Steve 90 Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 It says- Ports, Slots, Chassis Externally Accessible (6) USB 2.0 compliant 4-pin ports 15-pin VGA video connector Integrated network connector 10/100/1000 LAN (RJ45) AC adapter connector Microphone in & Headphone jack 4-pin IEEE 1394 port 8-in-1 media memory card reader 54 mm ExpressCard slot Modem optional external via USB port Internal Card Slots 1 Mini-Card Dimensions & Weight Width: 15.5" (393mm) Height: 1.32" (33.6mm) front / 1.59" (40.5mm) back Depth: 11.3" (286mm) Weight: Starting weight at 7.07 lbs (3.21 kg)4 Doesn't look promising to me. Whats the 4-pin IEEE 1394 port? Is it firewire? I have no clue and its the only thing I can think of! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 90 Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 Forgot to add that i am not implying X-Nav would be of any use on the 2 dayer or anything along those lines.................................. but i think an updated working copy would be useful. Mmmm, Wont make a lot of odds to us as there will be a big blue patch on the map between us and your punch's! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Mmmm, Wont make a lot of odds to us as there will be a big blue patch on the map between us and your punch's! that being - Morgans jumper/lunch/brain................................finger print? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lansalot Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Doesn't look promising to me. Whats the 4-pin IEEE 1394 port? Is it firewire? I have no clue and its the only thing I can think of! Spot on, most typically used for external HDs and camcorders etc. If you can find a USB com port that with drivers gives you devices like COM1, COM2 etc, then that will be OK. Will have a look around just now. edit: hmmm. http://www.usb-port.com/uc232.html Perhaps FF can advise if the megasquirt software is compatible with this ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140270 Nice bit of kit XP disks 2 GB RAM, Dual Core Processor, Toshiba too, .........and Serial ported ? nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 90 Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 If you can find a USB com port that with drivers gives you devices like COM1, COM2 etc, then that will be OK. Will have a look around just now. Now im confused Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lansalot Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Now im confused If you can find a USB com port that with drivers gives you devices like COM1, COM2 etc, then that will be OK. Will have a look around just now. edit: hmmm. http://www.usb-port.com/uc232.html Perhaps FF can advise if the megasquirt software is compatible with this ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 90 Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140270 Nice bit of kit XP disks 2 GB RAM, Dual Core Processor, Toshiba too, .........and Serial ported ? nige Well I like the look but as you know, I know nothing about them. Only issue I could see was 15inch screen but I guess I could live with that if it means I can use it for the MS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lansalot Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Well I like the look but as you know, I know nothing about them. Only issue I could see was 15inch screen but I guess I could live with that if it means I can use it for the MS. Too expensive for what it is (says me). Paying for the name. Read up on this: http://www.bb-elec.com/tech_articles/usb_faq.asp Q: How does your USB to RS-422/RS-485 Converter show up on my system? A: After the drivers are installed, it looks like another Com port with a different number. If you install more units by connecting them, each unit will be assigned the next available Com number. The new com port shows up in the Control Panel, System, Device Manager, Ports as a Com number. The USOPTL4 and USPTL4 converters support Receive and Transmit signals using RS-422 operation or 2-wire or 4-wire RS-485 mode using Automatic Send Data Transmitter/Receiver Control. So, that's exactly what you want. Any laptop with USB will suffice. Back to the Dell ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 It's no problem using MegaTune through USB, the issue is finding a decent USB-to-Serial (RS-232) converter. The problem is that some of them try to be clever and buffer data, rather than sending it instantly. This can confuse anything that tries to communicate "real time" like MegaTune. We have had the same issues at work with terminal emulation software on our new laptops. The Toughbooks, including the newer CF18s, retain proper RS232 ports. There is a thread/list on the MegaSquirt forums of USB-to-Serial converters that have been tried and are known to work or not work. They're not expensive to buy, £10-£20 usually. The resolution issue, yes you can end up with a naff looking display as TFT screens are physically made of a certain number of pixels, and this will usually be the resolution you use (for example 1280x1024). That means one screen pixel is displaying one "windows pixel"'s worth of picture, and everything looks sharp and clear. If you make the resolution lower, you have the situation where one "windows pixel"'s worth of picture should really be covering one and a half pixels on the screen. Now, since you can't slice a pixel in half, the computer has to work out how to display it without looking awful. Usually these days, Windows and the graphics card get it fairly right by slightly blurring things to make it look smoother. On some displays, such as cheap projectors, you do get strange blocky lines and raggedy looking text, but if you're not using it like that all the time you'll probably be able to tolerate it for readability at a distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 that being - Morgans jumper/lunch/brain................................finger print? OY I am following this thread too you know! :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lansalot Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 What you're talking about there FF is called interpolation, and from across an engine bay it will be pretty un-noticeable. Sitting right in front of it, you'll be thinking that this isn't quite as pin-sharp as it should be, although it's still very readable. I'd have no hesitation in going for it, personally. Like I said, he'll get an idea of what it's like by lowering the res temporarily on his current laptop, but even that will give a worse idea than it will be with the new one (due to his current laptop likely being 1024x768, and going down to 800x600). (Make sure the colour depth is the same to give an apples-apples comparison) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 90 Posted September 25, 2008 Author Share Posted September 25, 2008 So it looks like its going to come down to the screen size of the dell or the serial port on the Tosh. The one thing I do like about the Tosh is you buy it as it comes. Going through the process of customising the Dell is a pain when you have no clue what your doing. You tend to tick all the box's because you don't know which upgrades are useful and which you don't need so end up with a very expensive lap top (just had a run through the customisation and it came out more expensive than the Tosh) that started out good value for money. I cant make my mind up between the two so I will probably toss a coin and go that way! Anyone with any more input/ideas/recommendations shout now as im going to order in the next few hours and appreciate all the advice I can get. Cheers Guys. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lansalot Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 For the Dell. Make sure you get 1x2048 mb memory (gf graphics probably not be needed for you as it's really a work laptop). Screen as your preference. Other than that, most of it can be left alone. If you want, post the completed spec here for Dell. (I just did this, and it comes out at £369 + VAT??) All that said, the things that really make a difference are the processor speed, amount of memory - and that's about it. If those are pretty similar on both, then just go for the Toshiba - as FF noted, it has a serial port built in which in Megasquirt terms means a lot less hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 90 Posted September 25, 2008 Author Share Posted September 25, 2008 For the Dell. Make sure you get 1x2048 mb memory (gf graphics probably not be needed for you as it's really a work laptop). Screen as your preference. Other than that, most of it can be left alone.If you want, post the completed spec here for Dell. (I just did this, and it comes out at £369 + VAT??) All that said, the things that really make a difference are the processor speed, amount of memory - and that's about it. If those are pretty similar on both, then just go for the Toshiba - as FF noted, it has a serial port built in which in Megasquirt terms means a lot less hassle. Well thats the thing, The Dell has 4 choices of processor from smaller than the tosh to much larger and the price varies to match. It will probably be used for a bit of everything tho its mainly for work, It will be handy if usable for the MS and personal stuff! I will have a look and post the options im not sure of if thats OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lansalot Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Well thats the thing, The Dell has 4 choices of processor from smaller than the tosh to much larger and the price varies to match. It will probably be used for a bit of everything tho its mainly for work, It will be handy if usable for the MS and personal stuff! I will have a look and post the options im not sure of if thats OK. I'd be pretty surprised if from what you say you're doing that it would make any difference going for a faster processor. Generally, unless you're into sustained periods of number-crunching or heavy games - which you won't be with internal graphics - you'll be hard-pushed to tell. Put it this way - my work-supplied Fujitsu runs at 800mhz most of the time in power-saving mode and I never even notice. If it gets pushed a bit, the speed ramps up to maximum, but you never even notice it doing it (sometimes the fan gets a little louder). I'd say buy what you can afford. Oh, and check your PMs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Series-3 Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Good: http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products...;l=en&s=dhs Better: http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products...;l=en&s=dhs Best: http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop...ook?mco=MTE3MjE <---Can get you a `£50 student discount on that! Max Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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