Keyboard Shortcuts
ctrl + shift + ? :
Show all keyboard shortcuts
ctrl + g :
Navigate to a group
ctrl + shift + f :
Find
ctrl + / :
Quick actions
esc to dismiss
Likes
Search
Locked Laptop Suggestions
|
Hi All
I'm buying a new laptop top replace my old Gateway laptop that quit on me. I predominately used this laptop for JMRI Panel Pro and Decoder pro etc. There are so may to choose from: I'm looking for some suggestions from the Group on what you have has success using. The new laptop will run windows 10 Home, HDMI output for a larger external monitor, most like will have CD/DVD Burner 1TB Hard drive USB 3.0. possibly touch screen Suggestions Welcome Thanks Chuck Brick NJ? |
开云体育I have an older ACER 3mb Ram, 1GB HDD Windows 7 and 10.? I find windows 7 the most stable. ? Gary ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Chuck Stiles via Groups.Io ? Hi All |
开云体育I would recommend a minimum of 8 GB memory. Which CPU is installed in the laptop? I would recommend either an Intel i3 or i5. On 1/11/2019 7:44 PM, Chuck Stiles via
Groups.Io wrote:
Hi All --
Gerry Myers gem8055@... |
开云体育Do you have access to Costco or better yet are you a veteran? You could buy from the exchange ? Overall I recommend HP equipment ? Robert J. Richter 283 Elm Street North Reading, MA 01864 ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chuck Stiles via Groups.Io ? Hi All |
|
The number one rated laptop according to pc magazine for 2019. Apple MacBook Pro.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Jim On Jan 11, 2019, at 19:22, Ken Cameron <kcameron@...> wrote: |
|
I also run JMRI on Win10 without any problems.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 1/11/2019 8:22 PM, Ken Cameron wrote:
I've got JMRI running on a number of boxes, all Win10, no problems. --
Gerry Myers gem8055@... --- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. |
开云体育Hello, ? You’ll be my first reply as I just joined this group today! ? However I’ve been at this train thing for a while. ? Anyway to help you decide, depending on the reporting or feedback you want will depend on your computer… The USB doesn’t play well with feedback which is why I went with an NCE PowerPro to utilize a RS232 serial cable. ? Of course others will and should chime in. Good luck to you ? Steve Kraus ? Sent from for Windows 10 ? From: Chuck Stiles via Groups.Io
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2019 6:45 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [jmriusers] Laptop Suggestions ? Hi All ? |
|
Chuck:
Not a lap top user... but working with minimalist PC's and other boxes... Main memory and storage are issues especially as MS moves Win10 along... Tech blogs are predicting that Win10 will be grabbing a lot more storage space so tiny laptop machines will not be happy if that's the OS. Be very wary of 32GB SSD for instance... Your post indicates you're willing to go with a larger machine so as with my desk boxes... Things to watch are the available USB ports and depending on the DCC system will the on board ports connect to whatever is needed to connect to the DCC. I'm thinking that you want at least one USB 2.0-3.1 A connector. If the laptop only has USB 3.1 C can you cable to your DCC system interface(s)? WiFi if you want WiThrottle support. Restoring donated old PC's to my club I've seen that the software support for old machines by the majors is terrific so I would tend to suggest that well know brands like Dell and HP might offer more warm and fuzzies to the future... As with any laptop these are generally not user serviceable or up gradable so the best machine that the budget will handle. As some also suggested Apple is good with JMRI and I have an Apple ecosystem here and would agree with that. Also a factor what other uses for the machine other than the RR? If only the RR a dedicated Raspberry Pi could be an option..? The RR gets it's computer and a new locomotive with the savings. Jim Albanowski |
|
On 1/12/19 1:44 AM, Chuck Stiles via Groups.Io wrote:
I'm buying a new laptop top replace my old Gateway laptop that quit on me.Hi Chuck, I am a Thinkpad guy, so there goes my vote :) But the main point I wanted to make: Check out refurbished professional grade laptops. I don't know how common this is in the US (where I guess you're from, based on statistics...), but here in the EU many large companies lease their IT equipment and hand it back after a year or two, so you can get a professional laptop for the price of a consumer one. Case in point, when I bought my Thinkpad X220 in 2015 it cost approx. �430 refurbished including a new battery when a new X240 started around �1500 and cheapo supermarket laptops with similar performance (CPU, RAM...) could be had around �700 new. What's the benefit? Usually those laptops have better displays (non-glare vs. glare), better keyboards, better build quality (display hinges that don't let the display fall closed after two years of usage, no squeak...), better WWAN connectivity, you can more easily upgrade RAM and HDD, you have better chances of getting spare parts like a new battery for the second part of their life with you. And I'm not aware of anyone selling laptops with trackpoints outside their "professional" product line, which is a big win for me (though not for everyone). For a long time, they also offered proper docking station connections, which if you use the computer on a desk is such a great improvement. I'm not sure if they still do now that everyone seems to employ Thunderbolt/USB-C charging - at work I got a new Dell this year that doesn't (and now I'm back to fiddling with loose cables on my desk) Hope this helps, Heiko -- eMails verschlüsseln mit PGP - privacy is your right! Mein PGP-Key zur Verifizierung: |
|
I'm currently using a 10+ year old HP laptop, running Windows 10, and have no problems running DecoderPro or PanelPro.? My point being, as others have hinted at, don't think you need something new and shiny.? As long as it can support the operating system and has the necessary USB or serial ports you need, it doesn't need the latest and greatest - older machines in good shape or refurbished will work as needed.? Just don't expect it to be quite as quick as a new machine.
-- Nick |
|
On Sat, 12 Jan 2019 05:33:23 -0500
"jimalbanowski" <jimalbanowski@...> wrote: I have a Raspberry Pi connected to a temporary layout. It's main advandage for me is it's small size (and playing with a new gizmo); I already own a couple of older laptops that could be used instead. The RPi is adequate for me but is limited in several important ways: storage, power supply, RAM, and I/O capacity. It's fine as a learning tool, but I'm not sure it's robust enough for production use. Since the OP has room for a laptop, I think that is the way to go. For a headless solution, I'd consider a small PC such as an Intel NUC or Mac Mini. Jim -- James Szinger <jszinger@...> |
开云体育I’d never buy a machine and runs windows on it, ever. The reasons for this are not relevant to this question, however my bona fides are: software and hardware engineer for over 30 years. The 30+ computers in my house are all Linux based (and Mac OS counts).But the advise below is spot on: buy refurb. I pretty much ONLY buy refurb computers. Few people need .5 GHz more CPU or the news marketing BS that the hardware companies try to sell you. Great you have a Nvidia blah or a Intel Foo, I have a 1000$ that I can do anything I want with :) Buy a few year old laptop from a name brand, put Linux on it (because JMRI is all Java after all, nut Ubuntu us likely the easiest) and call it a day. I say name brand because that means you’ll be able to find battery/AC adapters easily. I’d go with a Thinkpad, since IBM jettisoned them they no longer are filled with special IBM chips and stuff that make them a pain to fun anything but windows: you can get a refurb in good shape for right over 200$!!! Serial port is a strange one…I dont know of a laptop in the last 10 years that has one :) I use USB bridge on all my older hardware - they make them in the cable now so you kind of dont even notice. I run JMRI and many other things on Rasp Pi and the bottom line is they are slow, and it annoys me how slow they are and when a fully kitted out RPI is 150$ (kbd, card, case, cables, etc….), and a Thinkpad is 200$…meh get the Thinkpad. Nathan
|
|
I recommend the Lenovo Yoga 920 platinum. Best laptop I’ve ever used in ever 20 years always having a laptop. It’s a powerful, beautiful, ultraportable, 2 in 1 with a unique and well designed hinge system that should hold up against frequent transitions two and from tablet mode. It meets all your specs excluding an optical burner but you can get an external one. Or consider switching to $5 Walmart USB sticks as your re-writable media.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
It also had dual thunderbolt 3 ports with a full 4 lanes PCI. This is the most exciting development in modern laptops. If inclined, this allows you to pair the laptop with an external Video card (eGPU. I use an Aorus Gaming Box by Gigabyte.) This extends the utility of your ultraportable laptop. For instance I use mine to drive an Oculus Rift. Careful when shopping you pick something with 4 PCI lanes. Note that you will almost certainly need something ranging from an inexpensive port replicator (available from Lenovo with similar less expensive options on Amazon) to a moderately expensive TB3 dock (CalDigit and others) to support external components including an HDMI monitor. On Jan 12, 2019, at 7:57 AM, James Szinger <jszinger@...> wrote: |
|
Use a Raspberry Pi. It's cheap and supports all the devices you listed, albeit they would be external. Just add a powered USB Hub to the list.
On Saturday, January 12, 2019, 9:57:51 AM EST, James Szinger <jszinger@...> wrote:
On Sat, 12 Jan 2019 05:33:23 -0500 "jimalbanowski" <jimalbanowski@...> wrote: > > Also a factor what other uses for the machine other than the RR? If only > the RR a dedicated Raspberry Pi could be an option..? The RR gets it's > computer and a new locomotive with the savings. > I have a Raspberry Pi connected to a temporary layout.? It's main advandage for me is it's small size (and playing with a new gizmo); I already own a couple of older laptops that could be used instead.? The RPi is adequate for me but is limited in several important ways: storage, power supply, RAM, and I/O capacity.? It's fine as a learning tool, but I'm not sure it's robust enough for production use. Since the OP has room for a laptop, I think that is the way to go. For a headless solution, I'd consider a small PC such as an Intel NUC or Mac Mini. Jim -- James Szinger <jszinger@...> |
|
PennsyNut
As for IBM/Lenovo. Doesn't every computer manufacturer peek at us? Doesn't HP? Or Dell? How can anyone be sure.
Now, I own 2 Lenovo desk tops. Well, my wife owns one. Both have AMD. I also got a Dell laptop to use just for JMRI when I get around to it. So, not having personal experience to share. Let me state. The Dell has INTEL and I suppose it's because it's a laptop, even plugged in, is slow. But I did manage to download JAVA on both my desktop and on the laptop. Downloading JMRI is ? The laptop got v4.12 but hasn't been used. The desktop got v4.15 and I tried DecoderPro with no layout and quite frankly, got so frustrated and confused, I feel like I best wait until a kind guru living near me can help. My point in writing is that using a laptop for JMRI is IMHO a great idea. You can have it set up in one room and when needed, move it to the layout - if it's in another room. Or such. As for capacity, that's a personal decision. Yes, Microsoft is grabbing huge amounts every update, but ? My Lenovo is over 5 yrs old with W 10 and I have had no problems with it. You want problems, go W ME or W Vista. When they stopped supporting XP, I decided to just keep up with the updates on W 10. Now all this is meant to be helpful. In no way, do I intend to insult anyone. Morgan Bilbo, PRR fan |
|
Thanks for all your suggestions: I will explore some more of the suggested options in the future. I purchased a new HP Laptop today for less than $400.00 it has all the options I was looking for. the OS is windows 10 I will be loading JMRI and some of my other software give it a test run. A few of the programs I have been running on XP could no longer be updated. so this should allow me to get up to date on some other things as well. Thanks again Chuck Brick NJ |
Robert J. Richter
Ken Cameron
to navigate to use esc to dismiss