Mach 3 with XP

[monte55]

I understand I can use Mach 3 with Win XP........I also have had recommendations of about 2.4 gig processor.......1 gig ram and have a parallel
port. Ok, so I will comply . My real question is, can you use the new XP computer as it comes out of the box?. I read some post where someone was saying something about stripping the computer or something like that. Can anyone explain what that means and do I have to do it? I hate to buy a new computer just to take stuff away from it. Thanks.............Nick

[ger21]

Most newer PC's should run Mach just fine out of the box. You should always try it before making any changes to your system. Art has said people create more problems by trying to optimize their PC's when they don't need to. There is an optimisation list at www.machsupport.com, but it should only be done if absolutely necessary.

[monte55]

Ger21............thanks. That's answer I was hoping for.

[Kipper]

Ger21............thanks. That's answer I was hoping for.

Just because the answer is the one you want doesnt mean it's the best/only answer My thoughts are that the machine running the CNC hardware should have as few services running as possible with everything that isnt needed either disabled in the bios (for hardware NIC USB etc ) anything used for CNC ie Printer port (spp mode) should get the lions share of resources...Using services.msc/msconfig you can slimline the services and startup programs running and once you look up what they are used for can judge whether you need them or not that way you can be as certain as ever that the PC isnt going to be bogged down wasting cycles on useless things like making sure the time is correct or indexing the HDD contents when it should be machining the snot out of your workpiece....Just my thoughts based on using Mach to control 3 axis with a 650mhz Duron (yeah incredible huh ) Athlon XP2800, Intel 2800 and 3600... It worked on all 4 but was noticably crisper on the faster PC's Do not however take it that i'd recommend the Duron650 to run Mach for long Have fun with Mach as imho it's great and the wizards too :beer:

[sunmix]

someone said that the 64bits processor such as AMD 64 Sempron 2800 Socket AM2 does not work for Mach3. I would want to clarify that because I'm planning to invest on a new computer running with AMD x64.

[Switcher]

someone said that the 64bits processor such as AMD 64 Sempron 2800 Socket AM2 does not work for Mach3. I would want to clarify that because I'm planning to invest on a new computer running with AMD x64.

I doubt you'll get Mach3 running on a 64 bit, why would you want to anyway, it will only cost more for the new PC (64). Just get a cheap Dell.

With Vista selling, that makes a great time to pick up an XP PC! Cheaper!

I did read that Vista 64-bit will have 2 DVD's one with 32-bit, the other with 64-bit, so you might be able to actully get Mach3 running on it (32-bit), but that would defeat the whole idea of buying the 64-bit in the first place.

So If you really need to have the 64-bit, make sure you get the 2 DVD's.





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[sunmix]

weird... what do u mean by 2 DVDs? Meaning that I've to get 2 DVD readers in order to run Mac3?

Em, i dont trust dell, in fact I dont trust such companies that sells ready made computers. They cheat in their products, putting high prices that actually shouldn't be that expensive... for example this dell computer costs rm2500 ( malaysian currency ) i can build a far more advanced and powerful computer with exact same cost of the dell computer.

[Switcher]

weird... what do u mean by 2 DVDs? Meaning that I've to get 2 DVD readers in order to run Mac3?

2 dvd = 2 individual disk (Not Drives).
1 dvd = 32-bit install (Vista).
1 dvd = 64-bit install (Vista).

Em, i dont trust dell, in fact I dont trust such companies that sells ready made computers. They cheat in their products, putting high prices that actually shouldn't be that expensive... for example this dell computer costs rm2500 ( malaysian currency ) i can build a far more advanced and powerful computer with exact same cost of the dell computer.

Then why did you buy the Dell you have?


Edit:


Review I read:
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/...a_beta2_02.asp











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[Bowman]

I am about to try MACH3 demo out on a XP machine my neighbor gave me. Its a dual XEON 2.2 with 384 megs of RIMM I can add more but got small sticks to check that everything worked first. He also gave me the 3D Labs Wildcat II video card with two 128mb graphics processors, talk about a big video card. Not to bad for free when you consider the Vid card alone was selling for 2-3 grand alone as an addon a few years back. Hope the RIMM is enough for now though.

To bad the DOS based apps are lacking in features because I have enough older Pentiums-PIII's for a internet cafe` hehe..

[diarmaid]

Hmmm...I thought I only needed a basic setup to run Mach. So I picked up an old computer for free. It works but haven't fired it up with Mach yet. Its only Win 2000 or some such thing. I think 1 gig of RAM, and dont know about the processor....maybe 1.6mhz..ghz...whatever!...its something. Anyway, it better work! We shall see...

[Torchhead]

I have run MACH3 on a 700MHZ computer with WIN2000. I just upgraded my old 700 on the bench (used to test our products with MACH) with a 59.00 motherboard + AMD CPU from Newegg (yes, it has a parallel port and serial ports). I still run that unit with WIN2000. It was pretty painless. Now all of the Plug-in's we are working with in MACH will run better.

My shop plasma table runs on XP with a 1.8G processor and 256M Ram. Never misses a lick.

I have not optimized any of the machines. I just make sure the network card is not set to auto-negotiate and that there are no programs running in the bottom tray in Windows.

I don't know where all this 2.8 and 3.4G with 1G ram comes from. The min recommended is 1G processor and 256M ram. Some get by with less.

[diarmaid]

Thats good to know. Thanks Torchhead.