Our lab is interested in purchasing a cDAQ controller (https://www.ni.com/en-us/shop/hardware/products/compactdaq-controller.html). So far we've been using serial cDAQ chassis and we now want to purchase a controller for real-time control applications.
I'm new to NI hardware, so I was wondering if the community could throw in some thoughts on the pros/cons of the different options that are available on the link above. I'd like some perspectives on the following aspects:
1. The Controller OS : There seems to be two options, Windows Embedded Standard 7, and NI Linux Real-Time. I find that the devices with Windows Embedded Standard 7 are slightly cheaper than the others. Why is this? What is/are the difference(s) in choosing either option? Is it possible to install another OS on these devices after purchase?
2. Processor Core : The two options here are dual and quad-core . I know I'm being naive here, but what kind of performance improvements can I see with the quad-core options if I'm running a real-time program with no parallel loops?
3. Hard Drive Memory Size : There seems to be a 16 GB and a 32 GB option. Is this the controller's equivalent of a RAM (determining the performance) ? Or is this the equivalent of a hard drive (determining maximum size of program that can be run from the device) ?
I'll be thankful for any guidance, thanks.
Nidish
