New obs PC needed - advice please!

[Helen]

So my obs PC has completely died - light on but not booting up (been misbehaving for a numbers of weeks).

So I'm wondering whether to go for small form on mount or full size PC?

I run a Mesu and it's loaded! 3 scopes (so 3 cameras, focusers, dew).  I currently use Maxim, stand-alone focusmax, sharpcap and CdC.  I use usb3 for higher frame rate lunar and planetary. I have 2 screens - one in with scope for manual focussing/collimation.

My cabling gets challenging - hence thinking of scope mounting.  But  reliability important too!  

So what would you recommend?

Thanks

Helen

[Skipper Billy]

I use an Intel NUC - i5 with 16gb Ram on the scope - its linked to an indoor PC via Remote Desktop.

I does everything I can throw at it inc rough processing in Pixinsight whilst imaging!

Takes up very little room and allows getting rid of all the pesky cables - bar one - power!

Some photos here - https://www.davidbanksastro.com/equipment

[swag72]

I have used a couple of intel NUC's and found them to be unreliable after a period of time... both of them died. In the end I bought a couple of refurbished DELL desktops from a company in the UK. They have been brilliant and not missed a beat. I only use them in the obs for running the equipment and access them through remote desktop and run it all from the laptop in the house. I would never bother with small PC's again. As I rarely go into the obs the desktops fit fine next to each mount and don't get in the way. I specifically bought ones with a lot of USB ports (12 I think) and upgraded the hard drive to SSD. 

[RayD]

It's pretty subjective.  I actually run both; a desktop i7 in the UK and an i5 fanless (pier mounted) mini pc (not NUC) in Spain.  Both have been faultless but of course either or both could fail at any time. 

One thing I would say is the cost of a better spec at purchase is minimal compared to costs of upgrades in the future, particularly if you are using it for high frame rate video capture.  Get a reasonable spec now and it should last quite a while.

Totally agree with Sara re. SSD, pretty much a must have.

Edited April 7, 2020 by RayD

[Dr_Ju_ju]

GO TO THE DARK SIDE, Pi4.......

[Helen]

Thanks all - I think sticking to what I know for the time being might be an idea rather than going down the Pi4 route...

How does this look? https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/refurbished-hp-elitedesk-800-g3-core-i7-6700-16gb-512gb-nvme-ssd-windows-10-t1-hpe800g3i716gb512gbw1/version.asp

Thanks

Helen

[RayD]

6 minutes ago, Helen said:

Thanks all - I think sticking to what I know for the time being might be an idea rather than going down the Pi4 route...

How does this look? https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/refurbished-hp-elitedesk-800-g3-core-i7-6700-16gb-512gb-nvme-ssd-windows-10-t1-hpe800g3i716gb512gbw1/version.asp

Thanks

Helen

Looks like a pretty good spec.  W10 Pro isn't essential but it is handy to have as it means you have a little more control over updates, and you can utilise Remote Desktop if you choose to do so.

It has 2 display ports so make sure your monitors have this input or you will need a display port to HDMI, DVI or VGA adaptor (depending what inputs your monitor has).

It doesn't say if it has USB3, but I suspect it will.  Even so, it is very cheap and easy to add a USB3 card to one of the spare slots.  It's small form factor so you would need a short card, but these are readily available.

In all I'd say not too bad for an i7 with a good sized SSD, 16GB RAM and W10 Pro.

[Helen]

Thanks Ray 🙂  I'm about to enter the case of the old pc just to check its not something loose...

[Helen]

OK, decided to go for a scan i5 desktop, 16gb and add 1Tb SSD and 4tb standard storage.  Hopefully keep me going for a while!

I'm hoping the clean install will sort out some of the challenges I've been having!

Now might be the time to think about moving from my old Maxim v5 though... hmm decisions, decisions

Helen