[keen]

Here is a question for the computer gurus - which I definitely am not!

I am trying to decide whether to buy a Tormach Path Pilot controller and in my case pay the freight to New Zealand, or whether my spare Dell Dimension C521 64 bit AMD would suit.

It does not have a big printer port plug at the back, I could dismantle it and see if it has a PCI- E slot etc, but really I am a bit lost with this stuff. Using this Dell would only be a good idea for me, if the conversion procedure is straight forward and would haves a predictable positive outcome.

Or should I just import a Tormach controller?

Any advice welcome. Cheers, Keen.

[keen]

Oh, and it was purchased with windows XP. Keen

[Philbobb]

Download and try a regular version of Linux CNC first. There is a test you can do to check for issues, similar to what Mach 3 has. You would still need the card, 5I25(PCI) $89 or 6I25(PCI-E) $109 from Mesa plus shipping. Then the software from Tormach. My guess is it would probably work, whatever you're using for Mach right now would probably work too. Are used computers easy to find locally for you in case what you have doesn't work out?

I'm running PP on a Dell D530, and it works fine.

[MFchief]

Does anyone even know if Tormach's Linux with PathPilot will run on a 64 bit processor? I know most windows programs written for 32 bit will run on a 64 bit, but I have no idea if the is true for Linux.
Terry

[keen]

Download and try a regular version of Linux CNC first. There is a test you can do to check for issues, similar to what Mach 3 has. You would still need the card, 5I25(PCI) $89 or 6I25(PCI-E) $109 from Mesa plus shipping. Then the software from Tormach. My guess is it would probably work, whatever you're using for Mach right now would probably work too. Are used computers easy to find locally for you in case what you have doesn't work out?

I'm running PP on a Dell D530, and it works fine.

Thanks - Do you know about the lack of printer/port plug in situation?

[popspipes]

Do you know about the lack of printer/port plug in situation?

The old printer port if you have one is not used, the 5i25 card replaces that (it has its own printer port).
I would think the computer would be fine, Pathpilot doesnt use windows anyway, it has its own operating system-Ubuntu.

There was an issue with getting the Tormach version of the software (you had to have purchased a Tormach controller), I dont know if this is still an issue or not.

A phone call may straighten things out as to what their requirements are.

[wtopace]

Does anyone even know if Tormach's Linux with PathPilot will run on a 64 bit processor? I know most windows programs written for 32 bit will run on a 64 bit, but I have no idea if the is true for Linux.
Terry

Pretty much all computer processors nowadays are x86_64 (64bit). If you have an Itanium64 or something non-standard, then it would not work, but any "amd64" or "x86_64" should work just fine.

Edit: You might also want to call Tormach before buying the $100 Mesa card to make sure they will ship the software (be sure to give them the serial number of your mill). There was a note previously that the beta has ended, not sure if they still "allow" non-TMC installations. (For the record, my white-box install has been flawless since day 1 running on some old hardware I already had, so you can expect good results).

[keen]

Thanks guys - sounds good, my confidence is increasing. I need to buy one copy of the Tormach card and software for my more recent tormach 1100 anyway - can I use that to first trial it in the dell before installing it in the Tormach controller? keen

[Gilmax]

Everything in the Tormach computer is off the shelf. I looked at some of the hardware they had in it. The components can all be bought off the shelf for $300-400 easily. The real value in the Tormach computer is the Technical support that comes with it.