Laptop basic requirements

[Andywilliams]

Greetings all,

Probably a frequently asked question here but I've had a look through several threads and can't see what I'm looking for.

Basically, I'm in the market for a laptop and I'm wondering what are the basic requirements, processor speeds, ram, and hard drive storage etc to enjoy astrophotography. 

I am still a newbie .....so at present my needs are collecting my subs, stacking them in DSS and then processing in gimp. I would like to future proof myself for when I will need video capture for planetary work, driving a mount/polar alignment, focus etc etc. 

And it goes without saying.....but I'm on a fairly tight budget!

Up until now I have been using my wife's Mac book air.....but apple is driving me insane ! And correct me if I'm mistaken but a lot of programs used by astrophoto graphers seem to be windows based? 

All suggestions are most welcomed.

I would also point out that while I can find my way around a computer with a minor degree of competency I am most certainly not a computer expert by any stretch.

Thanks in advance.

Andy 

[Charic]

I think any laptop that you can switch on could provide the basics, you just want to get something the offers the most for your money, or invest a little more.
I have been scouring for a laptop, the two contenders were the Dell Xps  or the MacBook Pro, specifically for music production,  I think audio files will be just as demanding as digital images, but the prices put me off. But on a recent visit to my local PCWorld, my MacBook Pro was available to me at half the price I was expecting to pay? 
Its the 12" Retina 2015 model (brand new) with the firewire and USB3 ports that I require. Its lightening quick to what I have experienced before, off to online in under 40 secs!
We also have an old (very old - used to run W98 I think ) Acer laptop, and discovered online, Linux Ubuntu - Puppy Linux, which I have installed onto the laptop, which has bought new life to the laptop, but not sure if the hardware is fast enough for modern day requirements, but its useable for internet access. Upon completion of this task, I too noted the appearance of Apps rather than programs? Installing authorised software into the Mac is a breeze, takes seconds.

I too am a big Microsoft windows fan, still learning a lot about this MacBook, but apart from the immense speed, and SSD storage, I can only imagine how much better an i7 system would run. I think for the Apple, your paying for the brand, and a decent chunk of aluminium, which gives it some weight, and I'm still surprised that there's not a mark or scratch on the surface?
I've also heard a  statement on three occasions this year similar too......"Once a Mac, you won't go back!" 
I'm sure the Dell 13" would be just as good, it gets regular good reports, and is often top of the T3 magazine chart.

I think the importance of the laptop is its mobility, and compact size, even my W7 Desktop PC's are wireless, although I use a cabled  LAN.

At present the only astronomy software on my MacBook is Stellarium, which on a 13" is doable, but compact, but use the MacBook in 'clam-mode' connected to a 27" screen is a different kettle of fish! same for my DAW - Digital Audio Workstation.

There will be some Apps/Software that will carry out the tasks you desire, and if one day I venture into tracking, then this laptop will provide the platform required. 

[Waldemar]

Like said above, almost any laptop will do, but a couple of things are important if you are an imager.

First of all ASCOM only works with windows, not with IOS and never will, so you will have to put a virtual machine on your Mac, to run windows emulator... What is the advantage of that? So... Mac is basically out of the equation for astro if you ask me.
the difference between Mac en Windows is getting smaller. My ASUS with W10 , i7 processor, 16Gb ram and  1Tb + 256 Gb  SSD is just as fast maybe faster than a Mac. The 256 Gb SSD is for the programs and the 1Tb SSD (replaced the original 1Tb HDD) for images
and the best part: All programs run and connect perfectly :-)

So it kind of depends on what you want.... incredible speed will cost money, but it has many advantages, downloading huge image files from my cameras is no problem at all, running many programs at the same time either.

What I do want to emphasize:  stay away from McAfee and the likes. Not necessary  with W10 and Windows Defender ... and keep your laptop dedicated to astro.

[brrttpaul]

I bought a cheap lenovo thinkpad when i first started and it done everything I needed but as above said just keep it for astronomy and before you start sticking things into usb check out the many threads on here with eqmod windows etc, whatever usb you use for a certain thing stick to it dont swop them around like i did as thats when the nightmare begins

[Alien 13]

Couple of things regarding laptops, with great power comes great battery drain so consider how portable you want it to be and try one out first, bad ergonomics can be a real pain, little things like the lack of a caps indicator for instance is one of my pet hates. I would also strongly recommend USB 3 ports if you want to get the best out of newer tech like cameras/ext HDD etc. As mentioned SSD is nice to have (power on to browsing is 7 seconds on mine) but not a deal breaker for most things but plenty of RAM is beneficial for most heavy duty processing. 

Alan

[UKJay1971]

1 hour ago, brrttpaul said:

I bought a cheap lenovo thinkpad when i first started and it done everything I needed but as above said just keep it for astronomy and before you start sticking things into usb check out the many threads on here with eqmod windows etc, whatever usb you use for a certain thing stick to it dont swop them around like i did as thats when the nightmare begins

I did the same - it works fine for sequencing / capture software and PHD. It didn't come with a USB3 port which might be an issue - the PCIe cards claim USB 3 speed but aren't. I don't use it for processing images but I use Teamview to connect remotely to it from my PC indoors. I changed out the hard drive for SSD and whacked another 4 gig of RAM into it so it is as souped up as I can get it. £200 all in

[Waldemar]

7 hours ago, UKJay1971 said:

I did the same - it works fine for sequencing / capture software and PHD. It didn't come with a USB3 port which might be an issue - the PCIe cards claim USB 3 speed but aren't. I don't use it for processing images but I use Teamview to connect remotely to it from my PC indoors. I changed out the hard drive for SSD and whacked another 4 gig of RAM into it so it is as souped up as I can get it. £200 all in

I found teamviewer a PITA ... they shut you down too may times to my likings. On top of that wireless connections are not very reliable either...
I now use an Icron Ranger for remote control with a cat cable.  Silex DS-600 works fabulous as well, also with cat cable. Both cover up to 100 meters. The Silex is a lot cheaper than the Icron... only disadvantage is that it can handle only 1 4-port hub, but most of the time that should be enough:  mount, 2 cameras and focuser. Not possible to use two hubs, but... it has a genuine USB 3 port plus a USB2 port, so... no problem whatsoever.  very fast and reliable.

[Sargs]

One idea would be to look on eBay for companies that take old IT kit from businesses that are upgrading or going out of business, and recondition them before selling them on. This can be a good way to get hold of something like an older Lenovo ThinkPad. I got an old T420 that I used for a year or so. They're designed to be dragged all over the place by office workers and business travellers so they're a little tougher than the average consumer laptop and the battery life is generally excellent (though that may not be the case for a second-hand unit, replacement batteries are relatively cheap). Only downsides I found were that the screen's colour reproduction, while usable, is not exactly ideal for image processing and there was no built-in USB 3. When I had the pennies, I pepped it up with some extra memory and (this *really* made a difference and improved battery life as well) a solid state drive. 

I'd still use it now but I wound up getting a couple of cameras that really needed USB3. I used a plug-in USB3 expansion card for a bit, but it's not as fast as built-in USB3.

Edit: Just noticed Waldemar said much the same thing. Whoops!

[kendg]

Since my laptop is outside while imaging, I got a refurbished Dell E6420. I did change out the hard drive for an SSD to make sure it survives -20 to -30 temps.

So far it works a charm. I connect with TeamViewer with no problems and put in a repeater for the wireless link. I may change that to a powerline adaptor in the future but so far no big problems.

[bobro]

Well, my 'laptop' is my only computer. It runs Windows 10 though it is a netbook with only 32GB of permanent memory - that means no hard disc or fan, runs cool and the battery life in normal use of 10 hours. When imaging it powers an external USB hub (only 2 USB ports but need 3), Arduino scope guiding interface, guide camera and DEC guiding motor. Software running is PHD2, APT for image capture, Cartes du Ciel and Chrome.

DSS and GIMP are used for image processing.

It may not be the fastest laptop but easily handles image capture and post processing. Images are captured to a micro SD card.

It cost £120 from Argos on ebay. Similar netbooks are available from Argos on ebay - search for 'Acer atom'.

I love it, especially as it makes my imaging setup very easy to get going with only 3 batteries : the laptop, camera and a PP3 battery in the RA motor - no mains or external power packs with heavy batteries.

 

[brrttpaul]

Not a laptop but very small is the one i got from Morgancomputers a few weeks back, its i7 8gig Ram win 10 , 4 usb 3 ports have to say im very pleased with it so far and cant get over how small it acctually is  may be worth looking at if you thinking just the garden?

[UKJay1971]

19 hours ago, Waldemar said:

I found teamviewer a PITA ... they shut you down too may times to my likings. On top of that wireless connections are not very reliable either...
I now use an Icron Ranger for remote control with a cat cable.  Silex DS-600 works fabulous as well, also with cat cable. Both cover up to 100 meters. The Silex is a lot cheaper than the Icron... only disadvantage is that it can handle only 1 4-port hub, but most of the time that should be enough:  mount, 2 cameras and focuser. Not possible to use two hubs, but... it has a genuine USB 3 port plus a USB2 port, so... no problem whatsoever.  very fast and reliable.

Yeah - on wireless it is a pain, so I ignored all advice and used a network plug in the extension cable I run out to my mount and so I have wired networking It works fine