! Hardware Experts: opinions, please?

CitizenJoe

I'm looking around for smaller, fairly lightweight systems for Isadora.

Any thoughts on this one? The spec's seem pretty good. The connectivity is alright, except that it only has one thunderbolt port....

https://ca.msi.com/Desktop/Tri...

Thanks!

Hugh

mark_m

@citizenjoe

Hi Hugh,

Two things that would put me off that:
1. Motley collection of display output ports, and only three of them (if one runs the monitor from the motherboard HDMI port)

2. Thunderbolt? You sure about that? It has USB 3.1, but that's not Thunderbolt. I didn't see Thunderbolt mentioned anywhere in the specs...

Michel

@citizenjoe

@DusX testet the Zotac EN1060K and is quite pleased with it. Though if you want more power he would go for a i7 system.

Best Michel

Woland

@michel said:

i7 system.

I picked one of these up and we have a new Zotac Magnus 1060k arriving in the office this week as well. I'll let you know my findings if you like.

Best wishes,

Woland

CitizenJoe

Thank you everyone for your replies.

All the suggested boxes appear to have much the same in the way of video outputs. I'm assuming that I'll use my 2 TH2G's - one Digital and one Display Port - on this machine.
The i7 Zotak and the MSI also offer an additional HDMI out from the processor: perfect for a control screen.

Would it be reasonable to assume that the 8th gen processor in the MSI box would be a significant upgrade to the 7th gen's in the Zotac boxes?

None of these boxes have Thunderbolt, as it turns out.... Possibly a deal-breaker? On the other hand, I've not had a machine with it yet!

@mark_m - Thanks for pointing out the USB 3.1 thing. Good point.

@Michel - thank you; I'm looking at them.

@woland - yes, please!!

DusX

I have run the i5 Zotac with 5 external displays (via TH2GO) + main.
Also with 4 via a Datapath X4 + main.
In both cases it ran well. I did have to be careful about my display orientation/layouts so that I didn't run out of Vram (last projector would drop out)
the information in this article is key: https://support.troikatronix.c...

Any of these nVidia gtx cards offer great gpu power, but are limited to 4 displays (as reported by the OS)
Note: since the Zotac has 4 video outputs, you don't gain anything by adding a MST hub (they do not work like a TH2GO or Datapath)

Using the i5 system, I find I have ample cpu power for a standard show (playback and mapping), and have tested also with 2 simultaneous live inputs (and the cpu is OK, ~50% on each core). I also tested, mapping 360 video to the inside of a sphere, and out to 3X wide 1280 projectors (ran beautifully with full interactive rotation control).
Of course having more power opens up your creative options.

I don't know the diff between the 7th and 8th gen.. I'm sure it accounts for an increase in power but I don't know how much.

mark_m

@citizenjoe

This, for me, is more interesting: two thunderbolt ports, 2 display ports, 2 HDMI ports, apparently you can run 6 x 4K monitors off of it. The reviews are good. I think this'll be the tool for my next touring show.

https://ark.intel.com/products...

Woland

@mark_m said:

https://ark.intel.com/products...

Stop making me want to buy MORE computers!

Why is this less than $1,000 USD if it can run 6x 4K displays? Seems somehow too good to be true.

CitizenJoe

@mark_m - that's brilliant! Thank you.

@Woland - You can never have too many computers, can you? The new 8th gen Intel stuff seems amazing!

Cheers,

Hugh

mark_m

@woland said:

@mark_m said:
Why is this less than $1,000 USD if it can run 6x 4K displays? Seems somehow too good to be true.

And it is (too good to be true) 'cause it's a 'bare bones' system, so on top of the $1000 you have to add RAM and a M2 HDD. Or two. And the OS.
So with 32GB RAM, 1 x 256GB and 1 x 1TB NVME SSD plus Windows 10, you're taking the price up to about $1500.

But that's beside the point...

Q: Mathematically, what do computers and bicycles have in common?
A: for both, the formula to give you the correct number to own is n + 1, where n represents the number you own at the moment...

Woland

@mark_m said:

Q: Mathematically, what do computers and bicycles have in common?A: for both, the formula to give you the correct number to own is n + 1, where n represents the number you own at the moment...

This is hilarious to me due to the fact that I never ride bicycles specifically because I'm too paranoid to do so while carrying my computer(s) (and I'm always carrying at least one computer).

Woland

@mark_m said:

And it is (too good to be true) 'cause it's a 'bare bones' system, so on top of the $1000 you have to add RAM and a M2 HDD. Or two. And the OS.So with 32GB RAM, 1 x 256GB and 1 x 1TB NVME SSD plus Windows 10, you're taking the price up to about $1500. But that's beside the point...

Still, the bare bones version of the Zotac Magnus 1080k (which can only run four displays without a TH2G or Datapath) that I just got, with Windows 10, 1TB SSD, 32GB RAM cost me almost a grand more than the total cost of the other computer + extras.

*sigh*

CitizenJoe

@mark_m @Woland

I did the same math as you, Lucas, and that's why the Intel is so interesting. That plus the boost (I assume) in performance which I hope is noticeable.

Does anyone have an opinion on this: one of the tech guys I showed the spec's for the Intel machine to said that the Radeon™ RX Vega M GH graphics chip has an M designation which means that it's built for Mobile use. He thought that it might run very hot and affect performance negatively... The spec's specifically state that it's designed for 6 outputs, so I would think that they've taken that into consideration.

His other thought is that it may NOT support analogue video out, specifically VGA. With all the VGA cable and projectors that I have, it's worth considering! I'll see what I can find on this question...

Cheers,

Hugh