Cheap full-time "downloader"

[Icky Thwacket]

If the laptop is that old, won't it be USB1, not 2, or does
it have firewire? USB1 could become a bottleneck, P2P has
very heavy disk activity in some cases.

It is very easy to change the laptop internal HDD for a higher capacity.
60/80GB 2.5inch HDD are very cheap now.

I have only a 40GB HDD on my laptop I use for downloading, it lasts weeks
when downloading p2p. Just get into the habit of moving completed files
across to your bigger systems on a regular (every few days) basis.

 

[WooHoo2You]

Umm, ok?

Yeah, okay.

I still think you need some cooling subsystem changes if
your system sounds like a "Hoover" and you find that a
problem at night.

An exaggeration; prefer not to sleep with a semi-loud computer in the same
room.

I don't understand... Did you strip naked and streak into
the CO's office, making an unidentified getaway with the
laptop but so fast you forgot the power adapter?

If not, where can I trade PTs for laptops? Seems too good
to be true, even if it's old.

Look, don't ask don't tell. Have we learned nothing?!?

If the laptop is that old, won't it be USB1, not 2, or does
it have firewire? USB1 could become a bottleneck, P2P has
very heavy disk activity in some cases.

Yes, it only supports USB 1.1 with no firewire. Works great wirelessly for
five to ten minutes of downloading or surfing, trying to get that worked out
as we speak.

 

[Andrew Smallshaw]

I would like to setup a second PC so that the Hoover in my bedroom is not
running all night long. An older system would be quieter and draw much less
power. Currently trying to get my 9 year old laptop to work over a wireless
network, however with no success. (a laptop would using even less
electricity)

One option to consider is a mini-ITX system. I've got one sitting
here that's pretty quiet in operation (you can get rid of cooling
fans entirely with certain boards although not the one here).
Power requirements are pretty low - the entire system is powered by
a 60W 12V DC PSU.

While the boards aren't particularly cheap the systems usually work
out so because the boards are so integrated - CPU, video, network,
audio etc are all already on-board. ITX cases can be expensive
(but needn't be) - you can use a normal Flex-ATX case if you prefer,
although if you go this route and want a fanless power supply I'd
recommend one of the VIA EPIA TCxxxxx boards which have the DC-DC
convertor on-board instead of using one that came with the case
(you'll still need an external power brick though).

To be fair, performance isn't anything to write home about. Office
software and P2P servents will run fine but they aren't up to
playing most games.

 

[WooHoo2You]

One option to consider is a mini-ITX system. I've got one sitting
here that's pretty quiet in operation (you can get rid of cooling
fans entirely with certain boards although not the one here).
Power requirements are pretty low - the entire system is powered by
a 60W 12V DC PSU.

While the boards aren't particularly cheap the systems usually work
out so because the boards are so integrated - CPU, video, network,
audio etc are all already on-board. ITX cases can be expensive
(but needn't be) - you can use a normal Flex-ATX case if you prefer,
although if you go this route and want a fanless power supply I'd
recommend one of the VIA EPIA TCxxxxx boards which have the DC-DC
convertor on-board instead of using one that came with the case
(you'll still need an external power brick though).

To be fair, performance isn't anything to write home about. Office
software and P2P servents will run fine but they aren't up to
playing most games.

Looks cool, however a bit more than I plan to spend if my stone-age laptop
does not workout. I have always been a fan of anything "mini" such as these
PCs.

 

[kony]

It is very easy to change the laptop internal HDD for a higher capacity.
60/80GB 2.5inch HDD are very cheap now.

Yes, but the issue is how this weighs against use of the
laptop versus something else, some other system. It is one
of many things that "could" make it less desirable. The
obvious thing in it's favor is that OP already has it.

Adding a newer HDD (if that hasnt' happened recently, in the
past couple years) might be reasonable if the system is
deemed otherwise suitable.

 

[kony]

An exaggeration; prefer not to sleep with a semi-loud computer in the same
room.

If you don't want to change your computer cooling, ok, but
it seems you keep missing the point that there is no reason
your system can't be quiet enough to sleep, instead of
semi-loud.

Look, don't ask don't tell. Have we learned nothing?!?

LOL
Did it hurt?

Yes, it only supports USB 1.1 with no firewire. Works great wirelessly for
five to ten minutes of downloading or surfing, trying to get that worked out
as we speak.

I was speaking of the performance hit from P2P disk access
over USB1 to the external HDD, a (potentially) far more
demanding task than just downloading a file off the 'net.

Here's another option, or more like just the same things all
put onto one webpage, but P2P is buried in the blog.
http://jonpeck.blogspot.com/2006/11/how-to-configure-80-fileserver-in-45.html

 

[fiddledd]

What is the cheapest way to go about getting a PC used for only downloading
from
BitComet/Limewire/large demos/patches etc? Build or buy?

Can I suggest an alternative approach? A few months ago I was
looking into picking up some NAS drives, primarily for backup.
(NAS == network attached storage; like a USB external drive,
but it plugs into your router instead of a USB port.) While
reading reviews, I noticed that a lot of them were starting
to incorporate Bittorrent or other p2p clients. (Since a NAS
device is like a mini file server, it has to have its own mini
operating system, so there's room to add stuff like that.)

At the time, the reviews seemed to indicate that the bt
support in the devices tested was pretty poor, but since it's
been a few months that may have improved.

You may end up spending almost as much on a NAS box
as you would on a super-low-end PC, but you'll end up with
a more reliable device that has more capacity and that will
draw less power than an old PC.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=nas+bittorrent