Newbie Question regarding computer

[cd1229]

I'm looking into SDR since our local agencies have switched to P25 phase 2 with simulcast. My trusty old scanner will no longer cut it. I've done some homework and have an understanding of the hardware I'll need and options for software. My main concern, which is holding me back, is whether I'll also need to purchase a dedicated computer for the SDR system, as opposed to installing it on my everyday laptop that I use for everything else. I get the impression the SDR can take up a lot of CPU usage, but could be wrong, or maybe it's not an issue. So am asking for any recommendations/input or personal experiences. I currently use a HP laptop with intel core i5. Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks.

 

[jtwalker]

Some SDR software runs on Windows, some on Linux, some on both (and I think some on Mac-OS). I ran SDRtrunk on Win10 on an i5 with 32 gb of ram and it ran ok, but definitely slowed machine down for other uses. I only have experience with SDRtrunk, but I believe other software had lower hardware demands.

 

[a417]

You don't need a ton of processing power to do the decoding. Wether or not you want to buy specific hardware to utilize SDRs for scanning is purely preference. The real hardware hogs tend to be the massive spectrum waterfalls that many of the programs display so people can "sEE thE SIgNALZ". It is not necessary to do so. Visualization is the heavy load.

I have run multiple DSD+ FL instances on a Windows XP box being driven by a pentium 4 2.2ghz (single core) processor w/o issue. That was approx a year ago - on a 15 y/o processor. Worked just fine.

Different software solutions will place different stressors on your current system.

 

[cmjonesinc]

I'll have to agree with the info above. If I run something like sdr# I can notice a difference but I normally run 2 sdr's on UniTrunker v1 and regularly plug in a third with no issues. This is all while running 2 Bluetail P25RX's, 2 instances of Zello, and NoMachine on a cheap old Lenovo M600.

 

[bobruzzo]

I use SDR Trunk and currently using an HP elitedesk with i5 6th gen cpu and 16GB RAM....my OS is Mint Linux. But I have found SDR Trunk to be a resource hog and its the FFT display that puts a strain on cpu. I don't run SDR Trunk with the waterfall display. Its not really necessary anyway. It saves me a decent percentage of cpu strength, even tho Linux runs more efficiently then Windows. I wish there was an option in SDR Trunk to replace the space that the waterfall occupies with a picture or some other useful data displayed. But if you run this software and DISABLE the waterfall, computer will be very happy.