Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
adequate for our needs, both now and for the next few years. This system
won't have the performance needed for even undemanding 3D games, so
integrated video will suffice.
Noise level
We want our appliance system to be unobtrusive, but that requires more
than just small size. A small system that sounds like a leaf blower is an
epic fail. Building a completely silent system is possible, but it involves
too many cost, performance, and reliability trade-offs. We decided to aim
for a system that was extremely quiet, but not completely silent. If system
noise is not noticeable from two or three feet away, that's sufficient.
Hardware Design Criteria
With the functional requirements determined, the next step was to establish
design criteria for the appliance PC hardware. Here are the relative priorities
we assigned for our appliance PC. Your priorities may, of course, differ.
Price
★★★✩✩
Reliability ★★★★✩
Size ★★★★✩
Our appliance system configuration is heavily skewed toward reliability, size,
and noise level, with other elements taking a backseat. Here's the breakdown:
Noise level ★★★★✩
Expandability ★✩✩✩✩
Price
Price is moderately important for this system, as we'll use it only as a sup-
plemental system. We're willing to spend about the same amount we did
for the higher-performance budget system. Obviously, if this were to be a
primary system, we'd boost the budget significantly.
Processor performance ★★✩✩✩
Video performance ★✩✩✩✩
Disk capacity/performance ★★✩✩✩
Reliability
Reliability ties for top importance with size and noise level. We'll make
minor compromises in cost, performance, or features to make this system
as reliable as possible without taking any of the extreme measures de-
scribed in the preceding section.
Size
Size is another high priority. We don't need a truly tiny system, but we
want something that will fit comfortably and unobtrusively on Robert's
end table, either nestled in under the LCD display's bezel or perhaps sit-
ting under its base.
Noise level
Noise level is as important as reliability and size. That means we'll need a
passively cooled processor and a notebook hard drive. If the system has
any fans, we'll want them to run at very low speed while still providing
adequate cooling.
Expandability
Expandability is unimportant for our appliance system. We may at some
point want to make some minor system upgrades, such as adding an
expansion card or more memory and perhaps a second hard drive, if we
have a free bay. To the extent that we can provide for such future expansion
