One of the most common questions new Autodarts players ask is: “What device should I use for Autodarts?”
While many people assume a laptop is the best option, Autodarts places specific demands on hardware that not all laptops can handle reliably.
The main challenge when running Autodarts is USB bandwidth and power delivery. Autodarts requires three cameras running at the same time, and many laptops are not designed for this type of sustained USB load. This can lead to lag, dropped frames, or cameras failing to connect.
Despite this, a large number of Autodarts users successfully play using a laptop. Laptops are convenient and already available in most homes. However, problems often occur on laptops with two USB ports or fewer, where a USB hub is required. In these cases, the laptop may struggle to provide enough power or bandwidth, resulting in unstable Autodarts performance.
Because USB controllers and internal chipsets vary widely between laptop models, it is impossible to guarantee that a specific laptop will work perfectly with Autodarts. For this reason, I do not recommend any particular laptop model.
If you already own a laptop, it is worth trying it with Autodarts. Lowering camera resolution or frames per second can often improve stability, and many setups work without issue. If you only have 2 USB ports, try plugging 2 cameras in a hub and 1 straight into the laptop to balance out the power.
Recommended devices for Autodarts
The official Autodarts recommendation is to use either a Raspberry Pi or a thin client.
A Raspberry Pi runs Linux and works well with Autodarts, but it does require a higher level of technical knowledge to set up and maintain.
My personal recommendation for Autodarts is a thin client. Thin clients are small form factor PCs that offer reliable USB performance while using very little power. They are compact enough to wall mount or hide behind a dartboard setup and are widely available second hand at low cost. I picked up mine from eBay for less than £80. Just make sure the device you pick is a Quad Core with at least 8GB RAM
Thin clients are often dismissed because people assume they need a permanent keyboard, mouse, and monitor. In reality, these are only required for the initial setup. Once configured, you can control the thin client remotely from another laptop, phone, or tablet using remote desktop software. After that, the thin client simply needs to be powered on for Autodarts to run reliably.
If you have any questions about choosing the right device for Autodarts, feel free to message me.
3 comments
Hi Terry,
You can control a windows PC/Thin Client using remote desktop software, because I use an android tablet I use Google Remote Desktop and can control my thin client using the touch screen of the tablet. If you have a monitor that is plugged in to the thin client, you will have exactly the same display on the monitor and your tablet if you remote desktop.
you could write a script that opens the Autodarts play screen on startup, but you’d still have to click around to log in and start games, but remote desktop on the tablet would help you do this from a touchscreen.
Sounds like an interesting project, good luck with it and I hope this has helped a bit.
Jack
Hey, great write up for beginners. I have built 7 or 8 of these autodarts systems for friends, but i am no technical wizard. So i get them up and running and they learn the systems. What i am doing now is building and donating 2 new autodarts systems for our local Legion. We want to get more kids into darts and also just get the younger generation coming into the Legion to help keep it going. Anyway, back to why i am emailing you. For all the systems i have built, i just use a key board, mouse and monitor. But with the Legion setup, i want to bypass the keyboard and mouse. So my 32" tv’s will be hooked into the thin clients with hdmi cable and installed above dart boards. Then i want to have a couple Android touch screens beside dart boards to control the autodarts setup and adjust miss read throws or change games. So how would i be able to control the tv autodarts screen with the tablet? And hopefully tablet shows what is on the tv. Also, is there a way to get W11 to boot right into Autodarts play mode? Right i have it so W11 boots into autodarts but not right into play mode if you get what i mean. I know there will be a learning curve for new players and the Legion employees for when autodarts is being played, i would like it to be as smooth and painless on startup, players can learn the system while playing.
Hopefully you can give me some pointers so we can get these up and running. I have everything bought and Robbel3D autodarts light ring built. I just want to get it setup at home before i take it all up to Legion.
Hi, I’m looking at buying the cameras and mounts to join autodarts I’ve just wondered if you could tell me how I’d put everything onto a thin client as my laptop isn’t good enough. My question is do I plug the thin client into my laptop and download the software onto the thin client. Any advice would be grateful