In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips kony <spam@spam.com> wrote in part:
>>AFAIR, PSU efficiency is ~50%. 70% for some of the best units.
>>No way a faster computer gets total work done that much faster.
>
> Actually typical efficiency might be 70%, better units now
> approaching 85%.

Thank you for the correction

> Yes a faster computer really is at least 3X faster than the
> Via processor based ones that were suggested. They give up
> all hopes of performance in order to achieve low power.

No, they do not. Yes, the fast box benchmarks 3x. But I said
"gets total work done that much faster". Does the user get up
out of the chair in 1/3rd the time? No! Outside HPC, the only
thing that speed affects is the user experience -- the faster
system appears more responsive. She might wait 0.5 second less.
We pay a heavy price for impatience.

> ?? A dedicated video player is not lower power than an
> underclocked low-end video card. Certainly it is lower power
> than the entire PC would be,

Yes, and we must compare everything to get the job done.
Including the noise & slow boot if a PC is to serve as DVD player.
Perhaps OK for a student in a dorm. Less so in a living room.


> but then we get back to an idea in my last post that part
> of the beauty of a PC is it's versatility and we can't just
> subjectly subtract features and have it apply to anyone's
> needs except that subject.

Of course we can. Specialization has been a key to human
progress. Do you use a screwdriver as a hammer?

> You are missing the point, I am not talking about ancient
> processors, I am talking about equivalent performance to what
> the OP had proposed as a low powered system. That can be had
> with a Pentium 3 era system for example.

No. The later P-3 (Tualatin) were typically 30W for 1 GHz.
Some mobiles were less.

> I think in the laptop market it is mostly a function of cost, that
> integrated video saves a lot more on a laptop than on a PC where
> it can be bought for under $20 if one keeps an eye out for deals.

Laptops are one area that doesn't appear very cost sensitive,
but is extremely power/runtime/weight sensitive. People
complain more about short battery life than ridiculous pricing.
Quite possibly because most laptops are bought by employers.

-- Robert