Probably a little old news, but figured I'd share it.

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/embedded/artigo/#a0

Via's new Artigo kit is by far the tiniest--and most interesting--I've laid hands on. The $300 bare-bones kit provides the starter hardware for a fully functional PC that's small enough to fit in a desktop PC's 5.25-inch drive bay, opening up a world of geeky possibilities.

The Artigo is based on Via's Pico-ITX motherboard form factor. Via has been pushing this mobo format--which is slightly larger than a credit card--as an alternative to bigger products that use AMD's and Intel's notably faster processors. The Epia PX-branded motherboard included here uses Via's VX700 chip set and UniChrome Pro II graphics chip. The Artigo kit also includes a preinstalled 1-GHz Via C7 NanoBGA2 processor and fan.

Might consider picking one or 2 up as additional crunchers, even though they are on the slowish side, but they are cheap :)

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The VIA C7 CPUs have lackluster FPU performance, which would significantly impact crunching speeds.

It may not be able to completely crunch workunits by the deadline.

Keep that in mind before you go down to the PC store to buy one.

Probably a little old news, but figured I'd share it.

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/embedded/artigo/#a0

Via's new Artigo kit is by far the tiniest--and most interesting--I've laid hands on. The $300 bare-bones kit provides the starter hardware for a fully functional PC that's small enough to fit in a desktop PC's 5.25-inch drive bay, opening up a world of geeky possibilities.

The Artigo is based on Via's Pico-ITX motherboard form factor. Via has been pushing this mobo format--which is slightly larger than a credit card--as an alternative to bigger products that use AMD's and Intel's notably faster processors. The Epia PX-branded motherboard included here uses Via's VX700 chip set and UniChrome Pro II graphics chip. The Artigo kit also includes a preinstalled 1-GHz Via C7 NanoBGA2 processor and fan.

Might consider picking one or 2 up as additional crunchers, even though they are on the slowish side, but they are cheap :)

Actually, if I read the pricing correctly, you can do better.

Look for Asus Terminator C3 barebones for under $100.

These make nice little servers, are very power efficient, but when it comes to floating point performance, the other poster is being very generous.

Expect a typical 50 credit WU to take about 200,000 seconds.

I have one crunching SETI, but only because it is going to be turned on anyway.

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there was a full machine built on this that was selling at Frys for like $350, it was running vista. they claimed it would fit in a 5.25" drive bay. dont know much more about it than that.
its cheap and small.

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There's an Extremetech article describing the VIA isaiah CPU which is supposed to be released in the first half of 2008. It's an all new design and the specs seem to indicate it could make a good low power SETI cruncher. As it is also pin and power compatible with the C7, there could be an ARTiGO with the better CPU this year, too.

The article is a white paper by the founder of Centaur Technology Inc. which designs VIA CPUs, so it would be wise to be skeptical about performance in areas the paper doesn't address.

                                                                Joe

Actually, if I read the pricing correctly, you can do better.

Look for Asus Terminator C3 barebones for under $100.

These make nice little servers, are very power efficient, but when it comes to floating point performance, the other poster is being very generous.

Expect a typical 50 credit WU to take about 200,000 seconds.

I have one crunching SETI, but only because it is going to be turned on anyway.

Yeah, after some further research, I agree that it would be a little on the slowish side FSB-wise (from what I've been seeing, 133 MHz is the average)... Guess it would make a better carputer than anything, or a cruncher for short projects

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There's an Extremetech article describing the VIA isaiah CPU which is supposed to be released in the first half of 2008. It's an all new design and the specs seem to indicate it could make a good low power SETI cruncher. As it is also pin and power compatible with the C7, there could be an ARTiGO with the better CPU this year, too.

The article is a white paper by the founder of Centaur Technology Inc. which designs VIA CPUs, so it would be wise to be skeptical about performance in areas the paper doesn't address.

                                                                Joe

Very interesting read. Thanks Joe!

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Yeah, after some further research, I agree that it would be a little on the slowish side FSB-wise (from what I've been seeing, 133 MHz is the average)... Guess it would make a better carputer than anything, or a cruncher for short projects

The front side bus isn't fast, but that isn't the issue.

These things are very useful, they're just slow at floating point math.

I've got one compiling and serving up web statistics, and it's just fine. I've got another running as a mail server.

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These things are very useful, they're just slow at floating point math.

I've got one compiling and serving up web statistics, and it's just fine. I've got another running as a mail server.

Yep.
They're great for general use (Word processing, email, web surfing etc), but try to play a game on one, or even a video file & you can forget about it. While the new ones will be a big improvement on the old series, they still won't be much good for anything other than general usage. Number crunching isn't what they're good at.

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Grant
Darwin NT

These things are very useful, they're just slow at floating point math.

I've got one compiling and serving up web statistics, and it's just fine. I've got another running as a mail server.

Yep.
They're great for general use (Word processing, email, web surfing etc), but try to play a game on one, or even a video file & you can forget about it. While the new ones will be a big improvement on the old series, they still won't be much good for anything other than general usage. Number crunching isn't what they're good at.

My stats machine does definitely add to my RAC -- but it crunches because it is on 24/7 to do other tasks, not because it's a powerhouse.

It's responsible for about 10% of my current RAC (which says alot about my main cruncher as well -- and not in a particularly positive way).

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They are coming out with a new processor aren't they? link

It better reach market soon...

By the way, have you guys looked @ http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A4842001#

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