I just ordered a Bullet and need to get a computer to run roast time. I’m hoping not to spend much on it since I just put down $2700 on the roaster. Can anyone recommend a minimal laptop that will handle Roasttime without any issues?
I don’t speak Mac or UNIX. And I don’t profess to be an expert. If you’re OK with a Windows-based machine I can share my personal preferences/prejudices.
I’ve used Microsoft OSs since the DOS days thru most evolutions to the current Windows 10. I would choose Win 10 over the other versions. If you find a used laptop with Win 8 or 8.1, plan on upgrading to 10. A Win 7 laptop is an alternate but Microsoft no longer supports Win 7; the only reason to choose Win 7 over Win 10 is if you have legacy s/w that won’t run on a Win 10-based machine. I’ve had enough issues with earlier versions (“blue screen of death”) that I just don’t go there.
If you buy new, investigate thoroughly before you spend your $$$. Being in a rush leads to a gunshot wound to the foot. I bought an Acer Swift 5 for my wife to replace her (nearly) dead HP laptop and so far it’s been fine. A local repair site says they’re slow, but with the 500 GB SSD & 8 GB RAM and an Intel multi-core processor, hers has been OK ($715 on Amazon Oct 2018; now listed for $840). Don’t go for a screen that’s too small to save $$$… hers is 14" and I struggle a bit, but she’s ok with it. I bought her a 1TB external HDD ($52; Amazon) and a wireless Logitek mouse ($13; Amazon). If you don’t rush the research you will probably do better. And don’t be blind to other sources than Amazon et al.
Used laptops can be better for cost, but it’s a crap shoot whether they’ll work when they arrive. I found a guy on eBay that refurbishes old corporate Dell machines with the old Win XP operating system (legacy software required it) and it’s been fine. Watch the ratings and hope for the best.
Bruce
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On 2nd thought, skip the laptop/desktop/tablet for now. It’s a mistake to buy a computer in a rush. Just use the Bullet with the control panel while you do a proper search for what fits your needs.
Bruce
I use my wife’s 10 year old Acer laptop. Put Windows 10 on it and Roastime works just fine once running, though its relatively slow to start up and multi tasking is rough.
If using just for roasting, go used and look for anything with an Intel i3 CPU and don’t spend more than $200 - $300. This will more than enough power for Roastime.
If you’ll be using the computer outside of roasting as well, look for something made post 7/2015 (to make sure it has win 10) with an i5, 8 GB ram.
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I’d be interested if anyone has ran Roast Time on a Surface Go. Seems like a nice, small, cheap tablet to use as a dedicated Roaster PC.
I use it on a Surface Pro 3. Just fine!
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