Separate parts desktop computer
posted by dcousquer on 29 August 2007 17:13 Go to forum
Problem context :
A usuel desktop computer is very hard to update. Except when you're a specialist, it's not easy to add RAM, change your CPU, change your CD burner for a DVD burner or any other improvement.
The desktop is heavy and you cannot easily take it to a store, where you have to let it there during the time this small piece is changed.
So, you end up pestering against your old desktop computer, and when you're really fed up you just throw it away and buy a brand new one.
It's just when you plug the new computer that, by the way, you think about the data you forgot to save from your old PC...
Proposed Solution :
Selling a computer with separate parts, that could be changed one apiece.
If you want a new motherboard+CPU, you just throw it away and by a new one. No need to change you OS, you keep your data and you minimize the price. Same for the other parts. You can keep up with the pace of improvements more easily.
If possible, the different parts are linked wirelessly, which makes the whole thing (distriputer ?) more elegant.
The different parts can be plugged one onto the other (for powering purposes for example), minimizing again the wires needed.
Submissions (9)
sounds good to me
answered by wisdom on 6 January 2008 22:31
i like this idea a lot (hell i even thought about such an idea for a while), the only drawback is the technology but i have to say that new ways to connect a computer (USB 3) make such an idea more ideal than it is now. a good idea for this would probably be to choose a specialized OS to go along with it instead of windows and windows genuine advantage, the best part of this idea would be that changing a component (graphics card) would be as easy as stacking a new piece to a tower of boxes. a good idea to refer to for this is the xonbu pc look it up.
Computers are easy to upgrade if you try to learn
answered by adaminc on 30 August 2007 12:46
There is no way you could do this and compete with the speed of the system bus, your solution of "Selling a computer with separate parts", thats how PCs are now, you can go buy prebuilt computers, or you can get barebone's computers, or you can buy all the parts on there own, its up to you. Another problem is windows, microsoft in their infinite wisdom makes it difficult to change hardware, always having to reauthorize etc.. It really is easy to upgrade, dvd/cd devices, only 2 cables involved (data and power), installing a new processor is also easy, you just take the fan off the heatsink, take the heatsink off the processor, take the processor out of the socket, put a new processor in, apply thermal grease, put new heatsink on processor, put fan on heatsink, voila! RAM is probably the easiest, you just push it into an empty socket, or remove an old stick of ram and push the new ram into its socket, voila!
It has been theorised for a while
answered by Stasiu on 29 August 2007 17:40
That would be nice but ...it's a bit old idea and many firms might have it somewhere down the pipeline or at least in the 'idea bank'. Here's the example: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/pcs/dell-xcs-snap+on-pc-concept-185141.php I've seen another concept recently too, don't remember where. It looked like stackable power strips or something Also the success of IBM's PC platform was that it was free and open which in turn brought in great number of available parts in reasonably short time. How would you like to make money on a new platform design? Unless you're a giant like HP or Dell.
UNI Compartmentalized Concept
answered by Siafu_Snafu on 29 August 2007 17:40
An electronics designer Richard Choi has recently developed a similar concept line he calls UNI where the different computer components can be purchased separately and pieced together through a simple plug-in adapter. Here is a link discussing the new idea:
http://www.yankodesign.com/index.php/2007/08/16/uni-computer-builds-em-as-you-go/
I think you leading toward all the parts of a PC operating like USB devices, where you can connect them through each other?
answered by sacah07 on 29 August 2007 17:36
Personally I can't see how hard it is to upgrade a PC, I think if people actually tried, they would find its quite simple. The problem I see with plugging everything together like USB is it would make data transfer extremely slow compared to how fast your PC can access its RAM, CPU and internal HDD currently. Connecting these all wirelessly is even slower again.
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people don't upgrade anymore
answered by Coleman on 5 February 2008 6:07
computers improve so fast now, people will just get new computers instead of upgrading, so they will not need this.
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