Dell Latitude XT2 or HP Touchsmart tx2z Tablet for Win 7? | The Coffeehouse

PocketXP
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Can someone from the Windows 7 Multi-Touch project shed some light on the 64-bit N-trig drivers?

I'm looking to buy either the Dell Latitude XT2 or HP Touchsmart tx2z Tablet.

Which one is best to run 64-bit Windows 7?

It looks like the weak link is the 64-bit N-trig drivers. => http://www.n-trig.com/Content.aspx?Page=Multi_Touch

Ion Todirel
buuu

why would you want a 64-bit OS on a Table PC? o_O

PocketXP
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In reply to Ion Todirel

#Mar 27th @ 6:39 PM

I want the extra horsepower.

Would like to configure it with 5 GB RAM or more.
32 bit OS's do not support more than 4 GB RAM.

Ion Todirel
buuu

In reply to PocketXP

#Mar 27th @ 8:21 PM

I know that, just that I didn't imagine someone will use a laptop with so much RAM considering how expensive the 4G sticks are... unless it supports more than 2 sticks

PocketXP
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In reply to Ion Todirel

#Mar 27th @ 8:44 PM

It will be expensive but I use it for software development.

There is some ROI. The extra memory increases my productivity.

A loaded Dell Latitude XT2 with 5 GB RAM will cost $4,600.
The HP Touchsmart tx2z is a bit cheaper.

Ion Todirel
buuu

In reply to PocketXP

#Mar 27th @ 9:16 PM

I'd get a powerful desktop and a cheap Tablet PC, together will cost you less than a powerful Tablet who's CPU is slow anyway

magicalclick

Do you really need that much of RAM to be more productive for software development? I am running on 3GB only and it is enough for both gaming and using VS C# express for my own WPF project. And your software should run on less powerful machine. Unless you project is SQL Server Bound?

Anyway, don't know which one is better for your case.

blowdart
Peek-a-boo

In reply to magicalclick

#Mar 27th @ 10:34 PM

You only need 3Gb? You're not a real developer Tongue Out

BlackTiger
If you stumbled and fell down, it doesn't mean yet, that you're going in the wrong direction.

In reply to blowdart

#Mar 28th @ 12:41 AM

Hmmm.... What if I'm just writing effective code? Am I bad/wrong developer?
Yes, I understand.... To be "effective" is too old-fashioned and not supported by "big" companies...

blowdart
Peek-a-boo

In reply to BlackTiger

#Mar 30th @ 6:57 AM

PocketXP
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32-bit systems are old school.

I need the 64-bit/extra memory horsepower to maximize perfomance but please note that the whole industry is quickly adopting 64-bit as the defacto standard.

Regarding my needs, I'm planning to use the Tablet PC to write/demo apps that use the new multi-touch capabilities. I'm also going to develop Oracle and SQL Server based Silverlight and Java apps using virtual machine dev environments.

PocketXP
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I'm going with the Dell Latitude XT2 for the following 2 reasons:
- Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 processor is better than the AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core.
- Dell system has a 128 GB SSD option. Solid State Drives should be the default standard for Mobile PCs.

fyi: there's only two 64 Bit Multi-Touch Tablet PC options:

1. Dell Latitude XT2
    - Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 (1.40GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
    - 5 GB RAM
    - 128 GB SSD

2. HP Touchsmart tx2z
    - AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile Processor ZM-86 (2.4 GHz)
    - 8 GB RAM
    - 500 GB SATA HD

Ian2
Proud to geek ..

I've got a tx2 - Loaded Windows 7 - it runs fine but you lose the pen support if you go for the multitouch driver - which is a little flakey anyway at the moment - also only support for the 32bit Win7 at present.

I am thinking of reverting back to 64bit Vista until the driver situation improves.

PocketXP
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In reply to Ian2

#Mar 30th @ 1:35 PM

Thanks for the info on the tx2.

Hopefully, the 64bit Win7 multi-touch drivers will be ready by the time RC1 happens in May.

PocketXP
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In reply to PocketXP

#Mar 30th @ 9:00 PM

Good news: 64 bit Windows 7 RC N-Trig Multi-Touch drivers are now available.

http://n-trig.com/Content.aspx?PageId=942

Riekl

In reply to PocketXP

#Mar 30th @ 7:16 AM

You are nuts if you think the industry is quickly adopting 64bit. Adoption is slow, nearly 0. Most people buying 64 bit machines are downgrading them to 32 bit due to compatability issues.

It will be another 2-3 years before 64 bit is 'mainstream'. There is 0 benefit to running it today on a tablet.

magicalclick

In reply to Riekl

#May 6th @ 7:13 PM

I don't see any problem running software on my 64bit machine. I don't see why downgrade at all. Also Win7 is the last OS with 32bits.

dahat

In reply to magicalclick

#May 6th @ 7:19 PM

Agreed.

Only compat issues I've had under x64 has been when I try to do mixed mode debugginging under Visual Studio... which they say will be supported in Dev10... and with Windows Virtual PC and Virtual XP Mode... another reason not to run x64 has just been eliminated.

PocketXP
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In reply to Riekl

#May 6th @ 7:13 PM

>> You are nuts if you think the industry is quickly adopting 64bit

I'm primarily referring to server side which is already mostly 64 bit.

As you say, it may take another 2 or 3 years before the mainsteam client OS is 64 bit.
The big issue is the additional load on the battery.

However, there is no denying that 64 bit horsepower will be a catalyst for better software all around.

blowdart
Peek-a-boo

In reply to dahat

#May 7th @ 12:54 AM

The only one I've had was after Visual Studio SP1 where VS couldn't talk to SQL Express user instances. There's a patch you can request for that.

Ian2
Proud to geek ..

In reply to blowdart

#May 9th @ 5:06 AM

TX2 - Upgraded from 64bit Vista to 64bit Windows 7 over the weekend - no issues yet (multitouch apears solid)

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

In reply to Riekl

#May 6th @ 7:13 PM

I'm using some fairly niche hardware from 2004 and the manufacturers were kind enough to release x64 drivers for them. In fact, all the hardware I'm using has x64-compatible drivers.

It's only really low-grade stuff from before 2004 you'll have issues with, but my PC is nearly legacy-free (it's got two PCI slots, PS/2 and IDE, otherwise that's it)

Jake541

In reply to Riekl

#May 6th @ 7:13 PM

Riekl, I think you need to clue yourself better, before you go insulting people. Look at the BestBuy.com website, or Dell.com, there are tons of machines coming with Vista x64 by default. In fact, on BestBuy.com it may be most machines.

Trickydicky

In reply to Jake541

#May 18th @ 12:43 PM

Hi guys,

Sorry for the thread hi-jack!

I'm just about to jump on the multi-touch tablet bandwagon for dev purposes. I'm really in two minds which to go for. Is the screen, build quality etc worth the 50% jump in price on the dell?

I've already been slightly put off the tx2 by some of the review video's showing gerky movement using vista and hp's software. Does win 7 fix that?

ManipUni
Proving QQ for 5 years!

Point of fact, 64 bit doesn't increase your horsepower, and in many cases actually decreases it by 1/2. The only benefit to 64 bit is either niche applications or to increase your memory over the 3.5~ GB cap.