I was helping someone with their computer recently, and we found something very interesting about an older IBM Aptiva they still had: the original receipt. This computer was purchased just prior to Christmas 1996, and had a 166mhz Pentium, 16 MB of RAM, a 2.5 GB hard drive, 2 MB video RAM, 8X CD-ROM, 33.6k modem (I think), sound, etc. A 17" matching CRT monitor and HP printer were purchased at the same time. A staggering 5 year warranty was also added. The total cost, prior to tax, was just under $3,200. Wow. This computer is, for all practical purposes, nearly worthless. The monitor still works though, and is usable.
But what really surprised me about this computer was its model. My mom had a computer in the same case as this one (though a later model with a faster CPU and a 6 GB hard drive), and I think that this was one of the neatest computer designs. It was one of the "Stealth" models (Sxx) that had a custom monitor stand and a small unit that sat under the monitor that housed the CD-ROM, floppy, keyboard and mouse ports, and the power button. It connected to the tower via a thick cord that was a generous 9-12 feet long, allowing you to tuck the tower itself conveniently away. Unless you installed a drive in one of the open 5.25" bays in the tower, you never really needed to access the tower once it was set up. And it was one of the first computers I ever saw that was the now-popular black.
I tried to find a good picture of this computer, but the best I could do was a small picture of the monitor and "break-out" box on an old CNET article. You can see the monitor on the stand and the CD-ROM and floppy housing underneath.
I guess I don't understand why this never caught on. It was such a great idea. Even though today we have the little "media" PCs, there are still needs for big towers, but without the need for constant access. Give me a break-out box with 2 5.25" drive bays, a media reader, some USB ports, maybe a couple of firewire ports, and I'd be happy to hide my tower somewhere and reclaim some space.
So, readers, what do you think about this design? Have you seen it before? Was it always a bad idea, a good idea that never caught on, or a good idea that's no longer relevant?
The new Prescott CPU's produce too much heat for the compact cases. They need large heat sinks, fans, and lots of space to breathe. Another consideration is that 19" and larger LCD monitors require powerful graphics cards. For example, 20" monitors need an nVidia 6800 series chipset or equivalent to prevent lag. They produce lots and lots of heat and require large heat-producing power supplies.
I have seen several mods which do this. Now only if I can dig them up...
The latest one I saw was a Media center PC in one of the tomshardware.com articles. It did basically what you were describing, though I believe it used a proprietary smaller/quieter computer connected to the main box. Wish I could find the link...
For an actual mod, here is a guy who actually put his PC out of the way, and drilled holes in his wall for his CD-ROM/floppy/etc:
http://7volts.com/DSCN04201.jpg
Credit goes to this page:
http://7volts.com/casemods.htm
Of course, you could just go with an empty PC:
http://7volts.com/EmptyPC2.jpg ...explanation on the same page...
What seems feasable to me is to do the following...
- Put PC in closet
- Run USB hub from PC for DVDRW/mouse/keyboard/external sound card/etc. Possibly also run a firewire hub in the same manner.
According to the following page, you are limited to about 10 meters for 1024x768@60hz(yuck!) for VGA. But, still, google says that's about 33 feet. And, you could probably extend that range/increase the possible resolution by using a couple cat5 cables for the VGA signal. DVI seems to be even worse for cable length...
Page is here: http://www.scala.com/hardware/dvi-vga-cable.html
Perhaps even running a small, HD-less/fanless computer as a thin client connecting to your main box would be a feasible option, as well.
