ProCoach

Well, computer wars are like car wars. You pay your money and you make your choice...

My current inventory is a Surface Pro 3, a Surface Book, an MBA (second to latest generation), a new MBP tB 13" loaded, a 27" iMac (yes, I take it to the track for some engagements) and so on. I'm platform agnostic but I LIKE the build quality and performance of the Apple hardware running Windows, and have for the last ten years.

Matt is right that the horsepower present in any PC laptop with a Core processor built in the last three years is more than sufficient to run any AiM program and any i2 Standard, Pro or Dash Manager.

I have seen a huge increase in market penetration for Apple products, partially due to the adoption of iOS devices in daily use over the last ten years, so dual-boot Apple hardware remains a viable option for folks who want a foot in both camps (pun intended ).

Kein_Ersatz

Running it on an HP Stream "14 4GB/32GB/WiFi, with a 128GB micro USB memory for data and video. Slow, but workable. At under $200, basically a disposable PC so it travels with the tools and tires... At some point to really look at data you will want to cable any laptop (screen) to a larger monitor mounted in the trailer or at home.

If you have a Macbook already and can make sure to treat it with proper care at the track, then Bootcamp is a great approach.

38D

I just picked up a 15" HP Spectre i7 as my motec laptop. Works great.

Slakker

I've been fighting this war for over 30 years now. It's always been a fun one. With my love of the iPhone and IPad, my MacBook Air was an attempt to finally convert over. I gave it a good shot for a year or so. But growing up on a DOS prompt I just couldn't ever get comfortable with it. I agree that the hardware is nicely done. But right now I'm so annoyed at not having a standard headphone jack on my IPhone 7 that I'm taking pot shots at apple every chance i get.

Skibum1963

Thanks you all for the thoughts. Any particular version of the windows operating system that would be best/most stable?

ProCoach

I'm an old gamer, so for years I hung onto older, "more stable" releases. Win98 when XP came out, XP when Win7 came out, Win7 when Win8, then 8.1 came out (thankfully).

With the release of Win10 (which is the only version current Apple offerings will allow to be installed without hacking under Boot Camp), my worries are over.

Win10 standard is fine for 99 44/100% of applications. I use Win10 Pro for some of the networking security features across multiple computers, but not necessary for a trailer laptop.

Only time I use old OS's (DOS 3.1, Win95, Win98) is for obsolete data systems like the old Pi System 3+ and System 4 for the old IMSA GTP and Indy/Indy Lights cars I look after.

You can feel good about downloading an .iso disk image of the latest Win10 release from Microsoft onto a USB stick and loading it on anything you get, IMO.

ir_fuel

Well ... check the tech specs and notice what is missing there.
Let me tell you: the screen resolution which is 1440 x 900 pixels. IMHO way too low to do this kind of work.

https://support.apple.com/kb/sp714?locale=en_US

I would get me one of these:


New, cheaper, available and 2736x1824 pixels. Moreover it's a lot more convenient to use at the track since in tablet mode you can easily manipulate it next to the car while holding it in one hand.

I have one and it's great for this kind of work. Need more screen real-estate? Just connect it to an external monitor (but never had the need).

And it's really a good piece of hardware.

ProCoach

I disagree.

I have a Surface Pro 3 and a Surface Book (and a new MBP 13" tB), and the higher the resolution, the smaller the characters are. Scaling doesn't always work, especially with AiM software. Screen is not bright enough either for use outside. The MBA is bright enough.

But, I DO like the Intel wireless display casting possible with my Surface Pro 3 and Surface Book to an HDMI monitor.

ir_fuel

You are probably right.It is indeed completely unreadable on this huge resolution Surface 4 screen ...

here is a picture I just took of that computer



I also opened the start menu (which does scale correctly, since it is native Windows) to show how "small" the items are in Race Studio on that screen ...

As you can see the items in RS2 are the same size as the ones in the list in the start menu, so I have no idea what you are talking about.

24Chromium

Early in my Cup car ownership, I was eager to learn all I could about how to use and get the most out of my MoTeC data system. I had an older MacBook with BootCamp on it and had already installed MoTeC's i2 software. The shop I was using claimed to be experts in MoTeC. When neither of us could get the dash to communicate with the laptop, he immediately blamed the Mac. I patiently explained that for all intents and purposes it was a PC. But he insisted, so off I went to buy a "real" PC laptop. I thought I could pick up one in the $500-$600 range. Once in the store and playing with them, I couldn't stomach the cheaper ones. I ended up paying a bit over $800. And guess what? The very next morning the shop had the exact same failure. I went on the MoTeC web site and in short order learned that a USB driver needed to be installed. At that point, I should have returned the laptop, as that was all the Mac needed as well.

The PC laptop I bought was garbage compared to the Mac. I'll admit, apples and oranges as far as cost, but the Mac was at least 5 years out of date. The PC's trackpad was so bad I couldn't use it. I had to resort to using a mouse.

I sold that PC laptop when I sold the Cup car. My current MoTeC laptop is again a MacBook. This one is a 15" Retina Pro from about 5 years ago. It's been upgraded over the years, so it's overkill for what I'm using it for, but... it's got a working trackpad, an awesome display and all the ports I need. I'm very happy.

ProCoach

I don't like it. Too busy, too small. I need the pen to select stuff.

To each his own.

ir_fuel

And you select stuff how on your mac? With your fingers?

ir_fuel

Not something that can be said about the latest models

ProCoach

Actually, it's very BIG on the latest models, quite unlike the icons on my high-rez SP3 and SB screen!

ProCoach

I have fast fingers, on that glorious, big and well-functioning glass trackpad!