Net Book DMX Controller

[Incognito]

I have a spare Acer Aspire One KAV60 that I have upgraded to Windows 7, installed 2GB ram, & upgraded to a 96GB SSD. This was used as a computer based DVR for my home security until I just replaced it with a stand alone DVR, I plan to get into DMX sometime this summer & I am wondering if it's worth my while to keep this netbook as a DMX controller or if I should ry & revive one of my old Intel Duo laptops for the task? Thanks.

[LiteTrix]

A net book should be fine unless your running some kind of visualizer. Even then you might be able to get away with using a net book.

[Incognito]

OK, sounds good. Thanks.

[sse]

I bought a netbook specifically to rum my FreeStyler. It works great but is kinda a PITA, because of the small screen/keyboard.

Gonna revive an older Compaq XP Pro full laptop computer to run it instead.

[Incognito]

I bought a netbook specifically to rum my FreeStyler. It works great but is kinda a PITA, because of the small screen/keyboard.

Gonna revive an older Compaq XP Pro full laptop computer to run it instead.

Ended up reviving & seriously upgrading an old Acer 5517 (I am far from an Acer fan but it was free) that was ready for the trash, I got it from a friend who I was going to fix it for but in the end the friend didn't want to spend out what it would cost to fix the laptop & opted instead to buy a new laptop.

Upgraded the CPU to a TL-64 2.2Ghz dual core processor with IC Diamond 7 thermal paste (5517 comes with a 1.6Ghz single processor OEM).
Upgraded the RAM to 4GB matched pair 800Mhz DDR2 2 x 2GB (5517 comes with 3GB none matched 2GB + 1GB 533Mhz pair OEM).
Upgraded the OS to Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit (5517 comes with Vista 32bit home basic OEM).
Upgraded the hard drive to a Kingston 128GB SSD (5517 comes with 160GB 5200rpm OEM).
Upgraded the wireless network card to a 300Mbps Wireless N mini PCI-E card W/Blutooth with adapter (5517 comes with a 54Mbps B/G card).
Upgraded the battery to a 12 cell 8800mAh battery (5517 comes with a 6 cell 4400MAh)
Upgraded the optical drive to a DVD-RW drive W/Lightscribe (5517 comes with a DVD read only drive)
Replaced the OEM power adapter & cord with a generic replacement because the OEM was damaged.

I had all of these parts spare from other laptops laying around the house that I have repaired or upgraded over time, the only things that I had to pay out of pocket for was the CPU ($25 off of Ebay), the bracket/adapter to fit the mini PCI-E wireless cad ($1.22 off of Ebay) & the 12 cell battery ($42.99 off of Ebay). So for a total of $69.21 out of pocket, I ended up with a much better option for use as a DMX controller then the netbook I was going to use. Now I plan to sell the netbook & make back the money I put into this laptop upgrade with a nice profit margin on top. Funny thing that the netbook is an Acer Aspire One & the Laptop an Acer Aspire 5517 but I don't even like Acer, I am more of a Asus, higher end Gateway & pre-Dell owned Alienware fan but you can't beat free.

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[Incognito]

OK, so now that I have my DMX laptop up & running. What are my best options for DMX software? Honestly I haven't narrowed down what lights I am going to run yet but I am thinking along the lines of a couple LED uplights (either bars or pucks) & something like an American DJ H2O LED & potentially a pair of LED moving heads (for wedding type gigs).

[Whines]

I'm a fan of Freestyler DMX (free) used with an Enttech Pro DMX adaptor (120$?). Can't compare it to commercial packages but it's feature-rich if you get past the (modest, imho) learning curve.

[Incognito]

Thanks, i'll take a look into that.

***EDIT***

OK, I see the Enttec DMX USB Pro 70304 for $140 so I think i'll go with that.

[Capt. Kirk]

Glad you were able to revive an old laptop and get it to run DMX shows on it. I would like to point out that while and SSD will load anything quicker they are not as durable as hard drive which can be written on infinatly. SSD's have a max write before they start to become corrupt to a point where they are no longer usable which is why people normally only use SSD's for the operating system and maybe one other program instead of storing everything on them because each rewrite on it corrupts it. I would recommend switching back to the 160GB HDD or better even though it will load a little slower it will end up lasting longer if you are using it to write and save files often. If you have more than one drive bay which most laptops have you can put the SSD as the master then the HDD as a slave and save all non operating or program based things onto there. SSD's have a large amount of rewrites before becoming entirely corrupt but it does happen.

Just thought I would fill you in on that. Let us know how well the laptop runs your lighting rig and its always great to see a lighting video.:tup:

[Incognito]

Glad you were able to revive an old laptop and get it to run DMX shows on it. I would like to point out that while and SSD will load anything quicker they are not as durable as hard drive which can be written on infinatly. SSD's have a max write before they start to become corrupt to a point where they are no longer usable which is why people normally only use SSD's for the operating system and maybe one other program instead of storing everything on them because each rewrite on it corrupts it. I would recommend switching back to the 160GB HDD or better even though it will load a little slower it will end up lasting longer if you are using it to write and save files often. If you have more than one drive bay which most laptops have you can put the SSD as the master then the HDD as a slave and save all non operating or program based things onto there. SSD's have a large amount of rewrites before becoming entirely corrupt but it does happen.

Just thought I would fill you in on that. Let us know how well the laptop runs your lighting rig and its always great to see a lighting video.:tup:

With the average life expectancy being between 1 million to 2 million hours, I think I'll be fine for some time to come.

[Capt. Kirk]

I was going off of some specs that said it could handle so many actual mb rewites, they didn't give an hour rating so i was not completely sure how long it would take which would change with just how much it gets written on. I would say for what your doing though you should be okay for at least 2-4 years.

[Incognito]

I was going off of some specs that said it could handle so many actual mb rewites, they didn't give an hour rating so i was not completely sure how long it would take which would change with just how much it gets written on. I would say for what your doing though you should be okay for at least 2-4 years.

Considering the life span of the average SSD being 1 to 2 million hours & that there are only 8,736 hours in a year I would say I would be good for a long time past 4 years taking into account that the laptop shall only be used for around 12 hours per week on average (3 gigs per week with each averaging around 4 hours long).

[Capt. Kirk]

True, the 120GB SSD I have for my new computer from some of the reviews states that it can become corrupt if it is used a lot and would need to be wiped to become usable again.

[Incognito]

True, the 120GB SSD I have for my new computer from some of the reviews states that it can become corrupt if it is used a lot and would need to be wiped to become usable again.

What make & model is it?

[Capt. Kirk]

Turns out it was an OCZ one I had been looking at originally, I got a 120GB Corsair Force GT. This drive has a rating of 2 million hours, I think I may have been getting confused by this "Up to 85,000 IOPS at 4KB" which I don't fully know its meaning. I recall someone on another forum telling me they were not very efficient or good for anything other than the operating system but the technology has gotten a lot better so it seems to be a good system now except for price per GB.

[electricsmooth]

With regards to Dj software, I have been fooling around with mydmx by ADJ and it is super easy to use. I tried the show xpress by chauvet as well but preferred the adj. Only thing I don't like about it is that it cannot be sound activated.

[Incognito]

Turns out it was an OCZ one I had been looking at originally, I got a 120GB Corsair Force GT. This drive has a rating of 2 million hours, I think I may have been getting confused by this "Up to 85,000 IOPS at 4KB" which I don't fully know its meaning. I recall someone on another forum telling me they were not very efficient or good for anything other than the operating system but the technology has gotten a lot better so it seems to be a good system now except for price per GB.

That Corsair Force GT is a GREAT SSD (even better if you have SATA III to take advantage of its' full potential) & I agree the only real stumbling block of an SSD today is available storage sizes & cost.

[Incognito]

With regards to Dj software, I have been fooling around with mydmx by ADJ and it is super easy to use. I tried the show xpress by chauvet as well but preferred the adj. Only thing I don't like about it is that it cannot be sound activated.

Thanks for the suggestions, it gives me more options to consider.