Running a PC 24/7 without wasting energy
Running a PC 24 hours a day is a very useful thing to have, particularly with running daily backups, using it for recording TV programs as a PVR, security and more. However, most PCs guzzle energy, and I’m trying to find a low energy (and therefore cost efficient) solution.
I currently have a Mini-ITX based on the Jetway motherboard, which is meant to be a low power solution. I want to measure its actual power usage with a mains energy monitor. If the power usage is less than 30 Watts when idle, that’s pretty good. However, adding a TV card when I convert it to a full PVR will increase the power usage a bit, particularly when actually recording.
I’ve explored other possibilities, such as a Tranquil PC, but they’re not much use as PVRs. Only really for desktop use. The VeryPC Green PCs are a step in the right direction, but are quite costly. It’s really a surprise at how few energy-saving PCs exist at the moment, but at least some companies are making a start.
My motivation is doing a bit for the environment and cost cutting on bills. But if the PCs themselves were cheaper, that would motivate a lot more people.
Wireless Media Centre Keyboard with Trackball
With the PVR project, I wanted a keyboard for the PC so that I could browse the web if I needed to, as well as using it as the remote control. With web browsing and using any GUI platform, using a mouse is easier than learning keyboard shortcuts. Therefore I wanted a wireless keyboard that had a trackball navigation device. After a fair bit of searching, I found one for £35 at Gizoo which had everything I wanted and actually looked nice too.
The trackball took a little while get used to, but now I use it all the time. I often use it for browsing the web, and the thumb wheel in the top left corner makes scrolling web pages really intuitive. I installed without the need for any drivers at all on Ubuntu, literally plug and play.
I suppose that it is a little overkill compared to a remote control, but it does do its job very well!
Finally! TV Out working on my Jetway J7F2!
I finally got the TV out working on my mini itx system! I had spent ages changing BIOS settings and playing around with the xorg.conf configuration file in an attempt to get some output on the TV.
In the end, it was a jumper setting to enable S-VHS/composite output which was completely hidden under a LCD daughter board that has been installed by the previous owner (I purchased the box 2nd hand as a complete system). I found out about it by doing much searching and finding a Jetway motherboard manual for a very similar motherboard to my own.
I had already installed the OpenChrome Via Display Adaptor Drivers and I was certain they were working correctly due to the output messages I was reading in the xorg log file. With some help from Adam, we set up the xorg.conf using details provided for getting TV out working with OpenChrome.
Now that TV out works, I’m playing around with DVD, MP3 and DivX support. Hurrah!
Trouble getting TV Out on a Mini ITX PC
A while ago, I treated myself to a mini ITX PC. I’m looking to move to a Myth TV box (based on Ubuntu Linux), but before I buy a perfect system, I want to get the mini ITX working with the TV first. However, I cannot get the PC to recognise the TV at all. I’m expecting the PC to detect the TV on boot, but its not.
I’ve looked in the BIOS, and can’t see anything. Fiddling with the driver under Linux doesn’t appear to work. Any ideas?