System5 Minimum PC Requirements

You do not need a particularly 'special' PC to run our system on. The minimum specification is detailed below.

RAM: 512MB
Processor speed: 1GHz or faster is recommended.
Hard Disk Space: 4Gb free disk space.
Rate of Growth: The database will grow at 32Kb per sensor per day. For 20 sensors over 3 months this is about 60Mb. Also, allow space for database backups, preferably on a different PC or removable storage. The backup process requires the same space again on the server, and backups should preferably made on a different PC or removable storage. For viewing archive databases concurrently with current databases, more space again will be required.
Operating System: Windows 2000 (SP1), XP Home (small systems only) or XP Pro (SP1 or 2) , 2003 Server. Please note that NT is not supported by System5.
Monitor: 1024 x 728 resolution or higher.
Connection: Ethernet and/or USB (1.1 or higher) and/or RS232 serial port

This specification is intended as a guideline only. The advertised specifications for modern PCs (RAM, Processor speed and hard-disk size) do not on their own define how well a PC will operate - other factors such as 'bus speed' are equally or more important.

In particular some PCs sold for the 'home' market are not good at running database applications. Also, many manufacturers keep down the cost of a PC by allocating a portion of the main system memory (RAM) to the display hardware. Although this works adequately for most general office tasks it can slow down drawing of graphs by System5.