Forums › BB Series Discussions › Laptop for use with BB60C
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andrewclegg.
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AnonymousInactiveI have a Lenovo X240 core i7 4600U and would like to know if this would be sufficiant to run a BB60C. Also as it only has 2 USB sockets could I use a powered hub if I want to use my TG44 as well?
AndrewModeratorHello causilgey,
Yes, this laptop sounds adequate for the BB60C. If you have any issues getting the software running, send me an email at aj@signalhound.com and I can help you troubleshoot. It looks like you might have trouble with the USB ports though. If I am looking at the right laptop, the two ports are on opposite sides of the machine, which means you will need an extension cable for one of the USB cables (the BB60C requires two USB ports, one of which must be USB 3.0) You can extend the 2.0 cable cheaply. You could also consider using a powered USB 3.0 hub for the BB60C as well, we use this one in our production lines with success https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-SuperSpeed-USB-3-0-4-Port/dp/B009AR2MD2
Let me know if you have additional questions or need clarification.
Regards,
Andrew
Cory AllenKeymaster- Dual/quad core Intel i5/i7 processors
- 8GB ram
- USB 3.0 x2 or (USB 3.0 x1 and USB 2.0 x1 ) The cable we provide is a Y-cable and makes 2 USB connections to the PC, only one of them has to be USB 3.0. To prevent the need of buying a USB extender cable, it is best to buy a laptop where the two USB ports you are using are on the same side of the PC.
I’m posting this for others who may be looking for more info on laptops, by copying and pasting the results of an email conversation we had with a customer. Note that this is not an official endorsement of these manufacturers… just some things we’ve come to realize after working with a variety of hardware for years:
The laptops we usually recommend for customers (for BB60C use) are below.
Keep in mind, some of these laptops you will need to configure to match the minimum specs which I list below.Dell Inspiron 15/17 inch laptops (consumer oriented) http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-5567-laptop
http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/inspiron-17-5767-laptopLenovo ThinkPad Line, (business oriented) most of these will work, but I linked two of the models which I’ve used.
Again, just verify the CPU requirement and verify the USB ports.
ThinkPad landing page: http://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/c/thinkpad
T-Series: http://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-t-series/c/thinkpadt
P-Series: http://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-p/c/thinkpadpHP ProBook line (business oriented)
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/pro-pcs/probook.htmlThe minimum PC requirements are:
jomParticipantI’m glad someone brought this up. I’m curious as to whether the laptop (or even your desktop) needs to be super fast ALL of the time. Meaning are there different modes while running the SA where it doesn’t necessarily need a full speed processor?
I can see if you were doing some fast real-time spur search or whatever but what if you were just doing more “normal” measurements would it then be necessary to have a super fast PC?
Just curious.
Thanks
jom
AndrewModeratorHi Jom,
(BB60C/A only)
In theory there is lower processor requirements for regular sweep measurement mode, (at the expense of longer sweep times) but we still recommend dual core i5 processors at a minimum. Without this minimum processor anything that takes advantage of IQ data (zero-span, audio demod, analog demod, digital demod, or real-time analysis will risk dropping data and giving incorrect results.
Regards,
Andrew
jomParticipantThanks Andrew.
Bottom line: which do you feel is best? My guess it’s the Lenovo. I’ve never been a fan of HP PCs (and the amount of garbage software they put on them) and I don’t know much about Dell. What do Signal Hound guys use?
jom
AndrewModeratorMe and Cory have Lenovo Thinkpads (for personal/home use)
At work we have used Dells/Thinkpads/Toshibas/Acers/Asus.I think the business lines and mid-higher end models from each company are more or less comparable.
Regards
dkosekParticipantI have a Dell Latitude e7450 that I have been using with a 44B for over a year without issues. We now have a BB60C and I can’t keep it running for more than 30 seconds, even using an external PSU for the second port. I have updated all the drivers I can find at Dell’s website without success.
I meets all the requirements above by a good margin.
We have successfully connected it to a couple other laptops without any issues.
Has anyone used a Dell XPS?
Does anyone have any other ideas???
I wish I could run it on my MacBook Pro… Just dreaming
dkosekParticipantAssumptions will get you(me) every time!
I had tried both the USB ports on the back of the laptop without success.
The USB on the side, next to the power button, appears to be working fine.
I guess it has the shortest traces to the chipset.
Its be running for 25 minutes without fail!
The lesson learned, check each one of your USB ports individually!
AndrewModeratordkosek,
Very interesting. Thank you for the follow up. We have seen this before on desktops, where certain USB ports work fine while other (typically front panel ports) cannot run the BB60C. I’m glad you were able to get it to work.
Regards,
Andrew
andrewcleggParticipantSorry to resurrect a zombie thread. Quick question: Many new laptops are coming with one standard USB 3 slot per side (making use of the Y-cable inconvenient), but on one side, there is typically also a USB C or Thunderbolt 4 port available in addition to the regular USB 3 port. Is it possible/OK to connect the power connector of the Y cable to that port, using an adapter? Or is the voltage wrong? Or conversely, can the data connection be made through that port using an adapter, and then use the regular USB 3 port for power? Thanks. Example Dell Inspiron: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-14-laptop/spd/inspiron-14-5410-laptop/nn5410fljjs
AndrewModeratorGood question,
Over the years, we have learned that using a single USB 3.0 type A port will generally be OK. PCs seem to supply adequate power to our device over a single cable. Places where you can see issues is with ultraportable devices like the Surface Pro line. If you only have a single USB type A cable and it does not supply adequate power, then we recommend a USB 3.0 hub that has external power.
If you only have a USB type-C port, you will need to use an external hub that performs power negotiation/use external power. A hub such as the Anker hub linked below has been reported to work with our devices. Using a direct type-C to type-A adapter usually will not work, we believe due to power issues.
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerExpand-Adapter-Delivery-Ethernet/dp/B087QZVQJX
Andrew
andrewcleggParticipantThank you for the quick reply Andrew.
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