The laptop I print from is a atom netbook.

The laptop I print from is a atom netbook. appart from taking a while to slice I never thought it was under powered. I had to have a go at the chrismas baubles on thingyverse I had to see if I could replicate the shiny outer surface. To say I struggled with it is a understatement. I switched to slic3r and about half way throught I noticed it wasn’t going well. Guess where I minimised repetier so the machine didnt have to render the preview anymore. Its around that point I decided its tome for a better laptop to print from.

Quick question: can anyone tell me (Before I sacrifice a core i5 laptop to my printer) if I loaded linux on the netbook would it manage resources better for printing?

I have the same issue with an old Asus EeePC running Win 7 Starter Edition.

Haven’t tried installing Linux to speed things up, but what if you tried something like Octoprint on the Netbook, using the i5 just for slicing?

Maybe just use a different host, like Pronterface?

Linux might help but it likely wouldn’t make a big enough of a difference. Netbooks are generally underpowered all around.

I would suggest you try what @John-Paul_Hopman ​ suggested, slice with the i5 and then use Octoprint on the netbook. I use Octoprint running a model B Raspberry Pi for my Printrbot Jr and I don’t have issues with it (at least not with the Pi/Octoprint).

I print from a raspberry pi using Octoprint. You could try running octoprint on your laptop then it would have a separate process doing the talking to the printer. Might help a bit. And then you can slice and upload via the web from your i5 laptop while still using it for doing other things.

Is there a ‘run from SD’ option with your printer?

I think something else might have been
going on here, maybe USB-specific (although arcs, with zillions of tiny segments, can be disastrous). Have you played at all with the minimum segment length in slic3r?

Dedicating a whole computer to print serving is silly. Go with RPi + Octoprint or get a SD Card slot installed on your printer - get the smart LCD or something like it

From my experience …This happens when the print head is too slow or too fast while printing… And it can also be the extruder temperature too high for the print material… Check the melting point of your print material and adjust it accordingly… hope this helps…
I clearly think its not about your laptop…or netbook… Also check .while printing …how much your cpu and ram is getting used…

The transition from rough to smooth happened as I minimised the display. I never thought it would be the laptop either. Dedicating a laptop to the printer is not that far out for me. I have a computer company and the only thing I have more of laying around than old pc’s is old printers (A4 not 3D) the laptop im thinking of is a working i5 4gb ram etc but had a broken lcd so with rdp access it would be an acceptable solution for me. The RPi Octoprint option sound very tempting aswell. My other printers have lcd displays with SD but ive never bothered with them. I keepsgiving me sd init fail so I may give that some attention to get it going. My first thing to try will however be using pronterface to see what happenes. I use it on my big printer all the time and its installed on the netbook so easiest to go with.

I only ever print from SD for this reason. The PC or Mac is the most common failure point.

@Michael_Scholtz
Don’t forget that running extra cycles like that is costing you $ in your electricity bill.

I’d take another look at your SD readers. One of my two printers has one and I use it exclusively, except when doing testing where I need direct control. But otherwise it’s never plugged into a computer at all.

Have you checked the power save and process-priority settings to see what else happens when you minimize the screen? (And can any of those printers’ parts be turned into repraps?)

@John_Cooper_choffee I like using the Raspberry Pi as well. I upgraded a bit and am now using a PcDuino 2 to be the web server/print controller. I use the Astroprint.com software and server. Allows me to Slice and Print from any phone, laptop, tablet. Basically can print from anywhere if connected to the web… Astroprint use the octoprint core.
Laptop was overkill as a dedicated print controller. Even the pcDuino2 has tons of resources going to waste. Thinking of going back to Raspberry Pi. Pointless to dedicate so much hardware to a printer that cannot improve on speed/controls.

I ended up setting the printer to print from SD card… MUCH BETTER wow cant believe the difference

Fantastic! Glad to hear you found a solution. I always recommend SD printing where possible.