MoTeC Global Forum

Last week I found out the hard way HP Pavilion laptops don't bounce. I am currently looking for a NEW laptop that will run the M4-M8 software and not distort the GRAPH SCREEN. If I could find a NEW laptop with an RS232serial connection even better again. What LAPTOP does MoTeC recommend.

The thing to look out for is Vista. Vista (i should say the Vista display drivers) doesn't support DOS full screen or DOS graphics. You can get around the small dos screen problem by changing the font to Lucida Console and selecting a font size appropriate to your screen size. This gives a full screen but in a window.
You can also run the software from a DOS Emulator which allows full screen and the graph screen to function properly but i haven't found one that allows access to the COM port also.

Try and find a new laptop with XP. Personally i don't find the lack of a physical COM port such a problem. Using the ATEN USB to serial converter works quite well, however a physical port is always better.
i don't find any particular brand of laptop better than another for running Motec software.

Hope this helps.

Look for a Panasonic Toughbook CF-74. Can be found new for 1500 US. Serial port, touchscreen, XP Pro, and the brightest screen in daylight you'll ever see. 6-9 hrs of battery depending on screen brightness settings.

The only downside is the integrated wireless, and if it doesn't have it you need a wireless card as the integrated WiFi is built-in and very expensive to implement after the fact.

I have recommended and continue to recommend Dell Lattitude D600 series laptops. In our office, we've had 2 D600's, and 2 D630's, plus a slightly cheaper and larger D510. Built in serial ports, options for up to 9 hours of internal batteries in a midize package. Simply put, they are great modern laptops that continue to offer built-in DB9 serial ports.

Over 5 years with 100's of days of race track support, dyno days, TSA screening and who knows what else, only 1 of these has been retired - my original D600, and its hard drive still lives on in a USB-enclosure on one of our servers.