[hpsdr] laptop recommendations and linux observations

[Chris Smith]

Eric

I can only relate my own experience and that is:

I use an Atom motherboard in a desktop config as prime mover for PowerSDR under WinXP and ghpsdr3 under Fedora 13 x86_64. This m/b has a Core 2 Duo hyperthreaded CPU @ 1.6GHz, 2 GB RAM. When running PowerSDR the usage meter hovers around the 20% mark with occasional excursion both up and down. On very rare occasions I hear a click or break in the audio but I have learned to live with that and have not received any reports of clicks/breaks in my transmitted audio.

Under Fedora 13 I run the server plus the dspserver from John Melton's ghpsdr3 SVN tree compiled and built for x86_64. I monitor the signals on my iMac via an 802.11n network (though 11g also works) in the relative comfort of my office rather than my chilly shack at the end of the garden!

That is my threpennyworth. Hope it helps.

Cheers & 73

Chris G4NUX

On 29 Oct 2010, at 01:25, Erich Heinzle wrote:

> ***** High Performance Software Defined Radio Discussion List *****
> 
> I will be getting a P4 2-3GHZ box with ~1GB of RAM in due course for little or no cost, but to allow mobile operation I am thinking about a laptop.
> 
> Can anyone on the list confirm if something along the lines of:
> 
> Compaq 620 XU333PA
> CPU: Intel Core Duo T4500
> RAM: 2GB DDR3
> HDD: 320GB SATA
> Graphic: Intel GMA 4500MHD
> Screen: 15.6” LED (1366 x 768)
> 
> would be ok for GHPSDR or PowerSDR
> 
> The screen res may be the only problem if the CPU would be OK.
> 
> 
> So far, I've figured out that:
> 
> a netbook 1.6GHz 1GB RAM is unable to run ghpsdr under ubuntu 9.1 and do anything useful
> 
> a desktop athlon ~2GHz a few years old now is unable to run ghpsdr under ubuntu 9.1, producing choppy meaningless audio, a fairly valid looking whole of HF spectrum, but can't generate a meaningful 192kHz wide spectrum for tuning.
> 
> although the Athlon managed with the SDR-1000 and powerSDR back in the day
> 
> Of note, and possibly of interest to HPSDR users generally:
> 
> OzyBulkRead read failed -1
> 
> errors seem to be due to slow USB ports.
> The Athlon motherboard USB port did not raise this eror, but the ports on the front of the Athlon tower did.
> The netbook ports did not raise this error.
> So, older PCs may struggle to handle the USB data rates.
> 
> 
> Thanks for any advice
> 
> Erich
> VK5HSE
> 
> 
> 
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