Basic System Needs for Hog3PC...

Hey all...

I had poked around some and not found a definitive answer to this question...

I'm aware of the minimum system requirements for Hog3PC, and our system meets that. However, it is a budget PC built with parts. So our next guess is that the system, though it says it meets requirements, isn't really putting out as it should.

I don't know a lot about components and what kind is better than the other, so I was wondering if anyone on here with a solid and stable running system could recommend either where to buy a computer from, or what to build the computer of?

We have two systems, both running the same type of machine, and both have problems. We used to run our touchscreens off of USB but the software crashed constantly. After relieving the USB bus of some of it's duties, we are more stable, but not completely. We run our touchscreens off of serial bus now.

Regardless, we aren't stable enough to run a show. Since plenty of people are, I figure I'd ask what kind of machine you run.


Thanks for your help in this matter. Hog2 is great, but I can't wait to make a permanent move to Hog3.


Jason Stygar
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    Hi Jason,

    I'm working with a Mini Mac 1.33GHz with 1GB Ram. I 've just installed the Windows. Nothing else. I've this system now sience 8 Month and i had never a big problem! It's a cheap ad very small solution to run a 3PC. The only bad thing is the PowerPlug at the miniMac, that looks a bit unstable. But a bit Glue have solve this problem!

    Good Luck!
    Cheers Tobi
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    Tobi,

    Thanks for the response. I was curious about running Boot Camp on a Mac. I'm a Mac guy myself and I know they typically use good components in their computers. So that may make be a good route to take.

    Anyone else?

    What about you folks at High End? What do you run it on?


    Jason Stygar
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    Hi Jason,

    I run Hog 3PC off my HP Laptop - Windows XP Pro, 1.73GHz pentium M with seperate ATi graphics chip (64MB i think), 1GB RAM, 15.4" (1280x800 res) screen. I connect up an additional 17" monitor (1280x1024 res) and use it with a Hog widget and playback wing. Seperate USB keybaord with labels stuck on for the shortcuts and USB mouse. Have hog installed on its own partition, with hardly anything else installed on that partition.

    Works a treat! Had the odd crash during programming, but always reliable during a show (touch wood!). Backing up shows is slow, but that may be because I store them on another partition further down the drive, so am going to try moving them to Hog partition to see if that speeds things up. Otherwise, it all runs fine.

    Cheers,

    Rob
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    I have built several systems over the time.. they are just as stable as the desks.. you just need a dedicated machine, and a fresh install of windows.
  • 0
    [QUOTE=ahelgor]I have built several systems over the time.. they are just as stable as the desks.. you just need a dedicated machine, and a fresh install of windows.

    I'm not doubting they can be stable... I just think our computer is made of low end parts so it doesn't really perform as the spec say it should. It would be great for running word and excel, but doesn't do so well with Hog3PC...
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    [QUOTE=Tobi Moosmann]Hi Jason,

    I'm working with a Mini Mac 1.33GHz with 1GB Ram. I 've just installed the Windows. Nothing else. I've this system now sience 8 Month and i had never a big problem! It's a cheap ad very small solution to run a 3PC. The only bad thing is the PowerPlug at the miniMac, that looks a bit unstable. But a bit Glue have solve this problem!

    Good Luck!
    Cheers Tobi

    Tobi... Question... Are you running two ELO touchscreens with this setup?

    We are looking to run two touchscreens. We think this may be part of what is using up the resources of the computer. We just want to know that it can handle it...

    To count...

    2 widgets
    2 playback wings
    1 programming wing
    2 touchscreens
    1 keyboard
    1 mouse


    If we can run all those successfully, that would be our system of choice...
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    The touchscreens shouldn't use any more resources than regular screens.. the touch part is recogniced as a pointing device(mouse).. The computers i've built has had 2 or 4 touchscreens, and no problems at all. My personal hogpc rig, is if i remember right, around 2Ghz celeron cpu,1gbram,two radeon 7200 cards.. this is running without problems at all. it's one of the first systems i've built, it's been some years ago as you can see of the parts. But it has never been a problem with performance with those specs.. It's of cource worth to mention that it is running a stripped down xp, which gets reinstalled every 6-10 months or so.. this system is in a rack case, and custom flight'ed with wings and widgets, and 4 touchscreens.
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    Below is my dedicated Hog3PC setup. I just used it this weekend with a rented Expansion Wing. I love the X-Wing -- I just wish it was not so expensive compared to the smaller playback wing.

    To ensure stability, I have not changed anything other than the Hog3PC software since the machine was built over a year ago. I never connect it to the internet.

    Shuttle XPC
    Windows XP SP2
    Intel P4 2.8GHz
    512MB Memory (enough if you only run Hog3PC)
    GeForce FX5200 128MB video card
    80GB SATA HD
    Sony IDE 16x DVD Burner
    2 ELO 17" Touch screens
    1 Programming wing
    1 Playback wing
    Deck LED backlit keyboard
    Linksys 4-port wireless router
    APC 750VA UPS

    The PC, minus the touch screens and wings, was built for under $500. I paid a slight premium for the XPC case vs. a more standard size because I wanted it to fit in the Pelican case I use for hauling the whole setup around. (The UPS travels in a separate case.) The setup has been very stable for me.

    --
    Kevin Montagne
    kevin (at) litkam (dot) com
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    [QUOTE=ahelgor]The touchscreens shouldn't use any more resources than regular screens.. the touch part is recogniced as a pointing device(mouse).. The computers i've built has had 2 or 4 touchscreens, and no problems at all. My personal hogpc rig, is if i remember right, around 2Ghz celeron cpu,1gbram,two radeon 7200 cards.. this is running without problems at all. it's one of the first systems i've built, it's been some years ago as you can see of the parts. But it has never been a problem with performance with those specs.. It's of cource worth to mention that it is running a stripped down xp, which gets reinstalled every 6-10 months or so.. this system is in a rack case, and custom flight'ed with wings and widgets, and 4 touchscreens.

    I think we had a problem with the touchscreens overloading our USB bus... Well, our touchscreens combined with everything. But like I said, cheap components...

    I'm interested in what you mean by "stripped down XP"... Could you elaborate? Since this computer would be dedicated solely to running Hog3PC, we don't need any extras.
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    On the USB bus issue, I neglected to mention that I added a PCI 4-port USB card (about $30) to the above described box. I run the wings & super widget on it and the touch screens, keyboard, UPS and any USB drives on the one built in to the PC motherboard.

    With regard to my "stripped" down XP, I just went through the list of services and startup programs and cut out things I knew I did not need. I do not have a good list of what to cut. What I did was look at each process that was running with Process Explorer (SysInternals/MS) before I started Hog3PC and the googled to see what each one was for. If I thought I could delete it I created a system restore point and then removed it. It was an iterative process that took a few hours. You are now reminding me that I should have made of list of everything I killed.

    I do not plan to upgrade anything related to XP or any other software on the box unless directly required for a new version of Hog3PC.

    --
    Kevin Montagne
    kevin (at) litkam (dot) com
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    Kevin,

    Thank you very much the help... We we're looking at a new box, or possibly the Mac Mini route (it's quite the process to get anything non-mac around here, IT will leave us alone if we go Mac)...

    But now I may go through and try that process... See if they will remove any of the software they installed on the box. Maybe I'll have them give us a fresh install and we can take it from there... Maybe install a secondary USB card, even though our screens are running on Serial ports now...

    It is my guess that we have some type of cheap celeron motherboard (haven't looked directly at that yet)...

    Either way, you've given me some things to try...

    Thanks,

    Jason
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