Where can I get a cheap mobo with an embedded processor?

aka1nas

Diamond Member
Aug 30, 2001
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I have a project that I am working on with a friend and we want to build a very small form factor box that we could maybe get linux on. I am looking for a low power CPU, which could prefferably be passively cooled and most importantly, extremely cheap. I figured a cheap board with an embedded processor(maybe a C3 or something similar) would suffice. I'd prefer to go this route than try to build something completely custom, and x86 or powerPC would be a plus as I would like to do as little coding as possible. I already tried looking for something like this on google, but I haven't really seen anything yet. Anyone know of any products like this?
 

aka1nas

Diamond Member
Aug 30, 2001
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The EPIAs look nice, but it sounds like they are not fast enough for any kind of video encoding, but are probably more than I need for the rest of the box. The box I am trying to build will basically be an overglorified analog/Digital video converter, though having it be capable of encoding the analog video into mpeg2 would be sweet. Is there anything cheaper than the EPIAs? I was shooting for around ~$100 for the whole box, and the EPIAs themselves would go over that.
 

Athlon4all

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
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Hmmm, there's a PC Chips mobo (M810DLU v5.2C)that has an embedded Duron 800 and I think (not positive) that it goes for under $100. Performance would be solid, although would not be able to be passively cooled.
 

Viper5

Member
Jun 1, 2002
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Yeah id go for the PC Chips board. Duron going to kill a VIA C3 processor at any Mhz.