San Diego Instruments ANY-maze : Computer

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Introduction

Cameras

Computers

Connecting external devices

ANY-maze bundles

SDI home page

Computer

ANY-maze has been designed to work with modern computers running Windows Vista. However, that doesn't mean you can't use it with older equipment or other versions of Windows - check out the details below.

Running ANY-maze on a desktop computer

ANY-maze will track well on most computers built in the last five years and will work excellently with any new machine you purchase today.
For example, the Dell Vostro shown here is equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4GB of RAM and would be an excellent choice for ANY-maze.

Running ANY-maze on a portable computer

Running ANY-maze on a portable computer creates an elegant solution, particularly as you can take the computer back to your desk when an experiment is finished.

Recommended specification for a new computer

Windows Vista Business (ANY-maze works with all variants of Vista)
Intel Core 2 Duo processor - ANY-maze makes full use of all available processor cores
4GB RAM
SXGA or WXGA display - ANY-maze benefits from widescreen displays.
FireWire\i.LINK\IEEE-1394 port - useful for connecting FireWire cameras.
160GB hard disk - ANY-maze requires 45MB to install
DVD+/-RW - useful for backups. A CD drive is required to install the software which comes with capture cards.
Optical mouse - doesn't get clogged by saw-dust!

Recommended specification for an existing computer

Windows XP
Pentium 4 2.0GHz or above*
512MB RAM
XGA display (1024 x 768), 24 bit colour
CD-ROM - required to install the software which comes with capture cards
1GB hard disk space. ANY-maze needs 45MB to install but you will need additional space for experiment files

Minimum specification for ANY-maze to run

Windows 2000
Pentium III 800GHz or above*
512MB RAM - exact amount will depend on the operating system
SVGA display (800 x 600) 16 bit colour
45MB hard disk space, ANY-maze requires this to install

*To detect freezing, ANY-maze requires at least a Pentium 4 or an AMD Athlon 64 processor. Freezing detection is not available on AMD Athlon-XP processors.

The easiest way to get the exact specifications for a computer to automate your apparatus is to use the ANY-maze Equipment Wizard - it can even check the specification of an existing computer and recommend any upgrades which might be necessary.