As a non-PC person (Mac), it looks like the best bet to get my QA403 properly running is to buy a Windows laptop. A refurb such as one from Dell can cost under $200, but is there anything I would want in terms of memory, etc.? Is 4GB RAM plenty? And is there any other issue I might want to know before buying a dedicated PC?
Thanks in advance.
Hi. I run QA40X on a very cheap Lenovo (intel I3) with Windows 11 and 4GB of RAM, and I’ve never had any problems.
Good to hear. Thanks!
I just found the same topic listed in other threads. Had looked before without success.
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I’m using a Surface 9 tablet (comes with attachable keyboard) with 16 GB RAM and an i7 processor; probably overkill, but it’s my main and only system. No problems, including powering the QA403 from one of the USB C jacks, on battery power. For what it’s worth, the Surfaces (a 7 came before the 9) replaced a Macbook Air.
I wouldn’t go too old with a refurbished unit, or make sure the battery was replaced. The other limitation might be that it should run Windows 11, since 10 has reached end of support.
Just ordered a refurb Dell E7470 with an i5 proc off Amazon for $200 after tax. I looked briefly at a Surface, and Dell had one a little cheaper than the Amz laptop, but I’m already comfortable with a conventional laptop and should be able to get up and running more easily.
I ran out of patience for continued head bashing trying to get Mac to work! 
P.S. I remembered I have an Intel NUC i7 (formerly used as a Roon server), but would need KB and monitor + Win OS, and more hair pulling w/ BIOS etc. Just license for Win OS is $139! 
Also being a Mac person, I asked the same question about two years ago. I bought a small PC from Amazon (ACEMAGICIAN Mini PC Computer, 12th Gen N100 (up to 3.4GHz) 16GB LPDDR5 512GB M.2 SSD Windows 11 Pro Desktop Computers, Micro PC Support 4K UHD, Dual Gigabit Ethernet, 3 HDMI, 2.4G/5G WiFi, BT 4.2) and a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I also bought a separate small monitor that I have on top of other test equipment and a fast, powered USB hub (Powered USB Hub, Rosonway 4 Ports USB 3.1/3.2 Gen 2 Hub 10Gbps) because that is how the QA403 is powered and it provides the signals to it also. Seems to work well. However, I will tell you that, being a Mac person, I found the interface is definitely not Mac-like or intuitive for non-computer people. It’s geared much more towards someone who is PC savvy.
I have a powered hub somewhere, if I’m not already using it, but will keep that in mind.
If I’m happy with the performance of the QA403, as I expect to be, another couple hundred bucks for a dedicated machine is not a deal killer for me, but it would be nice if the mfr could invest in a native Mac OS, even at a higher initial cost. I wonder how much of their market could be constrained by the Mac community deciding against buying to avoid going to these lengths. The PC market would not welcome a higher price just to accommodate us, of course. That’s for mfr to sort out, but IMO they probably should be less encouraging about the prospects of getting the program up and running on anything other than a Win PC platform.
I’ve found the biggest challenge is the learning curve for the software. I’m not an engineer so I’ve been bumbling here and there. However, it does a lot and eliminates a lot of older test equipment cluttering the workbench.
Regarding software: I find the QA40xPlot interface a bit more intuitive than the ‘hardware frontpanel’ oriented native QA40x interface.
Regarding Mac native version: Interpreting what Matt wrote, the software is using (or based on?) .NET, a formerly Windows-only and Windows-originated framework that at some point was supposed to become system agnostic, and work on Linux and MacOS. (Matt calls it ‘Mono’.) It’s not clear to me what the current status and anticipated evolution of the Mono or .NET framework adaptation to Linux and MacOS is. Apparently a different company and/or project (Wine?) took over the development, or maybe just the (or a?) github project. Maybe there is even more than one project. Highly opaque for a non-software person.
Same here, and also had not heard of Mono. Retired EE, staying mostly in the hardware world, not SW.
Hi @Gruesome,
Highly opaque for a non-software person.
yes, the linux/mac efforts isn’t for the faint of heart. Mono was the non-windows runtime environment that was somewhat popular years ago, but with there are now cross-platform UIs that have rendered Mono largely obsolete.