Recommend a good bargain Laptop for Astro Use

[Stu Ward]

Hi I'm looking for a field laptop to:

Run the DSLR for AP
Stellarium
Webcam use
Storage for photos taken
Processing of stacked images etc

Anyone recommend a good bargain laptop to do these jobs whilst maintaining good portability

Thanks

Stu

[Satchmo]

If you shop around with the big retailers such as Bing Lee and JB HiFI you should be able to get them down to $650- $700 or so for an Intel Core i5 2.4 ghz processor and a dedicated AMD or Nvidea video card . I don't think the brand matters so much , but Acer seem to have the most bang for buck . As you want to do some processing on it , I would avoid the pack of laptops that tend to use cheap CPU's which are specially made for the low cost market < $600

[adman]

if you can do without the processing (ie: do it on a bigger / desktop when you get back inside), then get a little netbook. Very portable, long battery life if needed and runs DSLR capture and guiding as well as Carte Du Ciel without any problems - although Stellarium is more processor intensive....

Adam

[mithrandir]

Stellarium needs a good OpenGL, and NVidia's OpenGL is less flakey than the ATI one. Intel chipset OpenGL is slower but pretty reliable.

As for image processing, low power use for the field and lots of grunt for processing don't really co-exist on the one box.

CdC, C2A, Stellarium or even TheSky6 will run on an Atom powered notebook alongside PHD and Nebulosity. It does get a bit slow, even with 2GB of memory.

[mswhin63]

I know you are wanting something different but just to let you know that I have a Netbook which I can adequately run CDC, EQMOD, ASCOM, APT DSLR software and Gamepad and webcam software and Alignmaster very easily.

When it comes to processing and Stellarium then the system falls down in a heap.

So if Stellarium and Processing is important then you will need mid to high end platform to run them all. Whereas I have a tiny laptop that can capture all I want and can process later when I get home.

It is a matter of preference, I like to image and not process on site so I can enjoy the night sky.

[Stu Ward]

Good points all
I guess the transfer of images to a more substantial computer back at base is not at all difficult and much more practical

Stu

[scagman]

Just seen an add for Harvey Norman. they have a sale for the next for days, Free ram upgrade. They had a I5 with 8gb for about $750 (I think).

You could also check out Dell. I just bought an I7 with 3g video card, 3d capeable, Full HD, TV Tuner, 2tb HD, 17.4" screen, $1500, (It was on special 30% off). Nice machine.