As narrow as possible, but not as stripped as possible

Mal-2 · 14 Jan 2015, 14:34

kbdfr wrote: ↑More information here.

Edit:
Mal-2 wrote: ↑[…] especially at a $400+ price tag. […
You can get used Tipro keyboard for just a fraction of that price. 7bit may still have some used KMXs and I some used MIDs.

Finding out the programming software works on only 32-bit Windows has blown that option out of the water. I'll keep them in the back of my mind should they ever update the software, but until they do they have to be considered a non-starter. Even my cheap laptop is running 64-bit Windows 7.

gogusrl · 14 Jan 2015, 18:06

If you have a vt-d capable cpu on a pc/notebook you can easily run a Windows XP virtual machine and map a USB port for the programming software.

chzel · 14 Jan 2015, 18:22

gogusr, I tried on my i5-4670K, on VMware Player a WinXP 32bit VM but no honey...
Mal-2, do you need to program the board on-the-fly or really often? Those things have 4 layers fully accessible..512 keys..

Mal-2 · 14 Jan 2015, 19:35

chzel wrote: ↑gogusr, I tried on my i5-4670K, on VMware Player a WinXP 32bit VM but no honey...
Mal-2, do you need to program the board on-the-fly or really often? Those things have 4 layers fully accessible..512 keys..

Ideally, yes... I would be changing the programming for every major application (game, Cubase, special characters for my writing, what have you). Of course it may be possible to work around that with the layers, but I'd still have to get it programmed in the first place.

I'm more inclined at this point to roll my own off a bog-standard controller and a big bag o'switches. I also already own an X-keys XK-16 Stick (for which I paid far too much, but it was really useful for the purpose I originally bought it for) for doing macros. It is reprogrammable on the fly or can run a program on the machine itself.

Now I have to learn to use KiCad, and draw my PCBs. It looks like Cherry does everything in 1.27mm increments -- or 1/20th of an inch. That means I'll probably be using inches to do the PCB, because it makes all the numbers a lot nicer. Actually, it shouldn't even be called a PCB, since I intend to just drill holes and hand-wire most of it, unless doing it as a PCB ends up easier than I expected.

chzel · 14 Jan 2015, 20:28

If you are so inclined maybe you should consider a cheap MID as donor? Case, plate and perhaps switches if you like Blacks.
No need for a PCB, go with wires and diodes to a teensy 2++ and you're set!
Check these links as well: http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/the- ... t1067.html and https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=45139.0;

gogusrl · 15 Jan 2015, 06:44

chzel wrote: ↑gogusr, I tried on my i5-4670K, on VMware Player a WinXP 32bit VM but no honey...
Mal-2, do you need to program the board on-the-fly or really often? Those things have 4 layers fully accessible..512 keys..

It won't work with any K cpu because they don't have VT-d support ( http://ark.intel.com/products/75048/Int ... o-3_80-GHz ).

There's more chances to have a VT-d capable cpu on your laptop.

chzel · 15 Jan 2015, 06:59

What sorcery is this? I hadn't noticed that difference between K and non-K!

Hak Foo · 15 Jan 2015, 07:01

Interestingly, the 4790k DOES seem to offer VT-d. Apparently they finally caved n the Haswell Refresh parts, but I see also complaints that a lot of boards aren't wired to support it well Claims seem to be that the gamer-boards with PCI-Express splitters to support 82 video cards, often break VT-d, or the option simply won;t exist in the firmware.

http://ark.intel.com/products/80807/Int ... Hz?q=4790k

gogusrl · 15 Jan 2015, 14:06

Nice, didn't notice that, my 4690k has it as well. Gonna do some tests, I was using this on a i5-520m notebook.

Mal-2 · 15 Jan 2015, 22:26

Where, pray tell, do AMD Thuban and E-series CPUs fall? Because that's what I'm working with (other than the netbook which is natively 32-bit).

Muirium · 15 Jan 2015, 22:31

I've no idea. But Thuban is one of my favourite star names of all!

Mal-2 · 16 Jan 2015, 19:12

Muirium wrote: ↑I've no idea. But Thuban is one of my favourite star names of all!

I will say that after three and a half years of ownership (and it wasn't bleeding edge when I bought it), this CPU continues to hold its own. It's not up there with the fastest desktop i7, but it's hardly shabby. I didn't really know if there would be much difference between four cores and six, but it seems there are a fair number of times I'm able to saturate four cores, while the "extra" two remain available to keep the system responsive to my actions. It does tend to get a bit I/O-bound during some of these events, but that's not the CPU's fault.

Would I recommend it now? No, because the FX-8000 series is even faster and has an integrated GPU (which is nifty if you want to use the on-board ports to drive a third and/or fourth monitor). It would be better than the relatively crappy (though completely ignorable) integrated GPU provided by my motherboard, and most likely better than the five year old discrete GPU I bought.