@tadkins hey there - we no longer sell laptops on our site. With our current production back log, we couldn’t afford to ‘lose’ our technicians to computer support issues that arose - we simply don’t have the time so decided to stop offering the laptops on our site.
We do think it’s wise to have a dedicated laptop to run the machine, if that’s feasible. The minimum computer requirements are a Windows computer with 64 bit operating system, 3GB RAM, 512 MB memory card, 1 free USB port, and 2.5 GB free disk space.
I asked the IT guys at work for an old “trash” laptop (about 6 years old) runs windows 7 and it will be just fine for Mach 3. They have something laying around with a dead battery they don’t want to support anymore. I use my desktop for fusion but when I light this one on fire in the garage, I wont feel bad.
I thought the same thing myself - I had some wiring upgrades I needed to do in the garage. Had months to get it done but it ended up the weekend after I got the shipping notice
I’m conflicted in terms of the software side. On one hand it’s nice to be able to learn at your leisure. But I find it more effective to have specific projects and then to be able to test the project and fix my design and test again.
I teach CNC for the local Makerspace and have found students split about 50/50 which approach works better for them. But once they’ve got the basics, everyone seems to do better if they design & test and fix & repeat. It seems to help cement the concepts to be touching something in your hands to understand how it translates from the screen.