HOw much RAM required to run OpenCpn or similar?

[LBW399]

Thinking of getting a 'el cheapo' little PC laptop purely for nav program with worldwide charts. Probably going to choose Opencpn
1GB RAM enough?

[Jeannius]

Yes if the PC is running Windows XP. Not really enough with Vista or Windows 7 or 8. Definitely enough if you run any version of Linux

[Jimbo485]

Yes, it's enough.

[LBW399]

Originally Posted by Jeannius

Yes if the PC is running Windows XP. Not really enough with Vista or Windows 7 or 8. Definitely enough if you run any version of Linux

Yep, XP.
I have the been offered one for $500 (2006 Thinkpad) with 1GB RAM that runs XP, has full worldwide vector charts already stored on it - just needs nav program to be downloaded.

[S/V Alchemy]

Why wouldn't you buy a brand new netbook in the 12-inch form factor (full-sized keyboard) for under $ 500 and stick 4 gigs of RAM in it? They are far more flexible and capacious than an old Thinkpad...although I like old Thinkpads.

ASUS - Eee Families- ASUS Eee PC 1225B

ASUS Eee PC 1225B Overview & Specs - Laptops - CNET Reviews

Review: Asus 1225B review - new 11.6" EEE PC has plenty to offer

I have last year's 1215N model with 4 GB and it roars. I use it for everything but graphic design and layout, including navigation (SeaClear/OpenCPN). It's easier to drybag and bring to and from shore in quest of WiFi.

Just a suggestion. The vector charts are nice to have downloaded, but you can do that for free (except in bandwidth and time) from the U.S. KAP files.

[Cotemar]

A Laptop with 1Gig of RAM will work fine.

OpenCPN with cm93 Ed2 World Charts (Version January 2010) needs about 4 gig of hardrive which should not be a problem

[AfterHoursNLCT]

My brand new HP laptop was ~$400.00 with Windows 8, 500 gig hard drive, and 4 gig of ram...LL

[zeehag]

you might want to go to best buys and purchase a ram chip to upgrade your machine--is easy--i did with another one--made it a lot easier to use.

[S/V Alchemy]

Boots quicker, too.

[David M]

It depends.

If the OS and the apps are utilizing all the RAM then it will run slower because the apps then have to access data directly from the hard drive, which is slow. This is compared to accessing prefetched data from the RAM which is much quicker. You can go to Windows Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del) and click on the Performance tab and see what percentage of your RAM is being used by the computer. If it is at or near 100% then you would benefit by having more RAM.

Even for Windows XP, there can be times when 1 gig is not enough, in the sense that your computer could be running faster if it had more RAM, not that it won't work at all with just one gig of RAM. 4 gigs of RAM is so cheap now that you might want to look into getting some. 32 bit versions of the Windows OS will only be able to utilize up to about 3.5 gigs of RAM. Therefore without Windows 64 bit, getting more than a 4 gig kit of RAM would be a waste of money. Get matching sticks of RAM, mixing and matching can cause problems. Buy the DIMM's in even numbers so that you enable the dual channel memory bus, which is faster

Crucial.com is a good place to determine what type and how much RAM your computer can utilize. You of course don't have to purchase from Crucial. Newegg and Amazon are good sources for RAM. Best Buy is going to have some of the highest prices on RAM. In my opinion Corsair is some of the most stable and compatible RAM made. Crucial guarantees that their RAM will work.

[LBW399]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

Why wouldn't you buy a brand new netbook in the 12-inch form factor (full-sized keyboard) for under $ 500 and stick 4 gigs of RAM in it? They are far more flexible and capacious than an old Thinkpad...although I like old Thinkpads.

ASUS - Eee Families- ASUS Eee PC 1225B

ASUS Eee PC 1225B Overview & Specs - Laptops - CNET Reviews

Review: Asus 1225B review - new 11.6" EEE PC has plenty to offer

I have last year's 1215N model with 4 GB and it roars. I use it for everything but graphic design and layout, including navigation (SeaClear/OpenCPN). It's easier to drybag and bring to and from shore in quest of WiFi.

Just a suggestion. The vector charts are nice to have downloaded, but you can do that for free (except in bandwidth and time) from the U.S. KAP files.

I guess because I don't have to faff around getting charts as they are already pre-installed....every single chart I will ever need for the whole globe. It is a Lenovo Thinkpad T60 - quite ruggedly built too from reading old reviews.
I can have a max of 3GB RAM, which would only cost me $60 approx. if I ever wanted to add to it. That sounds like it would be more than enough from reading some of the other replies, seeing as it will purely be used for nav.

Cheers for your thoughts though.

[LBW399]

Originally Posted by David M

It depends.

If the OS and the apps are utilizing all the RAM then it will run slower because the apps then have to access data directly from the hard drive, which is slow. This is compared to accessing prefetched data from the RAM which is much quicker. You can go to Windows Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del) and click on the Performance tab and see what percentage of your RAM is being used by the computer. If it is at or near 100% then you would benefit by having more RAM.

Even for Windows XP, there can be times when 1 gig is not enough, in the sense that your computer could be running faster if it had more RAM, not that it won't work at all with just one gig of RAM. 4 gigs of RAM is so cheap now that you might want to look into getting some. 32 bit versions of the Windows OS will only be able to utilize up to about 3.5 gigs of RAM. Therefore without Windows 64 bit, getting more than a 4 gig kit of RAM would be a waste of money. Get matching sticks of RAM, mixing and matching can cause problems. Buy the DIMM's in even numbers so that you enable the dual channel memory bus, which is faster

Crucial.com is a good place to determine what type and how much RAM your computer can utilize. You of course don't have to purchase from Crucial. Newegg and Amazon are good sources for RAM. Best Buy is going to have some of the highest prices on RAM. In my opinion Corsair is some of the most stable and compatible RAM made. Crucial guarantees that their RAM will work.

Hey thanks for that David - that is some good info. This lenovo seems to have been near top of the line for the time (2006) with new ones selling for about $2,500 at that time from my google researching on this model's history.

By the way, I have found out that the latest version of OpenCPN (feb 2013) is already installed and configured on this Lenovo.

[LBW399]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

A Laptop with 1Gig of RAM will work fine.

OpenCPN with cm93 Ed2 World Charts (Version January 2010) needs about 4 gig of hardrive which should not be a problem

Has 60 gig of harddrive.

IN fact - not being 'pewter head, I have obtained the specs for this particular one being sold, if anyone can spot any faults with this lemme know.....

-----------------------------------------------

Lenovo IBM ThinkPad T60

* Top of the line Lenovo business ThinkPad in mint condition.

* NON REFLECTING LARGE 14.1" LCD SCREEN


ThinkPad T60 (1951-AH5)
T2400 (2.2GHz), Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 60GB SATA HD, 14.1in, SoundMAX Integrataed Digital HD Audio, DVD/CDRW, Wi-Fi Intel 802.11a g, Modem, LAN 1Gb Ethernet, 3 USB ports, UltraNav, Secure chip,

* Unique IBM Thinkpad technologies:
- The ThinkLight keyboard light

- TrackPoint & TouchPad, Duo-Mouse Pointing system with bottom left hand pointer disabled
- Optical USB scroll mouse
(to zoom easy in and out of charts)

- Fingerprint reader

- Docking Station port

220V Power adapter

Software installed:

OS Windows XP professional with SP3 and all security updates

Microsoft Security Essentials

Adobe Reader 10

* Microsoft Office 2010

GPS USB BU-353 IV

• Chartplotting software (FREE) OpenCPN Version 3.20 Released 27th February 2013:
installed und configured
• includes complete New Zealand 334 chart portfolio with latest LINZ updates as of 15 September 2012
.... and all are installed and caliberated.

•+• World wide vector charts installed
> Released 2011 <

North-up, Course-up and Chart-up display modes.
Moving-map display mode.
Route navigation with ship tracking functions.
Mark points of interest
Waypoint navigation.
Dashboard for configurable on-screen display of ship's NMEA data.
Autopilot output support.
AIS input with full target tracking and collision alerting.
Anchor watch/alarm functions.
Route planning.
Drop MOB Marker
Comprehensive Log book


-----------------------------------------------

[noelex 77]

Hi Kiwi.

A friend gave me a T60 a couple of years ago.

In its day it was OK, but its now getting reasonably dated.
For $500 I would be looking at new netbook as a better alternative, for the boat.
The good points are the Thinkpads are well made and the hard drive is very easy to swap, good keyboards.It will run open CPN very well although it is slow processor by modern day standards.
The bad, is the screen is poor and the power consumption is high for the limited performance.

[Lake-Effect]

I bought an ASUS eee 1001P netbook last year (refurbished, $225) with 250GB HD and 2MB RAM. It runs OpenCPN fine. This is my second netbook from the eee series; I really like them. I bet the 12" ones are even better.