Best computer for QLC+

tymckz

Member
I've been using a mac mini and my QLC is just not happy and quirky. I'm ready to throw in the towel after much troubleshooting.

What pc computer do any of you use? I'm shopping around but I don't now anything about pc's

..)
Ty
 
Any PC will do. Pc > Mac. Lol.

What’s your budget. Laptop/Desktop??
 
I've been using a mac mini and my QLC is just not happy and quirky. I'm ready to throw in the towel after much troubleshooting.

What pc computer do any of you use? I'm shopping around but I don't now anything about pc's

..)
Ty
I've used a small DELL laptop (Windows 10) with touchscreen for a couple of shows. At home I use a HP (Windows 10) desk computer and I've run it with no problems on a Raspberry Pi (B+). Having said no problems, once while really putting a lot of stuff on the virtual screen - I came back from a break to find the program locked. But it has neve let me down at a performance. I.E. Setting up is probably tougher on the computer then playback.

I have tried numerous programs (some at $$) and various DMX dongles and for my taste think QLC+ beats them all! We recently ran 12 Angry Men with numerous fades and audio tracks, "lighting" chases (with thunder of course) and QLC+ handled it every night.
 
Any PC will do. Pc > Mac. Lol.

What’s your budget. Laptop/Desktop??


thanks
I really need the least amount of everything possible. It just has to run QLC
I'd like to spend $200-ish

I'm looking at all these mini's but I'm not sure if or which will work.

..)
Ty
 
I really need the least amount of everything possible. It just has to run QLC
I'd like to spend $200-ish

I'm looking at all these mini's but I'm not sure if or which will work.

Wow! A really hard question because it depends on what computer you know and how comfortable you are with it. QLC+ is only secondary. It is a rugged cross platform little beast. Look at W4JPA.net and click the "Pi DMX" choice on the left. That used a special DMX dongle but most people use a USB / Dmx dongle. You can get a Pi for $35 and a USB/DMX dongle for $25. The best one is the Enttec at about $70.

However, if you're not into Linux and this is just an experiment (to start with) get yourself a refurbed PC. Wal Mart has them - pretty good models too - at ridiculously low prices. For less than $100 you could have computer and USB/DMX dongle. My PC runs the QLC+ - as mentioned - but get this, I also run "Capture" a freebie DMS "Visual Simulator". I build a simple 3D stage with lights (and DMX Addresses) and run both programs. Now - when I adjust, say, a fader the light on the truss - on the stage - in capture lights up! Think about the work the computer is doing!

As mentioned before, QLC+ is a very tough program so you should have little trouble running it on anything with a fairly modern OS (Win7 and newer or Linux)
 
I would love to see these refurbs you are talking about sub 100$ computers.

You are looking at for 200$ a FB/Craigslist Buy. That will be circa 2010ish model computers. Possible lemon.

You might spend 50$ take your Mac in for a cleaning and see if that helps run it better.
 
I would love to see these refurbs you are talking about sub 100$ computers.

You are looking at for 200$ a FB/Craigslist Buy. That will be circa 2010ish model computers. Possible lemon.

You might spend 50$ take your Mac in for a cleaning and see if that helps run it better.

I don't think adding to another's remarks with sarcasm is polite. So you "Would Love to see . . . " Well Duh! open google and type something like "Mini Computers". I saw about 4 less than $100; Typical "Refurb HP Compaq 6000-SFF WA2-0272 Desktop PC. Intel COre 2 Duo, Processor with 4 gig memory, 160 Gig HDD yada yada" For $85.98!
Lets keep things positive.
 
You mistake scarasm with interest in your facts. Walmart is a big site and it didn’t result your low price findings.

Either way I would trust a refurb as much as used pc. 200$ doesn’t quite cut it.
 
Mac Minis are definitely not equal, so another important tidbit to know would be which one do you currently have?
Apple Menu =>About this Mac, The Wikipedia article on the Mac Mini, Google etc.. will all help with discovery.

You can breathe quite a bit of life into an older mac with maximum memory and an SSD.
Also run windows native with bootcamp instead of in a VM.

I'm doing AutoCAD and Revit along with (too much) Adobe product simultaneously on a current i7 Mini running Win10.
Daily constant use with no crashing or lags.
The current lower-end one that looks identical can barely churn through 1 application running solo!
So there is huge differences between the current models, as well as the older ones!
 
I've been using a mac mini and my QLC is just not happy and quirky. I'm ready to throw in the towel after much troubleshooting.

What pc computer do any of you use? I'm shopping around but I don't now anything about pc's

..)
Ty
Often, it's not a matter of the computer but more a matter of having very little else run on it. If it's a dedicated machine, I wouldn't even load antivirus. Delete all the useless junk that come pre-installed. Run it clean and undistracted and a lot of that quirkiness will probably go away.
 

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