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Going Mobile
martin_kopplow
Member Posts: 1,317 PRO
Winter will soon be over in these parts. Time to go working elswhere, not necessarily at my desk. Why not work at a nice spot out in the countryside? I was thinking about getting myself a compact PC, if possible a power saving model, a decent display (E-Ink?) and an LTE/5G cellular antenna, then carry all that into my camper van and wire it up to the solar power supply. Maybe I'd have to add one more PV panel to keep the fridge going until after working hours and the drinks cold, though. I already tried this using a laptop, but that had thermal issues in summer, and it charging it's internal batteries from the PV battery makes no sense. I need a robust non-laptop solution and rather put the energy into a larger screen.
I could imagine using a PC like a NUC or so, but what would be the best choice? It wouldn't have to run anything else or more demanding than a browser and Onshape, though it would have to have it's performance "sweet spot" exactly on these requirements.
Has anybody here already done a similar thing? Do you have recommendations for the smallest most frugal PC that has enough power to run Onshape? A display?
Comments
I'd still use a laptop. Modern laptops are super efficient if setup that way. Eliminate all the background processes. Set the power mode to Power Saver.
Run it off of a DC-DC converter so you eliminate the inefficiency and extra hardware of the DC→AC→DC conversions.
Yes, there'd certainly be no DC→AC conversion. I just think the laptops are too small screen wise, and a large screen is - in my experience - the number one performance booster in CAD. I once had a sample 32" colour E-Ink panel I could try out (all naked wires and PCBs, it was scheduled to be used for a project) and that one was pretty nice, though a bit slow at times, but then CAD is no ego shooter. ;0) Anybody tried that? It is graeat in direct sunlight.