Mini pc with dual HDMI out

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  • Hi guys,

    I'm recently building on a diy console for MA3 onPC. I know a lot of you guys use a laptop or a full dekstop pc but is there anyone out there that usages a mini pc like a Intel NUC or something similar? I have 2 nucs at home but they both have only one HDMI out port. I really like to have some more I/O. At least 2 display (HDMI) out ports and 4 to 6 usb. I found this mini pc what should handle MA3 onPC very well or does has anyone other recommendations? http://www.bee-link.com/portal.php?mod=view&aid=143

    Love to see your ideas/setups :)

  • I use Intel Nuc skull i7 8809G procesor, 32gb of ram and radeon VegaM for the graphics. It has a lot of usb (6) conections, 2 mini displayports, 2 hdmi and thunderbolt ports to connect everything. Also I use 22" IIyama multi touch screens. Right now I need to modify the case to put the fader wing inside.

  • Thanks for your input guys. The Intel Nuc Skull is maybe a good option. I thought these where €1000,- or more for a barebone so I did not look into them. I'm making a compact setup on a budget. I'm not using it professionally so investing thousands into consoles is not worth the money. We are now gonna try to use two 15.6" portable touch displays, a Behringer X-touch compact (got it for a bargain price) and I made a custom keyboard for the command section of MA3. Still work in progress, we have to make an enclosure but work already great :) Can also be used as a usb keyboard so you can do some preprogramming on your laptop or so without the need of a console.

  • I'm using Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR "Blocks" (measuring about 10x10x20cm) and I'm very happy with them. But they are difficult to find on the market. You can only get them as used ones. They have 2 HDMI Outputs and two MiniDP-Out (or 1 HDMI and 3 MiniDP on the older one (it is silver)).

    The older one can be fitted with two NVram Disks an two 2,5" HDs if youz want. The newer one (in black) aceepts one 2,5" HD and two NVram HDs as far as i remember. Ram can be up to 32GB (or more - as far as I... :) ).

    I think they have a very good cooling system and they have never been really loud during the last 6 Months. Some people say they are noisy, but I think they compare it with absolutely nonoise Computers for bedrooms. I would say they do not make more noise than writing with a "normal" Keyboard.

    The Skull seemed expensive to me to, so I looked for an alternative with a good graphic card. The Brix has a nvidia 1060 with 6GB VRAm or the older one has a 1050 with 4GB VRam (as far as I remember - I'm just "use" them now... :) ).

    The Brix Blocks maybe not as small as the skull and have no way to "screw" them in a case (but it's not very difficult to mount a block in a case...), but I think the Graphics card is better and as MA3 "wants it all" expecially due to 3D I decided to invest in a good Graphic card. Because when the system is "on the road" often it will be as it is and it often means not little trouble to change the heart of the system...

    Rizard : Can You tell more about Your Keyboard (via PN or here in the Forum)? Is it using the Keyboard Shortcuts and how did you build it? What are the "ingredients"?

    RUN DMX! With my MA3-Wing, Vizkey, and 2K onPC-Node. :)

  • Rainschn : I'm also looking at what kind of graphics card I want to use but for now I will probably go for something that runs MA3 well with the possibility to do some 3d while prepping for a show. And when I want to do fancy 3d render a friend will join to with his pc/laptop who has a better graphics card and will join session so we can use that pc for 3d rendering and the console pc for control. With the budget in mind I think the NUC skull will be the best option for now looking at the form factor of the housing, cpu and I/O options.

    Regarding the keyboard you are on the right track. It works with shortcuts. It's basically a 'normal' keyboard only with a different layout. I designed myself the pcb. The key-switches are just regular keyboard switches and I've diode-lasered myself the text into the blank keycaps and filled it with with paint. Not really rocket science ;) Anyone with a little bit of Arduino or other keyboard controller knowledge can do it :)

  • Hello all. I have also been looking for a small pc for the gMA3 program. I have a onPC command Wing and 2 touchscreens. I have now decided for a ZOTAC ZBOX CI642 nano (barebone), which I will upgrade with 2 x 16 GB RAM.

    https://www.zotac.com/de/product/min…rebone#overview

    After my consideration the program should run well on it. Maybe someone can confirm this for me briefly. The computer hardware sector is growing too fast for me to keep up.

    Best regards

    delta


    EDIT:

    I have chosen a ZOTAC ZBOX CI642 nano and can confirm that the MA3 software runs flawlessly with it. I run 2 x 22" touchscreens with it. 2 external midi controllers (Midicraft), which communicate with MA3 via Showcockpit via osc. The Zotac has 2 x 16GB memory and has no fans, so I put 2 fans on the left and right rear to have a directional airflow and to dissipate the heat. I am very happy with the overall setup. Thanks for your inspiration.

    PS: The "Case" is brand self-made, is here and there a little unclean processed, but it serves its purpose. Unfortunately also quite heavy, but I accept that so.

  • I heard about NUC, but their computers face data leak problems as far as I know. Their computers have a fabric malfunction, and they are not safe. I don't want to be rude, but I strongly recommend you forget about all that stuff and look for a stronger option. For instance, I am using a service called salvagedata.com, specialized in recovering data. I hope you won't have to use it a lot, but it's always better to have a backup plan.

    Edited once, last by roseuhon (April 9, 2022 at 9:32 PM).

  • on my side i am using a minisforum and it work great ( running at the same time grandma3, resolume arena, showcockpit, companion and bomes midi translator).

    one 15,6 viewsonic touchscreen and one 14 wimaxit touch screen.

    a midicon 2 ( with encoders working) and a stream deck

  • I'll now use a Gigabyte BSi7-1165G7 with 64GB of RAM which runs smoothly when not using the 3D view in combination with large amounts of fixtures. Its not exactly up to specs for MA3onPC because the lack of a dedicated GPU but has 2 NIC and 4 HDMI outputs

    Smaller shows: up to 60 moving lights do run smooth in 3D but not on maximum beam quality

    Kind regards,

    Mark van der Meulen

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