I'm considering building a PC around a power supply optimized for running off 12v DC to take advantage of better efficiencies. Possibly being able to switch between two power supplies for the best of both worlds. Currently, on line power, the 120v 60cycle gets converted into 12v, 5v and 3v rectified DC by the power supply. the conversion from 12v DC power, from batteries or vehicle, to the filters and conditioned array of power the PC likes is far less drastic and more efficient.
This is kit list I eventually ended up getting for a Solar Powered PC
Motherboard - POV Ion Atom 330 (replaced the dual core Atom 330 heatsink & fan with a Thermalright HR-05 Northbridge Cooler and Noctua 80mm Fan NF-R8 which is virtually inaudible).
RAM - Adata Vitesta Extreme Edition DDR2 1000+ DDR2 2GB.
PSU - 300W Silverstone ST30NF, Fanless, Nightjar, 20 & 24 Pin, ATX, 0Db.
HDD - Samsung F2 EcoGreen HD502HI: Silent 500GB 3.5" HDD HD502HI (still waiting for SSD prices to come down to justify absolutely silent operation, although the Samsung is pretty darn good -
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article951-page4.html).
BD ROM - Liteon HOS104.
Audio Amplifier PCI Sonic Impact TIO board T class Amplifier 30W RMS.
Case - Silverstone LC10B Black Aluminum HTPC Desktop Case w/o PSU.
Power consumption works out around 35-45W, the computer is virtually silent (required for Audiophile purposes) and the PSU can be switched out with something like a picoPSU-120 12-25V DC-DC ATX PSU. i.e. the HTPC case has lots of room to drill the DC power cable connector for direct SLA battery operation (when I eventually get around to it) or to mount an appropriate sized SLA battery if need be.
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