The Four-Inch PC

[Skiz]

Created by Xi3 Corporation, it's a 4-inch aluminum cube that contains a fully-upgradeable modular PC. Runs an Athlon 64 X2 CPU, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, and offers plentiful ports. You can even drop an i7 in there if you want. :smilie4:


http://theawesomer.com/photos/2010/11/112210_xi3_cube_computer_t.jpg


Press Release

Xi3 Corporation Unveils the Xi3 Modular Computer

Winner of a CES 2011 Innovations Award in the Computer Hardware Category, the cube-like
Xi3 Modular Computer measures less than 4-inches per side, is powered by
dual core processors and may be "the last computer you ever need to buy"

SALT LAKE CITY -- November 10, 2010 -- Xi3® Corporation today announced its Xi3 Modular Computer™, a truly new approach to personal computing.

Showcased last night for the first time to journalists and analysts at the CES Unveiled@NY Showcase and Networking Reception in New York City, the Xi3 Modular Computer was named by the Consumer Electronics Association as an Innovations Award Winner in the Computer Hardware Category for the 2011 International CES trade show.

Measuring less than 4-inches per side, powered by dual core processors, yet requiring less than 20 Watts to operate, the Xi3 Modular computer is a small cube-like computer that is (as its name suggests) completely modular in nature. The Xi3 Modular Computer is supported by six issued U.S. patents and utilizes the Xi3 computer architecture which divides the classic motherboard into three separate boards:

One board that houses the processors and RAM, and
Two additional I/O boards to handle all connectivity and input/output requirements.
Each Xi3 board can be quickly removed, modified and/or replaced. Additionally, the Xi3 design makes it very easy to connect new external devices to the Xi3 Modular Computer.

"We reject the concept that computers should have a useful life of only two to four years," said Jason A. Sullivan, President and CEO of Xi3 Corporation. "Instead we believe that computers should be upgradeable and updateable over and over and over again, and that's how we've designed the Xi3 Modular Computer, making it (potentially) the last computer you ever need to buy."

Xi3 Modular Computer Design

The Xi3 architectural design houses the three boards within a strong yet lightweight aluminum cube that is small enough for almost any embedded solution, yet is supremely functional for both office and home use. Additionally, the aluminum casing of the Xi3 Modular Computer serves as a type of heatsink, while the flow-through design and the placement of the processors within the computer combine to help mitigate and dissipate heat blooms inside the enclosure itself. Three of the external sides of the aluminum casing also host separate universal mounting slides, making it simple to mount an Xi3 Modular Computer to almost anything, anywhere.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZa9uViPx1Y&

[sandman_1]

Nice device until I saw the price for the thing, ewww. :blink:

[Detale]

Where did you see the price for it. Personally I want one...BADLY! All I saw was less than $1000. Also it's not really a good sign when the site http://www.xi3.com/ is parked :dabs:

[tesco]

Where did you see the price for it. Personally I want one...BADLY! All I saw was less than $1000. Also it's not really a good sign when the site http://www.xi3.com/ is parked :dabs:
http://xi3.org/

[Cabalo]

$864 with the standard configs. http://xi3.org/buy_now.php
Interesting thingy, a bit pricey too.

[iLOVENZB]

What does this mean:

Hard Drive Standard- Internal SSD 16G Flash Drive (not available for Windows OS)

Why can't you install a windows based os on it? Or do they mean the drive isnt available if you purchase a windows os from them?

[Xbox_360]

Very cool and is neat great for people who don't have space even for the micro atx systems. The price is a bit to much right now for close to $900 does not get you a whole lot compared to if you built or bought a pc for around that price. I know he was talking about people using it to stream movies really? That would be a pain having all these external encloses everywhere since this pc only has 8gb SSD drive. Now I could see them selling it as a home theater pc this thing would easily fit anywhere and not stick out.

[jallen100]

Hmm "Xi3 Modular Computers use 19 watts of power to operate" You couldn't do any upgrading to this even if you could find the parts. An i7 would use much more power than what what i think it's rated at, but i could be wrong. The only advantage to this is portibility, but you could find a netbook with the same spec's for cheaper. Nice find though! I'm amazed how they crammed all the essentials of a computer into such a small package.

[iLOVENZB]

Xbox_360: Home theater chassis look much sexier, I can assure you ;).

jallen100: It would be more economic to dump the unit in a icebox as fitting additional fans would be overkill.

Apart from fish tank builds I think this guy got his cooling cap on right:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UG6eZwzyJ8Q/SYgZTRQVq-I/AAAAAAAACeU/ME3j9NhoRdI/s400/cooler+fan.JPG

I'm starting to like this site: http://justrelaxout.blogspot.com/2009/02/pc-fun.html

[megabyteme]

Thanks for keeping your eyes on stuff like this, skiz. This is a great design that looks like a "next-gen" direction. I used to find $1000 a pretty comfortable price for a build until I got spoilede with good-enough performance in the $300-$550 range. I don't imagine it will be too long before Asus comes out with something that will be similar, yet cheaper. Gotta love the times we are in (at least regarding tech)...

[Detale]

Hey, I know it's pricey, but a wise "clock maker" one said if you want to play you gotta pay. Hell I'm not working right now but when I get back to work I just may get this for the cool factor of it. I love the design of it and like Mega said I'm sure this is a next gen thing with other companies sure to follow suit. we'll see.

Something I am unclear on is the Xm3dia

http://xi3.org/images/Xm3dia.png

It says on the page:
Xm3dia (x media) is an exciting new technology exclusive to the Xi3 architecture – a powerful, feature-rich, bus system designed for limitless expansion and feature additions to Xi3-based Modular Computer."

I can't find any info on this at all and have never heard of anything else running on this type of bus so what good could it be??

Also great site Ilovenzb they had an article a while back on an "old fashioned" PC I thought was cool.

Another great pic
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UG6eZwzyJ8Q/SYgZTMZ0hZI/AAAAAAAACd8/kcWVsmZfq-w/s400/Microsoft.JPG

[LockeJohn]

the price is quite much high... i don't know how can i use it but i want one :D

[tesco]

Hey, I know it's pricey, but a wise "clock maker" one said if you want to play you gotta pay. Hell I'm not working right now but when I get back to work I just may get this for the cool factor of it. I love the design of it and like Mega said I'm sure this is a next gen thing with other companies sure to follow suit. we'll see.

Something I am unclear on is the Xm3dia

http://xi3.org/images/Xm3dia.png

It says on the page:
Xm3dia (x media) is an exciting new technology exclusive to the Xi3 architecture – a powerful, feature-rich, bus system designed for limitless expansion and feature additions to Xi3-based Modular Computer."

I can't find any info on this at all and have never heard of anything else running on this type of bus so what good could it be??

I think that the point is that you buy xm3dia modules (sold by Xi3) which add expansions to the device, for example to add SATA ports, USB ports, etc. since you can't add any expansion cards inside of it. Think of it like an external PCIx slot.
I'd be interested to see the specs of it.

[megabyteme]

I don't expect that port to last long. If I understand correctly, that is their "Apple-ish" way of getting people to spend more on their external devices. Blech.

[Detale]

Right,but what good is that? Don't these companies get that the consumers don't want a new interface that's comparable with NOTHING else on the market yet. They'd be better off putting a parallel port and I could hook up my old dot matrix printer like.

[Expeto]

They claim to be modular, yet they offer only one linux against 8 different windows versions.


Why can't you install a windows based os on it? Or do they mean the drive isnt available if you purchase a windows os from them?

Because its a Flash Drive and windows doesn't like to be booted from flash drives. Some of the pirated editions support flash boot.

[Detale]

Also by modular I believe they mean interchangeable parts not the different Os's

[Expeto]

I just read their about page and I think you are right about the parts.

Still, I didn't knew I need their special patented technology to "change" my PC parts. This seems like what they are implying.
In terms of modularity my PC which have 8 parts and lots of beats the shit out of that cube which only have 3 changeble parts. It looks awesome and it definitely something I would buy like to buy and idea is nice. But, I find it funny that they claim to be the future of computing with their few generations old hardware. And its way too expensive, you can easily build a similar box PC from mini-itx atom boards for a lower price. Since any time a component dies, I will be replacing 3/1 of the hardware, and that hardware will be only sold by one company, it will be even more expensive.

Concept is great but not a revolution, just an inevitable milestone.

[andrenievo]

Measuring less than 4-inches per side, powered by dual core processors, yet requiring less than 20 Watts to operate, the Xi3 Modular computer is a small cube-like computer that is (as its name suggests) completely modular in nature. The Xi3 Modular Computer is supported by six issued U.S. patents and utilizes the Xi3 computer architecture which divides the classic motherboard into three separate boards:

* One board that houses the processors and RAM, and
* Two additional I/O boards to handle all connectivity and input/output requirements.


WOW!!!! Really! 4-inch?

[Detale]

WOW!!!! Really! 4-inch?
Is that what she said :O

[iLOVENZB]

Cooling; how is it possible?

[Detale]

WEll, cooling I think because it's so small they could prob get away with one 40mm well placed fan.

@ Expeto Theire Special tech is that they have their own proprietary interchangeable parts bud. It's not exactly any kind of ATX format in there you know.

[megabyteme]

Cooling; how is it possible?

You put it in a sock, and swing it around when using it.

[Detale]

Genius!

[megabyteme]

Liquid cooled is possible if you go jogging for an hour before placing the PC in the sock. :sick:

[clocker]

Cooling; how is it possible?
I'll bet they're using the extruded aluminum housing as a heatsink, all passive, no fans.

Your phone has no active cooling and this thing is more of an amped up phone than a scaled down PC.

[zot]

This was one of my all-time favorites.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/05/the-whiskey-pc/

[Polarbear]

http://images.apple.com/macmini/images/overview_hero1_20100615.pnghttp://images.apple.com/macmini/images/overview_hero2_20100615.pnghttp://images.apple.com/macmini/images/specs_dimensions_mini_20100615.jpg

It's a little bigger. $699.

[iLOVENZB]

Is that the new Apple Mini Polarbear?

[Polarbear]

Is that the new Apple Mini Polarbear?

Not so new. It was released in June. Its baseline config ought to blow away even the fastest Xi3, it's much cheaper and runs any OS.

http://www.apple.com/macmini/specs.html

It idles at 8 watt by the way.

[iLOVENZB]

If it wasn't for the constant Mac bashing by my friends and cyber douches I would of switched years ago.

Better start learning the MacOS UI soon.

What the fuck! Australians are getting ass raped - $200 dollars extra.

700 U.S. dollars = 722.916452 Australian dollars not $899.00

http://www.apple.com/au/macmini/

Found a cheaper store called BuyMac (http://www.buymac.com.au/product/apple-mac-mini-24ghz2gb320gbsd-mc270xa-free-shipping), I can only look harder I guess?

Nice design Apple thought of isn't it?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1HwqBodanA

[Polarbear]

Well, it's not much cheaper in Germany either. Cheapest price here is 679€ = (USD) $896. In the UK it's even $935 in the Apple store.

It's not only Apple's fault. Import taxes and other country specific factors play a role.

Maybe this site is helpful for Australia: http://www.macpricesaustralia.com/



Nice design Apple thought of isn't it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1HwqBodanA

Looks like the old Mac Mini.

http://is00.thegumtree.com/image/extrabig/27911876.jpg

[Detale]

If it wasn't for the constant Mac bashing by my friends and cyber douches..

:wave:

[iLOVENZB]

Your a Mac fan Detale?

I've seen the new model for Mac Mini on eBay (Buy it now) for $790 (AUD) :pinch:. I've also seen 20" iMac's for <$600 (AUD) can't really tell the model because I haven't done enough research.

Fuel for the fire: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

[Detale]

OHH GOD NO! I hate MAc computers with all my being. They are waay overpriced for the hardware you get. The OS isn't bad and as you may already know I am a sellout as I have an ipad and an ipod touch 4g, but in fairness I got both of them through a shady friend when they "fell off the back of a truck" for less than half the retail price. You will pay at least HALF for the same hardware using another OS.

[iLOVENZB]

Fair enought Detale. I have a few "shady" friends myself and that's usually where I get my gear from. I try not to get anything from them which is high in retail price to avoid suspicion. I've looked on eBay and there are a few G5's under $100 with the known lines on monitor fault. Not even going to bother with a desktop over half a decade old which is about a century in Apple years :P.

I've actually bought a few iPhone apps, is there a emulator for the Mac's yet? This article is 2 years old, surely there is one by now? : http://www.tidbits.com/Talk/2238

Nobody can really complain about Apple's design for the ranges. I mean the G5 Mac pro case is orgazmic to look at.

[Detale]

Oh sure aesthetically they have some wonderful looking products. I like the iPad/pod's I have very much. Have you not seen my thread on the g5 (http://filesharingtalk.com/threads/384278-D-s-G5-Mod?highlight=g5+mod)? When I get back to work I will have some cash to throw into it ATM it's a stale project. What in the HELL do you mean you "bought" apps?? check out demonoid man they have a decent selection also seeing as how you love NZB's usenet has almost all of em too.

[iLOVENZB]

I sometimes like to support devs, artist etc :D. A friend was thinking of becoming a iPhone dev, I have already dipped my toes in the music industry and am now thinking of becoming an active part of the film industry.

Once you want to get into a industry and find out what really goes on in them you realize that filesharing is really under rated in terms of profit loss. I mean yes there are too many middle men who bump up prices and that some figures are fugged but honestly stealing is stealing no matter what side of the fence you're on.

Whats worse is that piracy is even bigger now then it was 10 or 20 years ago, you don't even have to go the the store and purchase anything.

What changed my view entirely was when I was offered a managerial role at the bakery I work at. Before I used to think that business owners were a bunch of greedy pigs trying to rip off all employees but boy was I wrong by the second month of the position.

Greedy fucking parliamentarians. Also want to take this time to say a huge Fuck you to Work Cover and anyone who works under a insurance sector.

Anyway ... did you end up posting your end product for your G5 project :unsure:?

I was going to get a G5 mod but the only case I could find was one from U.S. and the freight was nearly more than the retail for a G5 desktop :angry:.

[Skiz]

I don't mind buying some apps either. I grab everything first via Installous and test it out. If it's an app I've been using for a couple months and it appears I'd like to keep using it, I'll usually go ahead and buy it when it needs an update or something.

If the Grooveshark app (on Cydia) would cut it's monthly rate in half, I'd consider paying for that as well.

[Skiz]

:whistlingvery cool. The price is a bit to much right now for close to $900 does not get you a whole lot compared to if you built or bought a pc for around that price. I know he was talking about people using it to stream movies really? That would be a pain having all these external encloses everywhere since this pc only has 8gb SSD drive. Now I could see them selling it as a home theater pc this thing would easily fit anywhere and not stick out. ...

How about behind the TV? In a cabinet? In a drawer? Behind the entertainment center?

Seriously, how can you not find a place to stash a 4" block?

[Xbox_360]

Yes Skiz I was saying it would be very easy to hide or place this pc any where. It seems sridharsudha copied and edited my post on the first page??