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Small form factor pc

AlistairW

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AlistairW

AlistairW

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I imagine some people must have mounted these nano pc to their pier/mount. I am thinking of doing the same but not sure what to look for. 

Ideally I don't want barebones - i would like Windows 10, around 32 storage, 2 USB 2. And be able to run SGP/PHD. I would control indoors via teamviewer.

What are the options out there - cheaper the better.

 

Thanks

Alistair

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tooth_dr

tooth_dr

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I bought three Dell SFF pcs last week. They are much nicer and smaller than the SFF Lenovo models I have 

 

£450 a piece 4GB RAM, 1TB, i5, HDMI only  

 

Edit: just read you post again, these are obviously too big unless your pier is hoooge

 

 

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steppenwolf

steppenwolf

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2 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

I bought three Dell SFF pcs last week. They are much nicer and smaller than the SFF Lenovo models I have

£450 a piece 4GB RAM, 1TB, i5, HDMI only  

Any chance of a direct link to the suppliers of these specific SFFs? Thanks.

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nicks90

nicks90

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If you want super small form factor, try the gigabyte brix PC.

I have one and I use it as my gaming machine for call of duty, Verdun, flight Sims etc. Absolutely fantastic piece of kit and you can spec them up to something that would put most regular gaming desktops to shame. 

They are seriously small.

I used to take mine and a b/tooth keyboard and mouse with me when I worked 2 nights a week away from home to play games on the TV in hotel rooms.

It'll run all your Astro software no probs.

Uses laptop memory and hard drive so easily expandable with solid state drives etc

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AngryDonkey

AngryDonkey

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Hello,

Also have a look at the Intel NUC series of PC's. They are fully features Windows 10 machines in a very small package. They come in different packages from different suppliers, some include Windows 10 others don't. Depending on processor and storage size they are around 250 to 500 pound. I got mine second hand which saved me a fair amount.

Kind Regards,

Mike

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AlistairW

AlistairW

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Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question but ....,

If i were to get something like the Minix then i guess I connect a monitor and keyboard- then i set up SGP and Teamviewer so that I can remote. Then I simply disconnect the monitor and keyboard and i should be able to boot the Minix - ( i guess with no password ). So eventually i want all my telescope control software on my mount, with no keyboard or monitor ( think it is termed headless ) and to be able to simply switch on and then connect via the indoors pc via teamviewer. Is this possible ?

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iapa

iapa

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On 05/03/2017 at 13:10, tooth_dr said:

I bought three Dell SFF pcs last week. They are much nicer and smaller than the SFF Lenovo models I have 

 

£450 a piece 4GB RAM, 1TB, i5, HDMI only  

 

 

 

 

At that price, I've been considering Intel's 'compute sticks'

1.1Ghz dual core, 4GB RAM and it uses MMC for your storage.

Runs from your powered USB hub :) 

For much less, 1.44GHz, 4 core Atom CPU, 2GB RAM and , mmm, mere 32GB storage. 1 USB2 and 3 USB 3 ports.

Should be enough for imaging and guiding.

Need to see how much of the 32GB is used by the OS though. Hope not a lot as Win7 on my PC takes 20GB after patching.

Although it does support Micros SDXC cards.

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tooth_dr

tooth_dr

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7 minutes ago, iapa said:

At that price, I've been considering Intel's 'compute sticks'

1.1Ghz dual core, 4GB RAM and it uses MMC for your storage.

Runs from your powered USB hub :) 

For much less, 1.44GHz, 4 core Atom CPU, 2GB RAM and , mmm, mere 32GB storage. 1 USB2 and 3 USB 3 ports.

Should be enough for imaging and guiding.

Need to see how much of the 32GB is used by the OS though. Hope not a lot as Win7 on my PC takes 20GB after patching.

Although it does support Micros SDXC cards.

Except these weren't for astronomy. 

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AKB

AKB

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2 hours ago, AlistairW said:

If i were to get something like the Minix then i guess I connect a monitor and keyboard- then i set up SGP and Teamviewer so that I can remote. Then I simply disconnect the monitor and keyboard and i should be able to boot the Minix - ( i guess with no password ). So eventually i want all my telescope control software on my mount, with no keyboard or monitor ( think it is termed headless ) and to be able to simply switch on and then connect via the indoors pc via teamviewer. Is this possible ?

Yes, exactly so.  That's precisely what I do (although using VNC rather than TeamViewer.)  Nice, because you can view and control with another PC, a Mac, an iPad, or whatever.

...actually, you can boot with a password and log in remotely, having previously set up a VNC server which comes up at restart.

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Dr_Ju_ju

Dr_Ju_ju

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Instead of a PC, have a think about using a Raspberry Pi & follow Gina's or the What works with Linux threads about setting one up...

Granted this may start to be outside of your comfort zone (Linux, INDI, etc.), but it does make for a significantly smaller footprint at the pier, and can still be controlled from your inside PC using Kstars CTC etc....

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