Laptop requirements

The SonoSpeech biofeedback system requires a PC running Windows (7/10/11) with one USBA port. Apple macs running Windows are not suitable. Current laptops and tablets with this specification models will be fine for running SonoSpeech

A large hard disk is an advantage as ultrasound data will fill a small disk quite quickly. Select a hard disk  with 512GB minimum and 1TB preferred. 

32GB memory is sufficient

Touchscreen is not essential.

Optional Live tongue contour tracking runs significantly faster with an NVIDIA graphic processor unit. SonoSpeech currently does not support the latest RTX 5 series so look for laptops with RTX 3050/60/70/80 or RTX 4050/60/70/80 if live contour tracking is a feature that you would like to use.

It is essential that SonoSpeech projects are backed up. We recommend an external hard disk rather than cloud storage as it is faster to store and recover. See separate guidance on backing up. A 1 or 2TB external hard disk is suitable.

Example laptop with one USBA port £800 (found 22 November 2025)

• AMD Ryzen 5: Mid-range CPU for productivity
• NVIDIA RTX 3050: Good for fast tongue contour estimation
• 15.6 Inch LED 144Hz Screen 
• 24GB DDR5 RAM 
• 1TB SSD: Significant storage for ultrasound data
• Advanced thermal design to prevent overheating.

The Speech Research Ultrasound system requires 4 USBA ports or 5 if the lip camera option is purchased. These are for the AAA Dongle, PStretch (power only), MicrUS and Focusrite Soundcard plus Video capture card for lip camera.)  It is no longer possible to find a laptop with this number of USBA ports. Look for a laptop with a Thunderbolt port or USB-C PD (Power Delivery).  Thunderbolt 4 and 5 provide enough power and bandwidth. Unpowered hubs are limited to a maximum of 4 USBA 5GB transfer type ports. This unpowered hub is recommended. https://www.lindy.co.uk/usb-c4/4-port-usb-3-2-type-c-hub-p14118  Powered hubs may provide more USBA sockets.