Dell's C-Modules and the Optiplex SX-270
John Hall wrote to suggest that the Dell Optiplex SX-270 (see my entry for December 2, 2006) might make a good media PC, and it was certainly an idea that I had kicking around in my head when I first saw the machines at work in our doctor's office.
Key to this application is an SX270 feature I didn't completely grasp at first: The removable C-module. Originally designed for Dell's full-sized laptops like the Inspiron and Latitude, the C-module is a removable drive cartridge that can be popped out of the front panel of the SX-270 and replaced with another. And so far, prowling the Web and (especially eBay) I discovered the following different species of C-modules:
- CD-R
- CD-RW
- DVD/CD-RW
- Zip 100
- Zip 250
- Hard disk caddy, either empty or containing drives of various sizes
- An "airbay" filler wedge; i.e., a hole plug for the bay
The photo above shows the CD-RW C-module that came with Carol's new machine. With a DVD module, you could play standard DVD movies. And with a 100 GB hard drive you could rip and store a fair number of DVDs for display, or an almost infinite number of digital camera photos.
The hard drives used in both the internal drive mount and in the C-modules are in the 2.5", 9.5mm format. The drives in the two machines I have here are Hitachi Travelstar drives, both 40 GB. Hitachi now makes them up to 160 GB in capacity, and I suspect other drive manufacturers make them as well.
I don't know as much about media PC technology as I need to, and I'll be researching it in coming months. I don't watch much TV, and almost never anything worth recording, at least since Firefly sank a couple of years ago. However, I want to be able to play MP3s through our stereo amp and ceiling speakers, and show our digital camera pics (and short video snippets) on the TV. The SX270 should do that all with ease.
The SX270 (and I presume the SX260, which is identical except having VGA video output instead of DVI) field-strips easily, reminiscent of IBM's PS/2 Model 50, which came apart like Legos at need. I'll have some more photos tomorrow.