Micro PC vs laptop?

[dgadee]

I had a fanless mini pc about 10 years ago. Now Raspberry Pi. The screen is the real issue if you want low power. I had a Cello TV, use a laptop screen with driver on one boat (YouTube tells you how) and a 12v monitor on the other. These are below at the chart table.

We are still awaiting cheap sun viewable monitors. If you know of one, please tell.

 

[dunedin]

So it looks like the correct term is Mini rather than Micro, PC.

I'm trying to find one that's bundled with MS Office... SWMBO is doing an OU course and she's not finding Open Office to be completely reliable.

I quite like the idea of using our existing USB-C monitor as a permanently mounted display at the chart table, and running a second monitor via HDMI for watching films etc.

We will probably get a laptop as well but it will be a fairly cheap refurb (worked well last time!) and the mini PC would be the main storage for all our films, photos etc. Hopefully there's a way of setting up a little network between them that even a luddite like me can understand.

Ypu can buy a legitimate code for downloading MS Office for £20 or so, so can separate from kit choice

 

[Sea Change]

Just a thought.
Our saloon table has a drinks locker in the middle. It's not tall enough for a bottle of single malt, therefore it's pretty useless.
It would be very cool to mount a monitor in there on some sort of vertical sliding mechanism. Which ideally would also rotate.
I wonder if such a thing exists...

 

[lustyd]

Just a thought.
Our saloon table has a drinks locker in the middle. It's not tall enough for a bottle of single malt, therefore it's pretty useless.
It would be very cool to mount a monitor in there on some sort of vertical sliding mechanism. Which ideally would also rotate.
I wonder if such a thing exists...

TV. You’re talking about a TV. Yes TVs exist as do the mechanisms to raise them. TVs are also 4K these days which is better than most monitors.

 

[dgadee]

Just a thought.
Our saloon table has a drinks locker in the middle. It's not tall enough for a bottle of single malt, therefore it's pretty useless.
It would be very cool to mount a monitor in there on some sort of vertical sliding mechanism. Which ideally would also rotate.
I wonder if such a thing exists...

A screen less tall than a bottle of whisky? Pointless. Extend the cabinet downwards instead?

 

[[70521]]

I was aboard a friend's boat the other day and he had a really impressive setup. Micro PC, two screens, wireless keyboard and mouse. The whole thing was relatively cheap and seems to have far more power, memory etc than you would get with a laptop on the same budget.

Do you mean one of those Raspberry PI things?

Personally, I like the flexibility of a laptop as I can work on it at home in the sailing club and on the boat.

Just wish I could find a decent inverter that I could plug into a USB port as the contacts on a 'cigar lighter' type are never great OR ideally a DC power plug.

 

[KompetentKrew]

I went for a high end model Amazon.co.uk

Probably more than you want to spend, but the brand do some much cheaper models, scroll the page above to see. Very please with the one i bought, performed flawlessly since i fitted it.

I think the Intel CPUs are more efficient at the moment - I have a N95 NAS and N100 models are very popular on some forums I use; these are commonly used on mini PCs, which you can pic up from about £100 (??) or £150.

 

[Sea Change]

A screen less tall than a bottle of whisky? Pointless. Extend the cabinet downwards instead?

You prompted me to double check. It's 35cm tall. I was sure that my bottle of Oban didn't fit but for whatever reason, it does, with about half an inch to spare. Maybe I'd had a bit of the contents last time I tried.

 

[Sea Change]

Do you mean one of those Raspberry PI things?

Personally, I like the flexibility of a laptop as I can work on it at home in the sailing club and on the boat.

Just wish I could find a decent inverter that I could plug into a USB port as the contacts on a 'cigar lighter' type are never great OR ideally a DC power plug.

Not a Pi, a proper Windows machine that does everything your old tower PC did, but fits in the palm of your hand.

As explained above, the boat is home, and generally the only place I can guarantee getting good internet anyway.

 

[Sea Change]

TV. You’re talking about a TV. Yes TVs exist as do the mechanisms to raise them. TVs are also 4K these days which is better than most monitors.

I don't need to pick up broadcast TV (on my house, my aerial blew down in a storm in 2013 and I've been streaming ever since).

One of the big advantages of putting the display in the saloon table is that it would actually be a much more comfortable place to work than the chart table, which has a very upright seat, and a very deep table which necessitates a large monitor or some sort of bracket to pull the screen closer. Which would then get right in the way of the VHF etc.

 

[lustyd]

I don't need to pick up broadcast TV (on my house, my aerial blew down in a storm in 2013 and I've been streaming ever since).

You don’t need to use the broadcast TV part, just the HDMI input. TVs are fine for this but generally cheaper. That’s assuming small TVs are still available

 

[dgadee]

I have been using RAM ball mount systems for screens and also tablets in the cockpit. Price used to be very high but can be bought quite cheaply now.

 

[dgadee]

You don’t need to use the broadcast TV part, just the HDMI input. TVs are fine for this but generally cheaper. That’s assuming small TVs are still available

Monitors are thinner than TVs, aren't they?

 

[rogerthebodger]

This is my micro PC setup, the Black box. The white box below is my SSDrive that can be taken and used on my laptop of Desk Top PC

I have a screen splitter to drive screen at nav station and/or cockpit together with NASA AIS and GRP mouse.

I also can display instruments on the PC using soft to display NMEA data

https://flic.kr/p/FXGTKE

Screen and keyboard on the nav station fixed to the cabin side

 

[lustyd]

Monitors are thinner than TVs, aren't they?

Sometimes I guess, not usually these days though

 

[Sea Change]

Sometimes I guess, not usually these days though

What's the advantage of a TV over a monitor?

 

[lustyd]

What's the advantage of a TV over a monitor?

No advantage, but they’re available in more sizes, generally cheaper, and mounting options are widely available. If a monitor is available then go for that but for a screen coming out of a table scenario TVs will probably be easier to source and set up

 

[Dockhead]

Another data point --

We have used a series of micro computers on board for many years, and I think we finally got the right setup with the last iteration. Right for us -- YMMV and I'm not selling them.

Main points:

1. Run Linux, not Windows.

2. Don't go for the lowest power available. You need a bit of power, decent graphics processing, and a bit of RAM, to run OpenCPN with a bunch of charts well. I'm using the highest version of the Atom process from three years ago or whatever -- Celeron Gold. 8GB of RAM.

3. Go for one which takes standardized M.2 SSD card.

4. Go for one which takes a USB-C PD power supply. Then setting up the power supply, hard wired to ship's DC power, is a snap.

I much prefer micro computers to laptops. Laptops occupy the nav table surface and you can't spread a chart or work properly with logbooks etc. Laptops have too small screens -- you want at least 23" to really see a raster chart.

 

[geem]

I think the Intel CPUs are more efficient at the moment - I have a N95 NAS and N100 models are very popular on some forums I use; these are commonly used on mini PCs, which you can pic up from about £100 (??) or £150.

Mine was £115. Can't fault it.

 

[dgadee]

Another data point --

We have used a series of micro computers on board for many years, and I think we finally got the right setup with the last iteration. Right for us -- YMMV and I'm not selling them.

Main points:

1. Run Linux, not Windows.

2. Don't go for the lowest power available. You need a bit of power, decent graphics processing, and a bit of RAM, to run OpenCPN with a bunch of charts well. I'm using the highest version of the Atom process from three years ago or whatever -- Celeron Gold. 8GB of RAM.

3. Go for one which takes standardized M.2 SSD card.

4. Go for one which takes a USB-C PD power supply. Then setting up the power supply, hard wired to ship's DC power, is a snap.

I much prefer micro computers to laptops. Laptops occupy the nav table surface and you can't spread a chart or work properly with logbooks etc. Laptops have too small screens -- you want at least 23" to really see a raster chart.

Agree with all/most this but my old mini pc was 12v. No need for voltage adaptor. Why do you think a usb power input is good?