This time I wanted to build a computer just for the specific task of running all of my weather software, and there were certain design features that I wanted to take advantage of this time around.
- Low Power Consumption - The desktop sucks power. It's currently on a UPS but it doesn't take long to drain it when the power goes out. So low power consumption is a must.
- Small Footprint - Goes hand in hand with low power consumption. For all practical purposes, this computer just sits in a corner and never gets touched.
- Must Have a Serial Port - The connection from the Davis console to the computer is currently through a serial connection. To keep things the same, I'd like to use the serial port data-logger that I currently own.
So this is what I've got. This is a computer designed around the Mini-ITX format. The case is roughly 2.5" high, by 8.5" x 7.5". It is designed for passive cooling, although I have two very small fans mounted near the inside top of the case (inaudible). If I went without the fans, the computer would have no moving parts at all.
The motherboard is a MITAC using a Dual Atom D2550 2x1.86Ghz w/ Hyperthreading
http://www.mini-box.com/MITAC-PD12TI-D2500CCE-Mini-ITX-Motherboard. My past thought was a 320GB SATA drive, but I'm went with a 64GB solid state drive for much lower power consumption and quicker disk access. Since my data storage requirements are relatively low, 64GB is more than adequate storage for this use. The most current backup of all the weather related data (VWS/WD/WXMesg/Sebectec) shows only 2.26GB in use, and that's since 2008. This is the drive I got.
InnoDisk Solid State Drive 3ME 64GB
- High Performance MLC NAND Flash
- SATA-III (6.0 Gbps) interface
- 460 MB/s Sequential Read Max.
- 240 MB/s Sequential Write Max.
- 2.1W max power consumption
- 3 Million Hours MTBF
- Operating Temperature: 0C to 70C
- Weight 4.0 Oz.
- L=100mm, W=70mm, H=7mm
Fast read/writes and extremely low power consumption. Perfect for my use. There are some that are faster, but MTBF drops down by almost 2/3's, down to 1.2 million hours from 3 million.
Right now, about 20GB of disk space is in use by the OS and all applications. The CPU utilization is about 30-40% with about 38% of the physical memory in use. This new computer is actually doing the work that two computers were doing before.
The computer has 4GB of RAM and Windows 7 Professional installed as the OS.
The old computer was already on an American Power Conversion Back-UPS with about 34 minutes of runtime pulling 150-200 watts. Now, it pulls 12-15 watts and has 290 minutes of runtime, not to mention the absence of heat or the total silence.
For those of you with the wheels spinning in your head, you can also build higher end computers using this form factor, that utilize Intel Core i5 and i7, or AMD Quad Core processors complete with HDMI outputs. A box like this would make a great Media Server for your home as you could tuck it out of sight (possibly mount it on the back of your flat screen) but still have a very powerful computer. Your TV becomes the monitor.
http://northgeorgiaweather.weebly.com/weather-blog/time-for-weather-equipment-upgrades-060614?
