I'm a Mac guy, I drink the cool-aid and I admit it. I know nothing about PC's. I have an older, large Toshiba Satellite, I think it's a 15" model and it's a tank. It also doesn't power up unless it's plugged in. Won't run on battery power alone which is a known issue requiring a new power board. Not interested in doing that and I don't want a power cord coming out during datalogging sessions.

I'm looking for recommendations on a small, light, and feature-light Windows-based laptop that I can use to datalog and run all things ECUTek. I don't need a CD drive (I don't think anyway), just USB ports. But I want something that's fast enough to handle all the incoming data.

Ideally I'm looking at something in the $300 range new and hope to pick one up used for even less.

Any advice greatly appreciated!
-m

 

Just went to the ECUTek page and here are the system requirements:

Operating System Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (Windows 8.1/10 RT is NOT supported)
Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows are supported
Running software inside a virtual machine such as VMware, VirtualBox or Parallels is NOT supported
Processor 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit or 64-bit processor
Memory 1 gigabyte (GB) or higher
Hard Disk Space 250 MB on C: drive for ProECU Programming Kit
2,000 MB on C: drive for ProECU Tuning Suites
Display 1024x768 minimum screen resolution
640x480 is NOT supported
800x600 is NOT supported
2 Free USB Ports 1x USB port for the Licence Key
1x USB port for the EcuTek Vehicle Interface
Internet Access Required on the PC/Laptop that the EcuTek software is run on to enable software update downloads
Language EcuTek software is only available in English but will run on other Windows region versions

I also saw they have the new ECU Connect. This uses what looks like a Bluetooth or Wifi dongle to connect to your smart phone, Mac included. I don't think you'd be able to upload maps with this but you can switch between maps. Would be great if that's all you needed instead of a laptop!
EcuTek - ECU Connect

 

Any laptop from the past couple years should do the trick.

Most, if not all laptops from the last 5 years or so surpass those specifications needed for ECUTEK.

Not sure if this may help you but, do you have a Macbook? How about running Bootcamp through Mac OSX so you have a dedicated Windows sector for tuning.

I am sure this would work if setup properly and you wouldnt need to go out to purchase another computer.

Not too hard to setup and will run just as any other windows laptop to do datalogging.

_____________________________

If you do want to purchase a dedicated small notebook PC, companies like Dell, ASUS, HP offer entry level laptop PCs that will do the trick for tuning. They often range from 2-300. They wont have mindblowing specs but for tuning, it should do the trick wonderfully. Datalogging doesn't really take up much processing power. It just spits out an Excel file from the ECUTEK software for your tuner to look at.

Hope the info helps!
-Ali

 

Ali, thank you.

For Bootcamp, I'm assuming I'd have to zero out the drive and partition. I really don't have that option as I have a ton of work software that's configured and IT installed. I have another Mac laptop but it's a 17" and I've given that over to the wife. It too is a tank but great for photo/video/graphics editing.

 

How bout screen size, for anyone actively using ECUTek, is an 11.8" screen large enough? Or will I regret not getting something larger like a 14"?

 

A netbook should also work. I have an asus transformer t100tam (circa 2014) tablet which I've used in the past for things like powercommander software.

 

HP has a line of really small laptops which are about $200 new, 4gigs of RAM and a 14" screen called the Stream. They have it in an 11" and a 13" version (older) as well but I think the 11" pretty much has the same footprint so might as well get the bigger screen.

 

IIRC you should be able to just create a new partition from your free space for Windows and it would not affect your OSX partition.

 

You are correct. I went and looked up the process and it seems straightforward enough.

I did talk to ECUTek a bit and one of their techs said an 11" would be fine if I go that route. And Windows 10 is $120 so for $80 more, I can have a dedicated, small computer just for the ECUTek.

It looks like, eventually the ECUTek ECU Connect will allow new maps to be "burned" to the ECU via Bluetooth but they're not there yet. When it is ready, you'll need nothing more than your smart phone. Pretty darn cool.

 

From my experience hp>Asus>dell. Haven't tried toshiba

 

I went and ordered a new HP 11" with a 3 year protection plan against accidents, spills, breaks, etc...for under $230 via Amazon with Windows 10 preloaded. Should do the trick.

 

I guess I'm a bit late. I have a dell E5410 for sale.

DELL E5410 LAPTOP 2.4GHZ CORE I5 CPU 6GB RAM 2TB 2000GB HD EXTRAS 2

 

Lol, sorry about that! I also wanted something really small and ultimately decided a warranty would be good too.

 

Another option is "Parallels Desktop for Mac" and run any Windows OS.
I run Win 7 for my digital storage oscilloscope and it works great.

 

When I had my GTI and MacBook Pro, I ran win 7 and 10 via bootcamp. I did not have to wipe the HD, instead just partitioned the free space. I liked the option! Also I love my ecutek tune