Some 2017 small Windows 10 Pcs ideal for DIY CNCs

**Neale** · 09-09-2017

What worries me about W10 is performance. I'm not talking about general speed - when things are working normally, I see no difference from W7 - but after some recent updates, my garage PC based on a new motherboard with AMD CPU installed about a year ago has been running like a dog - a three-legged dog. Some of the system processes including desktop manager can take up to 50% of the CPU, and response is so slow that it even drops the connection to the CSMIO motion controller from time to time. Last night I was giving a talk and demo of my 3D printer to a local society and the printer started running very slowly as well. Looked like the laptop was not sending gcode fast enough to the printer every so often. I couldn't chase the issue as I was busy talking, but that was a combination of laptop and printer that's been working without a single issue for a few years now, including W10 for a year or so. The only change was W10 updates, as far as I know. Both machines have installed the latest Creator Update, which looks as if it might be part of the problem. I have a few other W10 PCs which seem to be working fine but aren't doing anything "real time" in the same way.

Don't know is anyone else is seeing W10 problems but i'm starting to get a bit twitchy about it. Done a fair bit of googling around this issue and although there are generic performance complaints, I haven't found a fix for my problem yet. Bit of an issue as my router is built around the CSMIO so Linux is not an option. Upgrade to W7? Is Microsoft on a "Well, our compulsory updates might make your hardware obsolete" strategy?

**magicniner** · 09-09-2017

Originally Posted by Neale

Don't know is anyone else is seeing W10 problems but i'm starting to get a bit twitchy about it.

Neale,
Even with Windows 7 I have Internet connectivity disabled on my main CAD/CAM PC and my CNC PC, you can do this whilst maintaining local area network connectivity so file transfer isn't a problem, work and anything you need to download with an "Internet PC" can be stored centrally on NAS,

- Nick

**Neale** · 09-09-2017

Nick,
I'm not so worried about my cad/cam machine, especially as I use F360 which needs to be cloud-connected to get the best out of it (yes, I know, another can of worms

). However, the machine control PC has a dedicated Ethernet connection to the motion controller, and a wireless dongle for connection to the main WiFi network in the house for file transfer but which is unplugged during cutting. Because I run W10 Pro, I can also turn off automatic update download and install - a little-documented (by Microsoft) feature which isn't in W10 Home. My problem with that machine is continuous CPU load, not "hang on a bit, I've decided to do a bunch of downloads and installs". Main difference between that machine and all my other machines is that that one is AMD and the others Intel. All latest drivers, so hardware still current and supported by AMD.
I only mention this because Boyan's post about cheap PCs makes me a bit nervous, not because the hardware isn't a good buy but whether or not there might be a longer-term issue with W10 supporting the hardware. I'm also leaning towards the idea of Linux for the future, but there is some software I'm using today that just can't migrate - like Mach3.

**magicniner** · 09-09-2017

Windows 10 is not yet fully suitable for applications where the user expects their requirements to be paramount, regardless of whether you have control of when it installs updates it will use system resources for things which are out of your control at times which are out of your control.
Windows 10 has been designed for "Surfers", "Gamers" and "Makers" and is no place for engineers and manufacturers at this time, they don't call it the "Bleeding Edge" for nothing :D

- Nick

**Desertboy** · 10-09-2017

Just "upgraded" to Windows 10 when I got a new pc it's truly dreadful. I almost miss OSX it's that bad! Having no Microphone or webcam in this pc makes me a lot more comfortable with it.

If it wasn't for Fusion I'd have Linux on this machine either Ubuntu or Fedora.

The best solution for me is 2 pc's one cheap to run pc with linux for day to day use and 1 for Fusion, from what I read you only need to sync occasionally to fusion for it to work the pc I have now has no wifi so easy to unplug the ethernet to ensure it's offline.

I'm guessing windows 10 doesn't play so nice with Parallel ports and breakout boards, I'm going the Linuxcnc route because at least it works today and will work in 5 years from now unlike winblows which is going to need dedicated motion controller.