What laptop do you use for tuning?
 

Recently picked up a gen 1 MegaSquirt, time to hunt for a new-to-me laptop.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1440785909

What make/model are you guys using and or are there any software/hardware features yours had?(Specifically for tuning that is) I know my way around a computer fairly well, but just don't keep up with the latest and greatest:giggle:

I like the idea of using a netbook, but if it's anything like the Asus I had a few years back, it was soooooooooo slow.


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1440785909

I recently got a new tuning laptop (7417-PKU) from G - https://www.miataturbo.net/stuff-sal...o-slave-83102/

I upped mine with 8GB ram, SSD Drive & a 9 cell battery.

Hey may or may not have some available, @EO2K

<p>I have an Acer Aspire that&nbsp;has 2G memory + 128G SSD drive + Windows 10 (yup...).&nbsp; I find it quite capable for Tunerstudio and that's what only what I use it for.&nbsp; It's got the 6 cell battery so it'll last pretty much a day in the car.&nbsp; There's a pretty wide mix of machines in use on this site and operating systems as well.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>That said, I recently picked up an Acer laptop/tablet 11&quot; convertible that I also have W10 on and have started to use it (touch screen when in tablet mode).&nbsp; A bit slow to start TS initially but no issues at all in use.</p>

There's not much that WON'T run TunerStudio.

I just picked up an HP G42 for $50, threw a $10 battery at it, about to throw 8gigs of ram at it. Fresh Windows 7 premium 64-bit install, and it does ok. It's not fast, but more than fast enough for a tuning slave/internet machine.

Exactly what I'm looking at grabbing, a tuning/garage computer.

The only concern with a netbook would be screen resolution. When this G42 dies or i move it along, that's what i'll be using. The idea of throwing my tuning slave in the glovebox appeals to me.

A Chromebook running a fresh Linux distro should be fine, too.

I have yet to install the MS in the car or take a look at any of the software, should screen resolution be a key selling point? I like to think my eyesight is pretty good and I do, like you, like the idea of being able to toss the computer in the glovebox or tuck it away somewhere.

Screen resolution more an issue when you can't fit a whole table in the screen. Most modern netbooks should be fine. Some of them used to be 800x600 which sucks.

You don't need much horsepower for Megasquirt tuning.

Years ago, I used a Pentium-III tablet (late 90s vintage) with 128 *megabytes* of RAM. It ran MegaTune just fine, TunerStudio was sluggish.

In later years, I used a first-gen (2008?) EeePC netbook with TunerStudio. It worked fine.

Pretty much any machine built in the last 10 years will run TunerStudio.

for a MSPNP1, basically anything will work
for the latest ms3's, I would beg to differ

The last laptop I used for tuning was a Sony Vaio VGN-TXN15, of 2006/2007 vintage. It had a 1.2Ghz Core Solo processor (Intel U1400) and 2GB of RAM. It ran TunerStudio on the MS3 just fine.

It's literally impossible to buy anything even close to that slow today. The very cheapest of the current-gen Atom processors runs circles around that old laptop.

Ah gotcha. Yeah I would HATE to have to constantly scroll up/down/left/right to see everything lol.

Exactly what I wanted to hear :rofl:. I was just looking for the min PC requirements and was going to start shopping off that.

Any issues with operating system/USB compatibility on newer PCs and running this software? I ask because the data logging software and computer combo I was using at one point on my 300zx did not like the serial to USB converters that was required to run it.

I originally used a notebook. Don't do it. Screen is too small. I bought a toshiba at best but brand new for $300 a few years back. Windows 7. That's all I needed.

There are a lot of manufacturers selling USB-to-RS232 cables, but only a few producing the actual chipset and drivers which makes the cable work.

Buy any cable based on the GUC232A chip. IOGEAR is probably the most common one. I've used this exact cable with no problems: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812107906

<p>Surface Pro 2</p>

Back in the day on the cheap I ran an eeepc 701 on stock Xandros linux with MegaTunix, and later megatune.

These days I use a '09 vintage macbook pro. The screen is nice and bright to see with the top down.

I use my 15" retina macbook pro. It doesn't need that much power, but it's convenient to have all the ECU stuff on the same laptop I use to do everything else.

--Ian

<br />
<br /><br />
<br />OSX master race reporting in. Macbook Air.
<br />It's nice to be able to tune for 7 hours without plugging in.

I have a dell e5510 because it has a serial port. My understanding is that this is the last main stream laptop to be produced with one. My other laptops over USB have always had issues keeping a stable connection.

+1 E5500 Dell, no serial port adaptor needed. Ebay $125

I have been using MacBooks and MacBook pro's for the last 7 or 8 years. At first was using bootcamp and windows for TS, then switched fully to OSX. MS3 has usb built in and I have had zero driver problems with it on my Macs.

A bought an older acer aspire One with 8 gigs of ram off ebay for $175. It was pretty damn slow but it worked, then I tossed a cheap ssd in it and now it's actually pretty decent for todays standards. I really like it because it is a 10" and fits in the glovebox.

Lenovo X201. Picked it up used for $200 with the extended battery. Replaced Win7 with an SSD and Linux Mint. Fast, durable, great battery life, and the perfect size.

Once I got everything set up and running decent with a laptop I just use my Android Phone and MSDroid app exclusively. It datalogs and I can make small changes if I really need to. Once I'm done datalogging I take the phone in, hook it to a computer, run the log through MegalogViewer, make any changes as needed and safe the new tune to my phone. It's really nice not to have to lug around a laptop and always be worried about the battery dying.

except the MS3 PNP-Pro which goes full retard and uses the serial port again
and it sucks
never had a single connection problem with the usb-to-usb ports on any of the other ms3's

My company laptop is a few years old now, Dell Latitude somethingorother. When I first got it I talked the IT guy into supplying a docking station with it that had a serial port for tuning. It also included two more USB ports as a bonus. Win.

Anypony who is having difficulty with their USB-to-RS232 cable isn't using a GUC232A cable.

Period.


Trivia: All Megasquirts, including all MS3s, use RS232 as their interface to the CPU. The MS3s simply have a built-in USB-to-RS232 converter on the board. But whether the conversion is internal to the box or external in the form of a cable, you're still using a USB-to-RS232 converter.

I think my issues with USB have been mechanical from worn out ports. Serial is a nice interface since it is mechanically locked, regardless of what controller is on either end of the connection.