Energy Efficient Atom Based File Station and Net surfing PC

With the recent increase in electricity billing charges, I decided to built a new machine to serve the purpose of 24/7 downloading, internet surfing, file sharing, web based application hosting energy efficient PC. Talking about energy efficient with processing power that capable enough for full time downloading and internet surfing, I immediately think of the Intel Atom processor.

What is Intel Atom? Intel Atom is Intel's smallest chip. It is built with the world's smallest transistors. As Intel's smallest and lowest power processor, the Intel® Atom™ processor enables the latest Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), and another new category of devices for the internet called netbooks and nettops. Intel® Atom™ processors were newly designed from the ground up, 45nm Intel® Atom™ processors pack an astounding 47 million transistors on a single chip measuring less than 26mm², making them Intel's smallest and lowest power processors. All this while delivering the power and performance you need for full Internet capabilities.

There are numerous of Intel Atom motherboard and processor combo available around the market, after some survey and budget tinkering, I decided to opt for the Intel D945GCLF2D, Intel Atom processor 330 Dual Core set. The main reason I opted for the this was due to the cheaper price tag compared to other same solutions and also I do not need HDMI and the better 9300GS VGA from the Nvidia ION platform.

To further emphasizing the power saving capabilities of the Intel Atom 330 platform, I come across some articles over the Internet with experiment done to calculate the exact power consumption comparing Atom 330 and E8500.

According to the article, they compare a E8500 @ 3.16GHz on Asus P5E3 Premium system with Atom 330 @ 1.6GHz on Intel D945GCLF2, listed below are the data of the experiment,

The main advantage the Atom 330 has is low power consumption - supposedly it has a maximum total power draw of 8W.

Here is some experimental data:
· E8500 @ 3.16GHz on Asus P5E3 Premium: 92W idle, 118W loaded
· Atom 330 @ 1.6GHz on Intel D945GCLF2: 41W idle, 45W loaded
It looks like going to full load from idling at the desktop the Atom 330 only used 4W more - so the 8W TDP figure is quite believable.

Let's say it is being deployed as File Server/Download Server for 24h/day, it would idling most of the time. So let's calculate how much power would be used in a year.
24h/day * 365 days = 8760 hours

Atom 330 @ 41W * 8760 hours = 359,160 W/hr = 359.16kWhr
E8500 @ 92W * 8760 hours = 805,920 W/hr = 805.92kWhr

Now let's say we pay $0.10/kWhr
Atom 330 would use $35.91 in electricity running for a year
E8500 would use $80.59 in electricity running for a year.

Now let's say we are in a place that charges $0.25/kWhr
Atom 330: $89.79 for a year
E8500: $201.48 for a year

Where electricity is expensive, a small Atom 330 based home server would save the cost of the motherboard in less than a year!

The file-station will be installed with Windows XP Professional SP3 O/S with IIS hosting capabilities. The downloading and file sharing task will be supported by suitable software. The system spec is as following:

- Intel BOXD945GCLF2D Intel Atom processor 330
- 2GB Team Elite DDR2 800
- Intel GMA950 Onboard Display
- Built in Audio
- Western Digital 200GB SATA HDD
- Cooler Master 350W PSU
- Lian Li PC-A6010 casing (a bit weird with ITX mobo on an ATX casing)

With this system setup, I can enjoy 24/7 downloading, file sharing in a fairly low running cost with processing power that capable enough to take the job.

Build a Computer

If you are the do-it-yourself type like me who wants to boast that he built (ahem... assembled) the computer, without having a clue as to connect which wires, where, then welcome to my humble virtual abode. In this post, I will show you how to assemble your computer, which will come in handy, even if you are replacing the basic parts. Please refer to the pictures specified:

Fitting the components in the cabinet:

1. This is the cabinet. And if you are the penny-pinching type, this is exactly the thing to look out for. Now, almost all cabinets are equipped to deal with different motherboards, unless we are talking about a stone-age monolith. (See the elongated holes? exactly the things that allow for different sizes of components)

2. This is the SMPS (Switch Mode Power Supply), more like a distributor, which is responsible for powering up all the other devices like the CDROM or DVDRAM drive, the motherboard, floppy drive etc and in some older ones, even the monitor.

3. This is the motherboard (literally the mother of all devices), which means, whatever your computer thinks, it does that here. Make sure that you have an ATX motherboard (ask your dealer) before trying out whatever I suggest.

4. This is your CDROM Drive (you can also have a DVDRAM drive). Before fitting it into your cabinet, check that the pins are

5. Finally, the HARD Disk - this is where your computer has his memory. Without this, your computer will have complete amnesia, except for a things like date and time settings, etc.

Connections:
1. This, is the ATX (Advanced Technology Exended) power connector. Connect it as shown.

2.This is the EIDE(Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics) cable, used to connect the computer's motherboard to the hard-disk, the CDROM drive and the floppy disk drive.

Connect it to the motherboard as shown below:

Then, connect the same to the CDROM Drive and the Floppy disk drive (if you have one, that is).

3. Connect the power.

The above example is given for the most general configuration. DO NOT try to repeat the same procedure on any other type of machine than a personal PC. The above procedure is a very general one and as we go along I shall post more detailed articles of varying complexity which will deal with more intricate topics.


- Article incomplete - Images and general data to be updated -

Eat Up The Promotions

Have an appetite for great promotional products? How about a promotion that is likely to get used everyday, regardless of weather or season? Promotional lunch bags are a daily use item that makes a perfect gift for employees and staff. Imprinted with a slogan of appreciation, this promotional bag becomes a cherished daily accessory for the commuter. More people are bringing bagged lunches and the features included on many lunch bags today make it easier to keep those lunches as they should be, hot or cold. Full featured bags like the Side Flap Insulated Lunch Bag, or the Two Compartment Lunch Bag carry lunch for work or even for a picnic in style. Lunch bags can also be budget friendly promotions, with the Budget Kooler Bag, there will be plenty of room for meeting or beating the financial allocation.

Promotional Mouse Mats - Why It's Important

Customers help support the compa cheap nfl jerseys nys reputation.
Several promotional items are on the market that can be selected available for promotional purposes, such as pens, umbrellas, mugs and mouse pads. The promotion of these mouse pads are an excellent choice. Today most companies use computers, so this mouse pads useful. Also advertise your product continuously.

The pads are a good alternative to promote cheap nfl apparel advertising for your business or to send information. They are relatively cheap and are at a very low cost. They consist of different prices and indifferent forms are also available. They have a good situation to be used to build your company's logo and can also be used to provide useful information about your company.

The first thing to do in this regard, choose a mouse pad for your company promotion. To do this, you can search for sites that offer Internet as mouse pads printed clickpromogifts.com very low cost. A mouse pad advertising popular are provided by the Company from the budget of mouse pads hard on the head. They use many colors and very durable, PVC top.


You can also soccer jerseys choose the hard top mouse mat coaster sets. This printed mouse mat comes along with two coasters that carry your company’s name and information on them. If you want your printed mouse mat to have a lamination on it then you can select the triple life mouse mats. If you have to send across more information and one mouse mat is not sufficient, then you can choose the double- sided hard top mouse mats. Both the sides if this mouse can be used for printing your message and you can send your message to your client.

The round brite mouse mats are miami Dolphins jersey available in round shapes. It supports optical mouse and is also useful for the rubber ball mouse. For a more stylish and a good quality mouse mats, you can select the liquid aqua mouse mat.