Rugged Pc

[adiack]

Budget (including currency): £2000 (including screen and peripherals)

Country: United Kingdom

Intended Use: AI (CUDA) and robot control software (ROS2)

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Hi everyone,

I’m looking to build a small, rugged PC that can be easily transported. It needs to withstand some rough handling, as I'll be using it while camping and in other outdoor settings (note: the battery is not part of this build). Ideally, the setup should be reasonably drop-resistant, as it’ll likely get bumped around quite a bit.

Requirements:

• A good CUDA-supporting GPU
• At least 32GB of RAM
• Linux compatibility

I’ve been considering a small form factor case with added rubber padding on the corners to keep everything secure, but this setup still seems a bit delicate and might require careful handling.

 

Would integrating the PC into a Pelican case work as a solution?

 

Or would just placing a small form factor PC inside a Pelican case and then, I could taking it out when needed be a better solution?

Any advice or insights from people who have tried something similar would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

[jaslion]

This just sounds like you want a laptop really. Desktops are not made to be sturdy and transportable at all.

 

 

[Crunchy Dragon]

48 minutes ago, jaslion said:

This just sounds like you want a laptop really. Desktops are not made to be sturdy and transportable at all.

Agreed.

 

Is there a reason to avoid a P-series ThinkPad or something to that effect?

[shoutingsteve]

You'll need to go rackmount with your case selection and then get a case like this to house the rack:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GPro4--gator-g-pro-4u-19-pro-series-rack-case

Pelican cases are good, but this is better.

[adiack]

8 minutes ago, shoutingsteve said:

You'll need to go rackmount with your case selection and then get a case like this to house the rack:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GPro4--gator-g-pro-4u-19-pro-series-rack-case

Pelican cases are good, but this is better.

Thank you that looks seriosly cool and would be a fantastic option but they arent available in the uk and wait times seem to be measured in months

[adiack]

14 minutes ago, shoutingsteve said:

You'll need to go rackmount with your case selection and then get a case like this to house the rack:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GPro4--gator-g-pro-4u-19-pro-series-rack-case

Pelican cases are good, but this is better.

They seem rather expensive once you find something with a decent GPU and not that rugged though i have never used or owned a ThinkPad.

[BiotechBen]

33 minutes ago, adiack said:

They seem rather expensive once you find something with a decent GPU and not that rugged though i have never used or owned a ThinkPad.

How much compute power are you looking for?

[shoutingsteve]

1 hour ago, adiack said:

Thank you that looks seriosly cool and would be a fantastic option but they arent available in the uk and wait times seem to be measured in months

the thing you are looking for is called a "rugged rack case for A/V"

[NinJake]

Panasonic Toughbook (https://connect.na.panasonic.com/toughbook/rugged-computers)

Dell Rugged line (https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/scr/laptops/appref=latitude-rugged-product-line)

 

First things that come to mind for "rugged" and easily transported.I know it's not a desktop but if you are going to try this with an actual desktop or SFF pc your best bet is to rig up some sort of secured environment in a Pelican case as you are hoping for, however you may want to keep thermals in mind if this is going to be a closed case.

 

I'm not sure if any of these offerings have CUDA gpu offhand- but it's possible you may want to look into an external GPU that plugs in via thunderbolt?