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INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Sensible laptop spec for running KStars/Ekos

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I'm having a lot of trouble getting KStars/Ekos to run smoothly and I'm starting to think it is some interaction with the machine I am using (Dell Latitude D830 laptop).

So I'm considering buying a new laptop specifically to run KStars/Ekos. Obviously I don't want to spend money and then end up with the same problem, so can anyone recommend a reasonably cheap laptop for the purpose, preferably one that is currently running KStars/Ekos nice and stably?

Rob
7 years 10 months ago #8129

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When was the last time you updated KStars? There was a performance bug in KStars was was fixed a few days ago.
7 years 10 months ago #8130

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Yes, I picked up the update but I'm starting to wonder if there isn't something more fundamentally wrong with the laptop as it has begun running generally slow now. Seems to be different at each boot.
7 years 10 months ago #8132

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In case anyone else has this issue, I found that my 7 year old Dell Latitude D830 laptop was choosing to reduce the CPU speed to 800 MHz (rather than keeping it at 2.4GHz when KStars needed it). I can only think this was due to processor temperature but it was only in the low 60's C so I:

- Installed a more configurable fan driver
- Gave myself control of the CPU speed as follows:

apt-get install cpufreqd

Edit the configuration file /etc/cpufreqd.conf to make sure that the CPUs remain in high performance mode for the temperature range I normally expect (I chose up to 65 C). I also added kstars as a program that would trigger high performance mode.

To make this work I also needed to edit /etc/modules to add the following modules to the list:

acpi-cpufreq
cpufreq_ondemand
cpufreq_userspace
cpufreq_conservative
cpufreq_powersave

...and [carefully!] edit the boot file /etc/default/grub to disable the Intel power-state driver. Look for the line beginning with GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT. At the end of the line add intel_pstate=disable, so it becomes:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash intel_pstate=disable"

Then enter:

sudo update-grub

...then reboot.

Now I can make the fan work when I want it to and make the CPU give me the performance I need. Oh, and I also made sure the fan exits on the laptop were nice and clear. :-)

Rob
The following user(s) said Thank You: Vincent Groenewold
7 years 10 months ago #8150

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Regarding specs, as you can already run all of it pretty well on the 7 year old laptop, any laptop will do I guess. :) Just add enough memory (8GB is fairly cheap these days) and you should be fine.
7 years 10 months ago #8158

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I should mention that this was a good laptop spec for the time, 2.4 GHz dual core.

It's an odd thing with RAM though: the machine has 4 Gbytes but never more than 25% of it is used with KStars active and the swap file is never used. Maybe RAM isn't such an issue, or maybe I'm not doing anything particularly RAM intensive with KStars?
7 years 10 months ago #8159

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Seems like Kstars is a bit CPU hungry, so about the same specs of todays laptop would benefit you, the 8GB of ram is just because it's cheap anyway and always comes in handy. :)
7 years 10 months ago #8160

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