is generally considered to be a bad idea. It’s basically a screenless notebook in a slim desktop container–either a Mac Mini competitor (making the Mac Mini look pretty good by comparison) or a dedicated media center PC.

By: Blake

Blake — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:24:20 +0000

Maybe a few days late, but just saw this:

FREMONT, CALIFORNIA (Feb 19, 2007) – To better integrate with various room types in the modern digital home, ASUSÂ®, producer of high quality Digital Home products, has released a new desktop PC â€“ the Nova P22. The space-saving Nova features an IntelÂ® Coreâ„¢2 Duo Desktop Processor, WiFi 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.0 technology for robust multitasking and communication. Operating at a mere 25 decibels, (below human hearing) the P22 offers multimedia enjoyment free of distraction. Its diminutive footprint, slot-loading drive and a classy exterior revisits the multimedia system concept on a whole new level.

By: Seth Finkelstein

Seth Finkelstein — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:29:18 +0000

“Why not buy a notebook?”

Because notebooks run HOT and are not rated for continuous use. Plus the screens are not comparable to a desktop monitor.

See how the whole thing feels after using it for eight hours or so.