Extremely low power/heat build for full house audio

[mazeroth]

I'm going to put a whole house audio system in and control it through iTunes with my iPod touch. This way I can be anywhere in the house and change music, adjust volume etc. I'd like to put a 15" or so touch screen in my wall near the front door that will serve as the central hub for this system. Not to get too into details but the wall it's going in has a 3x3 hollow area, for whatever reason, that I'm going to mount the screen in and behind it, in the stairway for the basement, I want to put the PC. The computer will be in a small opening in the wall (say, 1x1x1) with a locked door. I want the PC to run 24x7 and be able to stay cool in such a small area. I could put a small vent at the top to vent out if needs be. I would also like to install a security camera at the front door and have the PC record if it detects anyone there. Also, it will be used to screen people ringing my doorbell.

Alright, I think I've went on long enough! I currently don't have any parts for this project except for a 640GB Seagate 7200 RPM drive or a 1TB Hitachi 7200 RPM drive that I'm undecided on which to use. Probably the 640GB. I hope it doesn't get too hot! I have been eying the Intel Atom options for their low power and some of the mini-itx cases.

So, what I'm asking is which motherboard/cpu combo you would get, which case that has a power supply that's very efficient and doesn't create much heat, and if anyone has experience with touchscreens? Ultimately I would like to mount the touchscreen and make it look like a picture frame. Then, I could have it display pictures all day long.

The ONLY things that will be loaded on this are iTunes and the software to record from the camera.

All things must be purchased from Newegg. I have a credit from them I need to use and would prefer to buy the computer parts there. The touchscreen can be purchased separately, if needs be.

Thanks in advance for any help. It's greatly appreciated!

 

[philosofool]

This is a great little problem. I'm just going to let you know that I don't know shit about touch screen; if it makes demands on a processor or requires special interface stuff I don't know about, well, I already told you I don't know about that.

I think Atom/ITX is the way to go. The $80 intel model should be great. However, if you stick it in a well insulated box, it's going to get too hot; it produces heat and if the heat doesn't leave, the temperature in the box is theoretically unbounded. IMO, you would be better off locating it in the bottom of a nearby closet and running a long wire (through the wall?) so that the computer can live in a larger, well ventilated space. It's not like you are going to be popping discs in and out of the drive attached to the computer, so there's no special need to locate the computer near the monitor.

 

[nobb]

The Intel Atom processors are very efficient, but it seems like the chipset in many of the Atom motherboards is not. I would estimate that with an Atom build, you might be sitting at 30-40w. The LCD itself might consume 20-30 watts. Another possibility is maybe use a laptop or netbook instead? Not sure how powerful you want the system to be, but with a netbook/laptop you can probably idle at 10-20 watts.

 

[Knavish]

For the computer-in-a-closet solution, you could use a KVM-over-CAT5 box like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817802075

Touch screens usually have a USB cable to communicate the mouse location to the computer -- they don't require any special / high speed hardware. Standard windows can be a bit of a pain to use with a touch screen, though -- the buttons are a bit small for finger use.