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Post by siggie on Jan 27, 2021 10:51:08 GMT -5
I recently purchased an XMC-1 and I need a Windows PC to run Dirac. I have no need for the PC other than for Dirac, so I want to minimize what I spend. (Someone gave me an old gaming laptop, but it seems the hard drive is on its way out.) I'm a Mac person and the PC options are overwhelming.
The Emo/Dirac page says I need an Intel Core i3-i7 processor, but most budget laptops have Celeron processors. Does anyone know if it is true that I need a Core i series processor even if I get a fast Celeron processor?
Also, the budget laptops have eMMC Flash Storage instead of SSDs. Should I avoid eMMC Flash Storage?
Also, I have an extra monitor and keyboard. A mini desktop seems like a good option to get a Core i processor and plenty of RAM for much less than an equivalent laptop. How often should I expect to use Dirac to tweak my system? If it is only every six months or so, it wouldn't be too bad to lug out the mini desktop.
I'm hesitant to buy a used or refurbished computer, but I would consider it if someone can recommend a reliable source.
Finally, how significant is the speed of the processor, and are there speeds that I should not go below or a speed beyond which I will not see any increase in performance when running Dirac?
Thanks in advance,
siggie
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Post by doc1963 on Jan 27, 2021 11:27:21 GMT -5
I recently purchased an XMC-1 and I need a Windows PC to run Dirac. I have no need for the PC other than for Dirac, so I want to minimize what I spend. (Someone gave me an old gaming laptop, but it seems the hard drive is on its way out.) I'm a Mac person and the PC options are overwhelming. The Emo/Dirac page says I need an Intel Core i3-i7 processor, but most budget laptops have Celeron processors. Does anyone know if it is true that I need a Core i series processor even if I get a fast Celeron processor? Also, the budget laptops have eMMC Flash Storage instead of SSDs. Should I avoid eMMC Flash Storage? Also, I have an extra monitor and keyboard. A mini desktop seems like a good option to get a Core i processor and plenty of RAM for much less than an equivalent laptop. How often should I expect to use Dirac to tweak my system? If it is only every six months or so, it wouldn't be too bad to lug out the mini desktop. I'm hesitant to buy a used or refurbished computer, but I would consider it if someone can recommend a reliable source. Finally, how significant is the speed of the processor, and are there speeds that I should not go below or a speed beyond which I will not see any increase in performance when running Dirac? Thanks in advance, siggie If you're a Mac person (as I am too), don't you already own a Mac...? If so, why not use your Mac. The Dirac software is written for Macintosh computers as well as for PCs. When I owned my XMC-1, I ran Dirac on a Mac and it worked just fine...  |
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KeithL
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Post by KeithL on Jan 27, 2021 11:27:38 GMT -5
"Celeron" is sort of a family name..... However what can be confusing is that there is a lot of overlap in the Intel processor families....
And many computer models are available with a choice of several different processors...
For example "a fast i5" is more powerful than "a slow i7" and a "fast Celeron" may actually be more powerful than "a slow i3". (To be fair here it isn't that easy to figure out what processor is in each MacBook either.... )
The bottom line is that I would expect any reasonably fast PC laptop with a dual core or better processor to work just fine.
An AMD processor should also work just fine.
In fact... almost anything that runs Windows 10 should probably work fine.
What you need to AVOID is the various "Chromebooks" - which, like the iPad, run a different O/S (which Dirac Live won't run on)..
In general a laptop is going to have either a "spinning" hard drive or an SSD.... eMMC is essentially a low end form of SSD... usually of limited size and performance.
The catch there is that, while a few low end laptops may use eMMC, many of the units that use eMMC are NOT real laptops. (It's more common on ChromeBooks and various non-PC tablets.... )
Dirac Live does not require a massively powerful computer to run... and doesn't require a lot of disc space. (It will run on the smallest HDD or SSD you can buy in a computer nowadays...)
I would expect it to run on any modern laptop in the $300 range...from a brand like Dell, or a box store like Best Buy, or Walmart....
(And I'm sure a $250 HP model from WalMart would work fine.)
Look for a dual core processor, between 2 gB and 4 gB of RAM, and a real USB port (to plug in the microphone).
I am personally not at all a fan of Apple computers.... However I should point out that the older version of Dirac Live that comes with the XMC-1 WILL work on OLDER Apple computers.... While it will NOT run on newer versions of the O/S, and not on much older versions, it WILL run just fine on Yosemite... So, if you're considering a used computer, you might find one of those cheap.... just make sure NOT to update it.... )
(Obviously you'll have to download the Apple version of the program using your Activation Code... You might want to double check that it's still available... but it was the last time I looked... ) I recently purchased an XMC-1 and I need a Windows PC to run Dirac. I have no need for the PC other than for Dirac, so I want to minimize what I spend. (Someone gave me an old gaming laptop, but it seems the hard drive is on its way out.) I'm a Mac person and the PC options are overwhelming. The Emo/Dirac page says I need an Intel Core i3-i7 processor, but most budget laptops have Celeron processors. Does anyone know if it is true that I need a Core i series processor even if I get a fast Celeron processor? Also, the budget laptops have eMMC Flash Storage instead of SSDs. Should I avoid eMMC Flash Storage? Also, I have an extra monitor and keyboard. A mini desktop seems like a good option to get a Core i processor and plenty of RAM for much less than an equivalent laptop. How often should I expect to use Dirac to tweak my system? If it is only every six months or so, it wouldn't be too bad to lug out the mini desktop. I'm hesitant to buy a used or refurbished computer, but I would consider it if someone can recommend a reliable source. Finally, how significant is the speed of the processor, and are there speeds that I should not go below or a speed beyond which I will not see any increase in performance when running Dirac? Thanks in advance, siggie |
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Post by siggie on Jan 27, 2021 11:49:11 GMT -5
I recently purchased an XMC-1 and I need a Windows PC to run Dirac. I have no need for the PC other than for Dirac, so I want to minimize what I spend. (Someone gave me an old gaming laptop, but it seems the hard drive is on its way out.) I'm a Mac person and the PC options are overwhelming. The Emo/Dirac page says I need an Intel Core i3-i7 processor, but most budget laptops have Celeron processors. Does anyone know if it is true that I need a Core i series processor even if I get a fast Celeron processor? Also, the budget laptops have eMMC Flash Storage instead of SSDs. Should I avoid eMMC Flash Storage? Also, I have an extra monitor and keyboard. A mini desktop seems like a good option to get a Core i processor and plenty of RAM for much less than an equivalent laptop. How often should I expect to use Dirac to tweak my system? If it is only every six months or so, it wouldn't be too bad to lug out the mini desktop. I'm hesitant to buy a used or refurbished computer, but I would consider it if someone can recommend a reliable source. Finally, how significant is the speed of the processor, and are there speeds that I should not go below or a speed beyond which I will not see any increase in performance when running Dirac? Thanks in advance, siggie If you're a Mac person (as I am too), don't you already own a Mac...? If so, why not use your Mac. The Dirac software is written for Macintosh computers as well as for PCs. When I owned my XMC-1, I ran Dirac on a Mac and it worked just fine... For the XMC-1 version of Dirac Live, you need an old Mac operating system. I have an older MacBook Air that is running Catalina and I can't get it to "downgrade" to the OS I need. siggie |
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Post by doc1963 on Jan 27, 2021 12:48:36 GMT -5
If you're a Mac person (as I am too), don't you already own a Mac...? If so, why not use your Mac. The Dirac software is written for Macintosh computers as well as for PCs. When I owned my XMC-1, I ran Dirac on a Mac and it worked just fine... For the XMC-1 version of Dirac Live, you need an old Mac operating system. I have an older MacBook Air that is running Catalina and I can't get it to "downgrade" to the OS I need. siggie Understood... Did your older MacBook Air come with Catalina preinstalled...? If not, and was a pre-Catalina OS, you could use the "MacOS Internet Recovery" feature to restore your MacBook to its original shipping OS. |
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Post by siggie on Jan 27, 2021 15:31:57 GMT -5
For the XMC-1 version of Dirac Live, you need an old Mac operating system. I have an older MacBook Air that is running Catalina and I can't get it to "downgrade" to the OS I need. siggie Understood... Did your older MacBook Air come with Catalina preinstalled...? If not, and was a pre-Catalina OS, you could use the "MacOS Internet Recovery" feature to restore your MacBook to its original shipping OS. Thanks. Tried that. After deleting my hard drive and two days of loading the OS via internet recovery, I ended up with a fresh install of Catalina! I've also tried to download the Yosemite disk image, but I get an error 3840 message when I try to open it. siggie |
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Post by JNieves on Jan 27, 2021 15:41:15 GMT -5
Understood... Did your older MacBook Air come with Catalina preinstalled...? If not, and was a pre-Catalina OS, you could use the "MacOS Internet Recovery" feature to restore your MacBook to its original shipping OS. Thanks. Tried that. After deleting my hard drive and two days of loading the OS via internet recovery, I ended up with a fresh install of Catalina! I've also tried to download the Yosemite disk image, but I get an error 3840 message when I try to open it. siggie You can't open the file. The procedure to downgrade is here: support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372Go to internet recovery, erase your hard drive, restart from your bootable installer and you can downgrade to your heart's content. |
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Post by doc1963 on Jan 27, 2021 15:50:08 GMT -5
And in addition to what was suggested above, you shouldn't "need" to go all the way back to Yosemite to run the older Dirac software. High Sierra will run 32bit applications perfectly fine. I believe Mojave will as well, but that's were support for 32bit apps ends...
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Post by siggie on Jan 27, 2021 16:03:43 GMT -5
JNieves, the earliest OS addressed in the instructions in the link you posted is El Capitan, which may work but apparently Yosemite is better for my purposes. I will give it a try. Thanks. doc1963, according to Dirac, it does not run on Sierra or High Sierra. Here are the system requirements according to the Dirac/Emo page: Dirac Live System Requirements
On an Apple computer:
- Operating system: from Mavericks (10.9) thru El Capitan (10.11); Yosemite (10.10) recommended
NOTE: Dirac Live does NOT run on Sierra (10.12) or High Sierra (10.13)
- At least 2 GB RAM (4 Gb preferred)
- At least 100 MB available hard disk or SSD space
- At least one USB port
- Network and Internet connection (WiFi or wired Ethernet) siggie
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Post by creimes on Jan 27, 2021 16:54:19 GMT -5
I use a very basic HP laptop with 64gb EEC storage and 4gb of RAM and it works fine.
Chad
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Post by daveczski65 on Jan 27, 2021 17:16:26 GMT -5
My laptop has windows 7,,no beuno!
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