Laptop

[Gaslight_Twilights]

What's a good laptop to use XITE-1 with? Doesn't have to be fancy, just has to be excellent to run with the XITE-1.

[Gaslight_Twilights]

Of course, I just now noticed the "thinking of getting a laptop" thread, a few threads down. That being said, does anyone also know of any decent rackmount pc's that will do the same job?

[tlaskows]

You should talk to Dawman, he has a 1U rack PC for Xite-1.

-Tom

[Gaslight_Twilights]

Thanks, Tom. Any advice anyone on laptops as well? Actually, a better question, do they make express card slot adapters? My current laptop doesn't have an express card slot, but, if there's an adaptor to fix that, then, that will pretty much fix the issue.

[tlaskows]

I don't think the adapters will work... Gary always says than any types of adapters don't work properly with Scope because it's a realtime system. It's better to get an older laptop with the proper slot I think. Look for an older Dell (they go very cheap and are reliable).

-Tom

[Gaslight_Twilights]

Damn, can't win

[tlaskows]

Sure you can! I sold my 2012 Dell XPS that could do this for 500 CAD. It had 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM. 1080p display. It was a great laptop, but I needed to pay some bills and was never using it.

Cheers,

-Tom

[Gaslight_Twilights]

Well, right now I'm torn between something like that or a rackmount PC.

[tlaskows]

It's best to take your time than making an expensive mistake

-Tom

[Gaslight_Twilights]

It's best to take your time than making an expensive mistake

-Tom

Sage advice

[jksuperstar]

I used a Lenovo workstation for a while (W520). While it worked (still works!) great, there are issues with laptops and completely bypassing power management. For workstations, this is because the processor at full speed takes more juice than the battery can provide. I now have a mini-itx, based on an i5-4th gen chip...this has direct PCIe to the i5 core without going through a northbridge (so they have direct access to memory too). It's the Asus Maximus VII Impact). This board has a removable sound card, so ai can just take it completely out of the picture. I recommend the rackmount, for the speed and reliability you gain for the cost.

[yayajohn]

I have a HP Elitebook. It seems to work fine although the express slot is the bigger one which is not ideal but works.

[auntybiotic]

I bought a 2nd Lenovo Thinkpad laptop (i5) for 200 euros - works a treat. Later I will provide the model number (it is at my studio at the moment). Only issue is the Expresscard slot / cable is right next to your right hand, so it can get easily knocked. As with many things, i fixed this issue with gaffer tape ;-P

[auntybiotic]

I bought a 2nd Lenovo Thinkpad laptop (i5) for 200 euros - works a treat. Later I will provide the model number (it is at my studio at the moment). Only issue is the Expresscard slot / cable is right next to your right hand, so it can get easily knocked. As with many things, i fixed this issue with gaffer tape ;-P

This is the guy I got my 'xite-1' laptop from (my Lenovo). He buys bankrupt business laptops and fully refirbishes them and I'm pretty sure he will mail them.
http://www.marktplaats.nl/verkopers/133 ... goryId=339

I only provide this info as I know he had a huge batch of refurbs with ExpressCard slots.

Although the adverts are in Dutch he speaks English and responds to emails.

I am in no way affiliated with him, etc ! but i can recommend him from my own experiences.

[Gaslight_Twilights]

I bought a 2nd Lenovo Thinkpad laptop (i5) for 200 euros - works a treat. Later I will provide the model number (it is at my studio at the moment). Only issue is the Expresscard slot / cable is right next to your right hand, so it can get easily knocked. As with many things, i fixed this issue with gaffer tape ;-P

Thanks, man!

[tlaskows]

I don't like to use laptops at all. They tend to run hot and overheat (like the tiny iDevices Apple makes). They try to squeeze too much in a small space. But Thinkpads are built like tanks, they will last. Dell is probably cheaper, but still works well. I can't go into details about the MacBook quality control, because Apple is watching me, just like Google is watching me. Let's just say, I think S|C stuff is made in Germany, not China. Well, I hope it's made in Germany. Sorry, I get off topic very easily...

-Tom

[auntybiotic]

yes, Tom, i also only use the lappy when i need to go somewhere to record and want to use the xite-1.
Rest of time i use a spectacularly shit desktop
And Yes, Lenovo's are built like tanks.

[tlaskows]

Yes, back in the day IBM used to make them. Glad to hear they are still quality. I've heard of them being dropped (multiple times), stepped on, dropped so hard that the hard drive came out. And and, they still worked great! Solid laptops. Just stick a small SSD in there and you're set

Actually, my desktop was very cheap to build. The CPU was around 400 CAD, motherboard around 120. PSU? I already had a good one to begin with. Oh yeah, got rid of my dual crazy fast GTX 770s 4GB. They were taking up too much space and draining too much power. Now I am running a 15$ old Quadro FX 1700 and it works great! And it's driving a big super wide monitor just fine. Got rid of my dual monitors, cause I was only using one at a time only. Thanks Mr. Gary Gary is always right. Need to keep things simple.

-Tom

[Gaslight_Twilights]

Hopefully Gary pops in and recommends a good rackmount pc to use for XITE-1. Let's summon the spirit of Gary! I guess do a rain dance around your XITE or pci cards.

[tlaskows]

I do not comprehend... what is a rain dance? Nothing wrong with my PCI cards considering the newest one is 10 years old already

-Tom