Most Power-Efficient Computer ?

[Aussiesuede]

I can't say enough good things about the modular Motion m1300/m1400/m1600 computing tablets. Low power consumption (mobile intel processor w/no power draining fan), fully functional capable of running Windows 7, light, sturdy and well suited to the marine environment, glare free screens. These systems were originally designed for the medical field, and have been in widespread use in Doctors/Dentists office since about 2002. As a result, there is a healthy market for used machines that are EXTREMELY affordable. The price on early machines are in the $175-$250 range, and for the later model machines in the $275-$500 range. I've a hodge-podge assortment of 4 of these tablets, for a price tag of under $1200 for all 4! Only moving part is the hard drive. They come with a modular docking station, wifi, fingerprint reader, and a built in external VGA for those who need a larger viewing area. They are an easy find on Ebay, and I've been throughly satisfied. Not a single hardware related problem on any of the 4 machines to date.

[Claverton]

Hi Forum
Does anyone know how Apple's PC products like the MacBook and iPad compare to the PC world in terms of power consumption? I'm working out what to use nav wise for a long trip (UK to Ozzie) and the iPad looks great for primary chart plotter to my niave eyes. I'm a PC person myself but a MacBook might be more convenient to connect to it than a PC. Any suggestions appreciated.
Kind Regards Claverton

[BubbleHeadMd]

Interesting question. Also, can OpenCPN run on an Apple product?

[witzgall]

There are alot of Google Android based tablets showing up on ebay, at very low cost. I am sure that somebody soon will write/port some nav software for this - if that has not happened already. This might be the ticket for a cheap computer based system that uses little power. Here is an example: Google Android 7" notebook Netbook Tablet PC UMPC MID - eBay (item 270590420270 end time Jun-08-10 08:19:39 PDT)

Chris

[capt_douglas]

Most Power-Efficient Computer ? a pencil and a solar powered calculator

@Claverton - My dual core 17" MBP power supply says 60W. Intel Macs can run both PC and Apple software natively. My MBP has Bootcamp/XP Pro/MaxSea 12.5 and runs fine. My tower has Parallels as the M$ interface because it's a bit more power hungry and I can have both Mac and PC windows open at the same time (tough to do even on a 17" for these old eyes).

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

Even netbooks can consume considerable Ah's when compared to a dedicated plotter. You also want to run it directly off the 12V system, not an inverter, as this can save you another 20-30+% in energy consumption.</p>
My ASUS draws about 3 amps with the internal battery at a 50% state of charge running no programs other than Mozilla Firefox. When run off a 150 watt inverter running the same it burns 4.12 amps!

Maine Sail, that's an interesting result. I also have an ASUS eee and my power supply is only rated at 30 watts so I would expect a 2.5 amp maximum draw at 12 volts. When I recharge I use a small inverter that takes a bit. When I'm using it and the battery is discharged it pulls about 4 amps until the battery is charged. It takes about 1 hour if the computer is not being used and about 2 hours if it is being used. Of course when it's plugged in it does not go into power saver mode automatically. On the internal battery it will run about 8 hours powering the bluetooth and the USB GPS so if I average it out I use about .5 amp hours per hour or about 6 watts in low power mode. If I shut down the screen it can go even longer. I find that it is perfectly capable of running Coastal Explorer in this mode. I think your test looking at a 50% discharged battery in charge mode is a bit misleading with regards to overall power usage of this device. If one was to have a fully charged battery and the unit was set to low power mode I think your results would be closer to my experience. Of course power consumption will vary depending on the exact model of netbook used and what options are activated so I would not expect your results to exactly match mine.I use the computer at my nav station to display NOAA charts and track my position. I have an older chart plotter/radar at the helm so I don't need to be looking at the charts all of the time. I have a Samsung 23" Monitor/TV at the nav station that I can display the charts in large format. It draws less than 1 amp AC, but I don't leave it on all of the time and it will run on my small inverter that I use to charge my laptop. The primary advantage I get is an essentially unlimited record of my track which acts as the basis for an electronic log. I don't get this with my chartplotter. I also don't get to use the NOAA ENC and RNC charts on my plotter or the ability to display them in a large format. Note that my netbook has no trouble driving my 1980x1024 monitor at full resolution while running my nav software. While some of the newer chartplotters would allow me to do most of this, this setup did not cost me $5000.