Okay everyone first I want to thank you all for all the help to date in answering all my questions. Ordering my CNC today getting the wood for the cabinet. Now the question is how much computer do I need to run the programs without any issues and down load images I might find on the web. All my computer stuff in the house is Apple and I love it; however, I’m not taking any of it into the wood shop so I’m going to purchase a laptop just to be used in the shop for the CNC machine. I’ve look at what carbide create says is the least needed. But I want to know what you all think. You are the ones using the machine and know the best. Going to purchase a windows machine main reason is cost windows is a lot cheaper then Apple. What to keep it as low in price that I can. This adventure has cost plenty already as you all know it’s not a cheap adventure to go into. So once again thank you.
I use a $90 RCA tablet from Walmart.com…WIndows 10, works well, I added a powered usb hub, a wireless keyboard with a touch mouse. and I can plug in a large(HDMI) monitor…
Easy, adaptable and inexpensive…
I use a Mac both for design and repurposed my old Macbook as my CNC machine in my workshop. I run Parallel on my main Mac as it gives me access to VCarve, Inkscape and other PC only software.
If you get a PC, you may want to get a machine that could also run some other PC software not only to run the CNC. All this to say that I would not recommend a rock bottom machine that meets the most basic specs, you should get one that can also do a bit more. It is also convenient in the shop to be able to edit files that you are running on the CNC instead of having to go back to the house to do minor change like the depth of the cut for example. Furthermore, if you can’t upgrade the software or OS in the future, it will not be such a great purchase.
I’ve been using a Windowgs 7 Dell Inspiron i3 laptop that I bought in 2006. It is more than enough to run CM.
Just a little more info-hopefully to help!
I bought my XXL several years ago, and started off using a new high end laptop, after a year I had to replace the fans(2) because of dust imbalance, noise and ultimately overheating. The fans were $40 and an hour for me to replace(ex computer tech) I replaced the laptop with the tablet because 1) no fans, 2) ran everything I needed(Carbide Create/Motion, Estlecam, and Fusion360). Even with USB2, Wifi, HDMI, and more ports, it was cheap enough I would simply replace it rather than repair/upgrade. It has every connection I needed and several I did not. .I just plug a powered hub and a large monitor into the tablet, and use a wireless keyboard and a digitizing tablet, and get busy. These are things I used with the laptop as well-and they work great with the tablet.
In the 80s I bought a CNC Mill Drill Lathe, and over bought the computer to control it, wasted money on a tool(computer) capable of far more than what I needed it for. The tablet is still more than necessary to feed my XXL, but it is one of the most cost effective answers available. You could buy two for less than a bargain basement laptop. Your needs may well be different, after living with the XXL for a couple of years the tablet fit mine just right. I still replace my highend laptop every year, but it no longer goes to the garage… I ocassionally use the laptop for Fusion360 in the living room, but more often than not I just use the tablet in the garage.
The official system requirements are at:
I like using a fanless (sealed) tablet — as folks have noted, even a modest unit will work for Carbide Motion.
I use a Kangaroo PC to run the machine (fanless, etc) and a macbook pro as my design machine. The 'Roo works fine, it’s not awesome, but it’s good enough to run any of the senders, a big touch screen…it’s enough. It’s biggest problem is that the internal storage is kinda small and not really upgradable.
In my limited experience, the machine, VCarve Pro, Carbide Motion (the main things I use) don’t really take a lot of horsepower. However, being the geek I am like having as much machine as I can get. I pieced together an old laptop I had lying around. I upgraded the RAM to 8 gig and installed a 500 gig SSD drive in it. My main thing was to have something that boots fast…and it does. I found out though that the USB ports on the laptop had a problem. It would cause the XXL to lose connectivity at the most inconvenient times. So, I had an old Shuttle PC. I think it has only 4 gig of RAM, but I installed an SSD drive in it and I still get the fast boot. The XXL and programs are still happy. The laptop…I use it sometimes in the house to design my projects. Whatever you decide to get, try to get at least 8 gig of RAM and try to have it equipped with an SSD drive. At least an I-5 processor won’t hurt either. That’s pretty much my minimum recommendation to anyone buying a PC…for whatever reason.
I bought a Dell “Referbished” small form factor desktop PC with two Monitors. The Dell has 8 USB ports, 6 in the back and 2 up front. As others have pointed out the horsepower required is not very high to effectively run the CNC, design and web browsing. I paid about $200.00 for the PC, keyboard, mouse, two monitors, a stand to hold the monitors and a USB powered fan inside the PC cabinet to keep the air moving. You can go cheaper or more expensive but remember that shop is a harsh environment for a PC and you just need “Good Enough” to have a good experience. Whether you get a laptop or a desktop just keep it with your budget what ever your budget is. Ebay has a lot of good deals for PCs and they usually come with a pre loaded OS. Mine came with Windows 10 Pro. I did back it up because used computers usually do not have backup media in case you have to reload the OS from scratch. I created a USB stick that I can reload the Windows 10 Pro back like the day I got it. Additionally I use Norton Internet Security to backup my files on the shop PC. So I am protected in case of hard drive failure or other catastrophe.
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