I’m considering using this for a kiosk-type system but I think I am going to be short on ports:
I need it to have Ethernet, HDMI, and USB-C for power but I am one-port shy to have both mouse and keyboard. I could probably use a USB hub of some kind but that would make the setup less clean.
Has anyone set one of these up in a commercial / manufacturing environment successfully? I think I may try it out but it would not look great if the plant manager had issues with it.
I am currently looking at using a Lenovo ThinkCenter which would be about the same cost.
Thoughts?
If wireless is allowed maybe mouse and keyboard with the same receiver could do the trick. I think there are some vendors which allow to use one dongle for multiple devices (Logitech?). Another solution could be a keyboard with integrated USB hub, then you could connect the mouse directly to the keyboard.
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I do have to hard wire this in and it is a somewhat hazardous environment too but and I may or may not have to use one of those waterproof style keyboards. I am still working on the plan with the operations and plant manager for how shielded this will be. I think I could use some sort of USB hub too I just want this to look as clean as possible.
There are a couple community projects to make dual USB A or C cards. The threads are a bit long so figuring out the actual state of the projects is difficult. Having another potential customer for their projects might motivate them to finish!
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AFAIK the Dual A is basically a DIY/take apart a regular 2 port hub and do some soldering/rewiring to cram it into a 3D printed Expansion Card.
The Dual C seems closer to being done, although apparently still some work and testing to do. It’s getting there, but clearly slower than any of us would like.
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If you can get a monitor with USB-C or at least a USB hub you can just put the computer behind it on the VESA mounts and connect mouse and keyboard to monitor and have little clutter visible.
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I’m not using it in a commercial application, but ran into exactly the same problem RE: number of ports. I agree a monitor or keyboard with an integrated hub is probably the easiest solution if you need more connectivity, I ended up caving and getting a USB-C hub as I also wanted a webcam in addition to keyboard + mouse.
One thing I’ll caution is fan noise in the Cooler Master case can be a bit irritating, depending on where this kiosk setup is located / how sound isolated it is. If it’s on a production floor with ambient noise maybe not an issue but it’d definitely annoy me in a quieter setting. Just browsing the internet or using apps will cause the fans to ramp up often times (with 11th gen Intel, I imagine this is less of an issue with the AMD boards).
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I have been watching some of the projects with Dual USB-C or USB-C plus USB-A and that would be basically perfect. I bought a thing on ebay that would be dual USB-C but one is power delivery only which in this case would also work perfectly for this too. I think I will have to go with the Lenovo for this project but I am VERY close to getting one of these just for testing to see if I can make it work.
If I could wave the magic wand, I would gladly get expansion cards with USB-C + USB-A, even if it was just gaining USB2.0 speeds on the module. Most devices are mice and keyboards that I need.
I have been adding Framework computers at both plants I am responsible for so using desktops with similar hardware only makes sense. Just as a thought, if there was a box the size of Lenovo ThinkCenter with Framework hardware inside with perhaps only two or three expansion ports would basically be perfect so long as there is a smattering of the typical ports on the back of it as well.
Just a thought.