can a cheap laptop act as a internet server?

[krisoto]

planning to buy a 150 to 200mhz cheapo laptop and "on" for 24 hrs. at home for everybody can use the internet.

 

[Vegito]

as to serf internet or to translate traffic to your other pc.. it'll work but it'll burn out faster... add fans to cool it or have it sleep

 

[OulOat]

Why not el cheapo desktop since you probably won't move the server around? Probably save you a hundred compared to the laptop.

 

[krisoto]

your right it can heat up very quickly 24 hr. and an el cheapo pc is better. guess i have to find a all in one pc. thanks

 

[CTho9305]

My old server - it is a 486 dx 33 (desktop). The laptop would work fine, but as others said, would cost more.

I have no idea what forcesho is saying - computers are designed to not cook themselves.

edit: typo in url

 

[Bloodstein]

Originally posted by: CTho9305
My old server - it is a 486 dx 33 (desktop). The laptop would work fine, but as others said, would cost more.

I have no idea what forcesho is saying - computers are designed to not cook themselves.

edit: typo in url

Agreed. My laptop is on almost all the time and it works fine....

 

[hirschma]

Originally posted by: krisoto
planning to buy a 150 to 200mhz cheapo laptop and "on" for 24 hrs. at home for everybody can use the internet.

I'd say the general answer is "yes", but depending on the specifics, could be no. What do mean by "internet server"?

If you're talking Windows ICS, forget it. Buy a cheap router instead, which will be much faster, easier to deal with, and more compatible.
ICS is dog slow, and I've seen it be the bottleneck for a cable modem connection on a PIII-800. ICS should be avoided at all costs, it generally just sucks

If you're talking about putting together a BSD or Linux based firewall/router type of thing, it'll work fine, assuming that you can get drivers to load for two PCMCIA ethernet cards (or one PCMCIA and one USB card). I'd strongly suggest getting two different brands of PCMCIA ethernet cards that have strong support. Both Linux and the BSD's have much more efficient code for routing and firewalling/filtering.

If the thing is just going to be a Web or FTP server for light duty, it really doesn't matter what you use. You might find a $199 WalMart cheapo PC is a better fit.

My $.02. How about more details?

jonathan