whizbang18T

fwiw i run ubuntu linux 12.04 on my netbook with tunerstudio - works well. no issues. 5hrs of batt life. free/stable OS - no brainer to me. mind you, i use the netbook solely for tuning, and basic browsing (youtube will not run at 720p). i'd suggest playing with the desktop settings (auto-hide the launcher bar mainly).

Stealth97

iTrader: (5)

I use my macbook pro on Linux, nice bright screen. If I wanted a dedicated tuning machine I would just pickup any 13" windows box off Craig's list made in the last three years or som

Neddy

Bumping this. Can you even buy a laptop with a serial port anymore?

Refurb Dell E5510?

Lexzar

iTrader: (2)

Laptop with serial port

The Empty Guy

even if you could, not much of a reason to? Serial to USB is not too expensive, probably would save by buying a "mainstream" computer over niche computer. I haven't read through this thread, but if you were trying to go dirt cheap Raspberry pi + serial to USB would get you far. I'm hoping to put something like that in the dash someday. But I got a lot more important things to work on before that QOL lol.

Neddy

Thanks. Seems to be odd report of issues with serial to USB hence I was considering laptop with serial port. Perhaps no real issue (?). Was thinking something 2nd hand for a couple of hundred. The more robust the better.

The Empty Guy

I’ve been using one for 10+ years for my robotics that’s the same one I use for the MS. Not all made equal, some people might have cheaped out and complained? Serial to USB does need a integrated chip to translate the serial to a digital signal.

Neddy

cheers.

Full_Tilt_Boogie

iTrader: (1)

I recently broke my 10 year old tuning laptop

Ive been thinking of picking up a used HP elitebook. Theyre pretty durable, have a good processor, and a proper keyboard.

Erat

iTrader: (5)

Nothing is better than having a touch screen. But that's just my opinion.

engineered2win

You can still get Panasonic Toughbooks with a serial port. It is optional, but available.
I use a CF-54 at work and it is near perfect for engine calibration / data analysis:

• Carry handle
• Screen is readable in direct sunlight
• Optional dual batteries are hot swapable (gets a solid 8 hours of heavy use w/o hot swap(1ms recording + math channel calcs + multple display pages + medium brightness)
• Doesn't overheat in direct sunlight in Death Valley in the summer
• Backlit keyboard
• Conventional touchpad with separate physical buttons (not that all-in-one touchpad/button bull ****)

Lokiel

2nd hand Lenovo T430S Core i-5 with SSD is my weapon of choice, 1600x900 resolution and lighter and thinner than the T430.

Lenovo make fairly rugged laptops and the hinge is tough too - the last thing you want is a flimsy/floppy hinge for this use.

Previously I was using a 2nd hand Dell E6420 Core i-7 with SSD but when some of the keys started sticking I bought the Lenovo.
I've since replaced the sticky keyboard but prefer the Lenovo since it's tougher.

As for the serial port, just get a USB<->Serial adapter cable BUT ensure that it's using an FTDI chip and NOT a Prolific chip.
Laptops with serial ports are now niche products so you'll be paying a premium for them - alternatively buy a really old laptop that has one at the risk of not being able to use it for long if TunerStudio requires an OS that cannot be installed on your hardware.

There are a LOT of cheap Chinese Prolific-knockoff adapters available that no longer work with Windows 7..10.
The new genuine Prolific chips do work but not older ones so I suspect that Microsoft and Prolific came to some agreement that knobbled the Prolific driver for early Prolific-designed chips.
Save yourself the hassle of finding out if it's a new genuine Prolific chip and jut buy one with an FTDI chip.

In one of my previous jobs, the customer was complaining that only our units that we installed actually worked on their vehicles, their own installs failed.
It turned out that they'd bought a bunch of cheap USB-Serial adapters instead of the expensive FTDI adapter we specified (http://sg.element14.com/ftdi/us232r-...0cm/dp/1329310) - we specified that one because it uses a genuine FTDI chip was available in large quantities from a single supplier.
You can now buy cheaper FTDI adapters, or if you really want to cheap-out, make your own from a cheap eBay FTDI serial-USB card and an old serial cable (only worth doing if you have an old serial cable lying around).