Looking for tiny PC

[mvolke1]

Hey All,

I've been having a hell of a time with my computer since I took it apart to install in my cocktail cab.

If I can't get it working this weekend, I'm thinking of just getting a whole new PC. But I want to get one that is small enough to fit inside the cocktail cab.

Do any of you have any model suggestions or places to look for one? Perhaps one of you has done this? I would need at least one USB, and I don't care which version of Windows it runs.

Any opinions and recommendations would be great. Thanks.

[leapinlew]

Inside a cocktail you should have room for a full pc decased. no?

[mvolke1]

The only problem is, my decased PC is deceased. There is room for it, it's just the PC is getting to POST, or at least it was. I'm pretty lost, and I wouldn't mind dropping up to $100 for a cheap PC I could just stick in there and not worry about taking it apart.

[Keypel]

This one is most likely out of your $100 price range:



http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=BA22873&CartID=done&nextloc=

However,

Just go to ebay and do a search for sff (small forum factor)

I'd recommend any shuttle brand name sff. I personally have the shuttle xpc model SN41G2 (pic below)

[leapinlew]

Unfortunately, the smaller you go - the more you pay.

[mvolke1]

This one is most likely out of your $100 price range:



http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=BA22873&CartID=done&nextloc=

However,

Just go to ebay and do a search for sff (small forum factor)

I'd recommend any shuttle brand name sff. I personally have the shuttle xpc model SN41G2 (pic below)

Thanks for the tip. I think I can get one around $150.

Did that fit in your cocktail cab without a problem? I have the standard Ms. Pac-Man sized, with a Well Gardner U3100 monitor.

[leapinlew]

$150? How you going to do that?

These are small form factor bare bone machines. You still need all the guts (sometimes they'll come with a mobo). You already have all the guts?

[mvolke1]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=009&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=190053672959&rd=1&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=009&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=190053595001&rd=1&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=006&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=160053068543&rd=1&rd=1

It may not be an sff, but I'll find something that'll work.

[AlanS17]

You can always get a low-end mini-itx board. Those come with a built-in processor, video, audio, network, etc. All you need is the power supply, hard drive, and memory. If you have any of the last three, you're already on your way.

[kelemvor]

What sort of speed are you looking for?  You can jsut get a desktop PC from Dell or something and get the non-tower design.  They are pretty small then.  Or just find something used that's a true Desktop design.  THose things fit anywhere.

[AlanS17]

Almost nobody sells desktop form factors anymore. And those small form factor PC's from Dell are even more expensive than the regular towers.

[javeryh]

Inside a cocktail you should have room for a full pc decased. no?

Easily - and more.  I've got a decased computer in mine and there is still a TON of room in there. 

[AlanS17]

Inside a cocktail you should have room for a full pc decased. no?

Mine is actually a VERY tight fit with a micro-atx all-in-one motherboard. Of course, I also have a sub-woofer in there. Any extra space that you think is in there is actually open area for the coin chutes. That's where the coin box would sit (if I got around to adding one). Any space between the sub and the motherboard is where all connections are located so that space is taken, too.

You can click on the the image below to see other images of the inside of the machine.

[mvolke1]

That looks good. Much cleaner than mine at the moment. I need to get longer cables than the ones in my pc. Everything is stacked and it barely fits together in there.

I'm going to try and get the CPU I have working before I buy another one.

I was just thinking if I could get one on the cheap and not have take it out of the case, it would be best.

I'm getting to the POST, but haven't gotten any further. Hopefully it's just a couple wires mixed up.

[danny_galaga]

what about an old laptop? i was experimenting earlier and i think it would fit well. just dont pull it to bits like i did! thats when it stopped working, although you are saying you dont want to pull anything apart. what sort of games do you want to play? what about a gp2x?

http://gp2x.co.uk/

although i dont know if it will work with an arcade monitor. i have one and its fine with a telly. you cant NOT fit that in the cocktail 

[AlanS17]

My experience with laptops is that if you leave it running with the screen closed it overheats. Now maybe they don't all do that, but mine have. They expect the screen to be open, and a lot of the heat is actually released right through the keyboard. You just apparently never notice it.

I hated having my laptop go to sleep when I closed it so I turned that functionality off. Six months later, I had to replace the hard drive. I don't think it's coincidence, though, because it got to a point where I couldn't even pick it up because it was getting so hot.

[Jess--]

if you are looking for a laptop that handles its heat well have a look at the acer aspire 13xx series

I have one of the aspire 1312 units and that handles being left on in direct sun (30+ deg c) for 8 hours per day during the summer for me.

(the laptop was running music and dmx lighting on a ride that I run during the summer here http://www.flyinhigh.co.uk) all in all hovering at about 50% cpu load constantly

[shardian]

My old 333mhz toshiba's screen did not turn on until the lid was opened about an inch or so. I'm pretty sure Dells are the same way, because you can plug them into a docking station fully closed and they work just like a desktop pc.

[AlanS17]

Well it's not the screen that's producing so much heat for me. I have a Dell Latitude and it makes monstrous amounts of heat. Just resting my hands on the keys, I can feel the heat rising. I don't know. Maybe it's just this laptop. I never turn it off, though. And for some reason it doesn't hibernate properly anymore. I just don't care enoguh to fix that issue.

[Jess--]

most laptops kill the screen when you close the lid, min included.

in most cases as long as the lid does not block vents for the cpu fan intake / outlet the laptop shouldnt overheat

[AlanS17]

My screen turns off, but the hard drive and processor are still working overtime. That's where the heat comes from.

[telengard]

Haven't gone through the entire thread so sorry if it's been mentioned but I just picked up something called an a-open mini pc.  It's the size of a mac mini but it's a PC.  I use it for emulation in the living room.  No idea if it can handle MAME or not.  The video card isn't so hot.   

~telengard

[AlanS17]

Haven't gone through the entire thread so sorry if it's been mentioned but I just picked up something called an a-open mini pc.  It's the size of a mac mini but it's a PC.  I use it for emulation in the living room.  No idea if it can handle MAME or not.  The video card isn't so hot.   

~telengard

Do you have a link? MAME doesn't require a beefy video card.

[kelemvor]

Most laptops these days have air intakes on the sides/bottom and expel it through the back.  I've never had one overheat with the lid closed unless something was blocking the vents.  I think that's a great idea to at least look into.

[telengard]

Haven't gone through the entire thread so sorry if it's been mentioned but I just picked up something called an a-open mini pc.  It's the size of a mac mini but it's a PC.  I use it for emulation in the living room.  No idea if it can handle MAME or not.  The video card isn't so hot.   

~telengard

Do you have a link? MAME doesn't require a beefy video card.

Hmm, seems they already have newer ones.  I have the one that looks almost identical to the mac mini.  Here's what I found:

http://minipc.aopen.com/global/spec.htm
http://minipc.aopen.com/Global/

~telengard

[torez]

Inside a cocktail you should have room for a full pc decased. no?

Mine is actually a VERY tight fit with a micro-atx all-in-one motherboard. Of course, I also have a sub-woofer in there. Any extra space that you think is in there is actually open area for the coin chutes. That's where the coin box would sit (if I got around to adding one). Any space between the sub and the motherboard is where all connections are located so that space is taken, too.

You can click on the the image below to see other images of the inside of the machine.

I don't think it's a good idea to put a subwoofer close to a hard drive (vibration).  Expect sooner bad sectors and hdd fail.

Dell Optiplex should do fine (the desktop version, not the tower).  All you would have to do is install OS.  Here is one example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Optiplex-GX150-SFF-1GHz-20G-128MB-CD-PC_W0QQitemZ330054285137QQihZ014QQcategoryZ140070QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[mvolke1]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to go for an Optiplex. Thanks for the link. I e-mailed the woman to see if she'd still sell it for $50. We'll see.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I looked for the AOpen dealers in my area, but there aren't any. They look like they could be good, though.

[torez]

Ask her to list it as Buy It Now auction for $50 and then she can send you a link.  It's safer this way than just giving her money.

Also, this one comes with code for Win98, but has the hard drive wiped clean, so hopefully you have your own OS.

[leapinlew]

The only issue I forsee is you may need a different video card in that optiplex. Especially if it is using an onboard intel card.

If that optiplex is like all the ones I've seen - it won't have an AGP slot and you may have to find a small PCI card.

[torez]

This one has AGP card (low profile), but I think you should just search for more options before making your final decision:

http://computers.listings.ebay.com/Desktop-PCs_Dell_W0QQfclZ3QQfromZR11QQsacatZ140070QQsocmdZListingItemList

Here is much better option with P4 2 GHz 512 MB Ram, WinXP Optiplex:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SUPER-FAST-DeLL-PENTIUM-4-COMPUTER-TONS-OF-FEATURES_W0QQitemZ180057238887QQihZ008QQcategoryZ140070QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[ChadTower]

If heat is an issue, use a Laptop without a screen.  Or put a small fan on the laptop.  A fan is only a couple of bucks and a hell of a lot cheaper than a new PC.

[mvolke1]

Inside a cocktail you should have room for a full pc decased. no?

Mine is actually a VERY tight fit with a micro-atx all-in-one motherboard. Of course, I also have a sub-woofer in there. Any extra space that you think is in there is actually open area for the coin chutes. That's where the coin box would sit (if I got around to adding one). Any space between the sub and the motherboard is where all connections are located so that space is taken, too.

You can click on the the image below to see other images of the inside of the machine.

I don't think it's a good idea to put a subwoofer close to a hard drive (vibration).  Expect sooner bad sectors and hdd fail.

Dell Optiplex should do fine (the desktop version, not the tower).  All you would have to do is install OS.  Here is one example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Optiplex-GX150-SFF-1GHz-20G-128MB-CD-PC_W0QQitemZ330054285137QQihZ014QQcategoryZ140070QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I bought the PC you linked me to. I think it will work fine. I checked the measurements and it all fits. I will have space to put a PC fan to be an exhaust, too. I wish I thought of this earlier.

I have a Windows 98 dics I can use, so I don't think it'll be a problem.

Thanks for all your posts here. They've been really helpful.

Wish me luck.

[ChadTower]

If the subwoofer isn't shielded, the drive will die from magnetic interference way before the vibrations kill it.

[AlanS17]

I don't think it's a good idea to put a subwoofer close to a hard drive (vibration).  Expect sooner bad sectors and hdd fail.

That baby runs off of a solid-state compact flash card.