I use a powerbook (mac os x) for my work. I can run MULTIPLE matlab
analyses as well as things like FSL (compiled routines accessible from
the command line).

Since the mac is unix based there are lots of utilities available and I
heartily recommend it as a great analysis platform. I can launch things
in the background (such as fsl and even spm stuff) and let it run with
out windows popping up and interfering with my stuff.

You may want to look at the new intel based powerbooks they are fast and
you can config with lots of memory etc.

Robert Welsh



>>> Jeff Browndyke <[log in to unmask]> 04/25/06 5:45 PM >>>
Thanks to all for the suggestions. It was helpful to hear that I
wouldn't run afoul by going with the Intel Duo Core processor. As such,
I believe I've settled on a Dell Inspiron E1710 w/ the Duo 2GHz, 2GB
RAM, and 100GB drive. Assuming I don't have any screen overheading
issues (as was experienced in an old Dell laptop of mine), I think that
set-up will do the trick.

BTW - Darren, your numbers generate serious data envy! I thought I was
lucky to work with 50 scans at any one point in time.

Cheers to all,
Jeff



-----Original Message-----
From: SPM (Statistical Parametric Mapping) [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Darren Gitelman
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2006 4:22 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [SPM] Laptop recommendations for mobile imaging work

Hi Phil

I have a Dell 600m, Pentium M 1.8 Ghz, 2 GB ram, 60 GB hd, running
windows
xp, and matlab and spm run quite well. No I cannot start more than 1
analysis at a time and expect to use the machine while it is running,
but
Matlab 7 is pretty good about not totally hogging the processor. I can
run
DCM's with 5-6 regions and 1300 scans in 20-60 minutes depending on the
number of iterations. It runs a "standard" SPM analysis, 200 images,
comparing some active and some rest condition in less than 10 minutes. I
just ran a 260 image realignment which estimated and wrote out the
images
and mean image- it took 10 minutes. I assume that a faster processor
and/or
hard disk would speed the processing proportionately.

By the way, the lab just bought an desktop computer with an AMD 64 bit
processor and it was a huge pain to install the 64 bit version of
windows
and appropriate 64 bit drivers (perhaps this argues for linux).
Something
went surreptitiously wrong with installing the updated windows installer
and
this required reinstalling the OS again.

Surprisingly though running bench on the 64 bit version of Matlab -
2006a,
was not very speedy at all even for the purely CPU based calculations.
So
perhaps there is some other optimization that needs to be sorted out.

I'm going to go play with the software settings now until something
breaks.
Darren
  

| -----Original Message-----
| From: SPM (Statistical Parametric Mapping)
| [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Phil Greer
| Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2006 2:22 PM
| To: [log in to unmask]
| Subject: Re: [SPM] Laptop recommendations for mobile imaging work
|
| the core duo is currently a 32bit chip. the 64bit version
| (mermon) will not be coming out till fall/winter.
|
| matlab works fine on the core duo under linux and windows. it
| does not run that well on osx-intel. the biggest problem
| there is the java front end it does not work on macintel machines.
|
| I am not sure what is the best linux supported core duo
| laptop right now, you will have to wait for another answer.
|
| -Phil Greer
| University of Pittsburgh
|
|
| On Apr 25, 2006, at 2:52 PM, Jeff Browndyke wrote:
|
| > While well knowing that laptops are generally not the best
| option for
| > imaging work, I'm curious to hear of any success stories from list
| > members who have run analyses from a laptop. Aside from maxing out
| > the RAM (2GB), having a fast processor (2Ghz), and at least
| 100GB of
| > storage, what else would one need? Is any particular laptop brand
| > better than others for imaging work?
| >
| > Also, does anyone know if Matlab has difficulties running
| on Intel's
| > Duo processor, which I believe is a 64bit setup? Any processors to
| > avoid?
| >
| > Thanks,
| > Jeff
|



**********************************************************
Electronic Mail is not secure, may not be read every day, and should not be used for urgent or sensitive issues.