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No, I do not produce on a laptop at the moment, if you're wondering.

However, I'm taking a Sound Producer course starting the 26th of September and I am in need of a new laptop considering my current one lost his space-key and is 7 years old.
I want to use that laptop during the course (e.g. in the cafetaria trying out the new learned things).

I am an absolute idiot when it comes to computers and computers speccs so I'm wondering if you guys know any good laptops on the market that are a must have for producing (with Reason 5).

Thanks!

What's your budget?

Echomaker wrote:What's your budget?

Around €1000. With a max of €1400

mbp for the win

or if you're convinced that its overpriced, overrated, and "that's gay" ....
buy some craptop and spend the other half on software or ram

-[2]DAY_- wrote:mbp for the win

or if you're convinced that its overpriced, overrated, and "that's gay" ....
buy some craptop and spend the other half on software or ram

I'm with this guy

This topic has been covered relentlessly - use the search.

Or Google.


But really - at the end of the day, just about anything will work. I used to use Cubase on a 1st generation iMac with 32mb RAM and 233 mHZ processing. Often times had 15-20 tracks with 2 or 3 fx per channel.

the best macbook you can afford. i currently use the bottom of the line white macbook and it works flawlessly with reason + record. i do also have 4gb of ram and a 7200rpm hd. but as long as you got 4gb of ram your golden.

i don't know why everyones recommending macs like its the definitive answer. I used a dell laptop for the past 3 years and its been fine. it depends on what os you prefer, what software you use etc.

One thing that is important is dpc latency, as this will determine how low you can set your buffer sizes. Certain motherboard/graphics card/wifi etc combinations can cause dpc spikes and this will come through as pops and crackles in your audio.

Scan do a range of audio laptops that i've been thinking of buying:

http://3xs.scan.co.uk/Category.asp?Syst ... tegoryID=2

i don't know if they're any good or not, but i've emailed them and they say the dpc latency is really low. as said above, get the best specs you can afford. also don't buy anything you don't need if you're using it purely for music production. on my main pc, i don't have any internet, no dvd drive and have disabled on board sound so theres nothing demanding the cpu's attention when i'm making music.

lyons238 wrote:the best macbook you can afford. i currently use the bottom of the line white macbook and it works flawlessly with reason + record. i do also have 4gb of ram and a 7200rpm hd. but as long as you got 4gb of ram your golden.

i got the white macbook 2.26ghz 2gb ram.... runs logic pro 9 with no problems

VirtualMark wrote:i don't know why everyones recommending macs like its the definitive answer. I used a dell laptop for the past 3 years and its been fine. it depends on what os you prefer, what software you use etc.

One thing that is important is dpc latency, as this will determine how low you can set your buffer sizes. Certain motherboard/graphics card/wifi etc combinations can cause dpc spikes and this will come through as pops and crackles in your audio.

Scan do a range of audio laptops that i've been thinking of buying:

http://3xs.scan.co.uk/Category.asp?Syst ... tegoryID=2

i don't know if they're any good or not, but i've emailed them and they say the dpc latency is really low. as said above, get the best specs you can afford. also don't buy anything you don't need if you're using it purely for music production. on my main pc, i don't have any internet, no dvd drive and have disabled on board sound so theres nothing demanding the cpu's attention when i'm making music.

In my experience apple makes better laptops for music and windows makes better desktops. Just an opinion though

i've been using a dell studio for the past year and I have no complaints
I don't know much about any others though!

Mammoth wrote:

VirtualMark wrote:i don't know why everyones recommending macs like its the definitive answer. I used a dell laptop for the past 3 years and its been fine. it depends on what os you prefer, what software you use etc.

One thing that is important is dpc latency, as this will determine how low you can set your buffer sizes. Certain motherboard/graphics card/wifi etc combinations can cause dpc spikes and this will come through as pops and crackles in your audio.

Scan do a range of audio laptops that i've been thinking of buying:

http://3xs.scan.co.uk/Category.asp?Syst ... tegoryID=2

i don't know if they're any good or not, but i've emailed them and they say the dpc latency is really low. as said above, get the best specs you can afford. also don't buy anything you don't need if you're using it purely for music production. on my main pc, i don't have any internet, no dvd drive and have disabled on board sound so theres nothing demanding the cpu's attention when i'm making music.

In my experience apple makes better laptops for music and windows makes better desktops. Just an opinion though

If that were true, I'd own a MacBook.

Heartless wrote:

Mammoth wrote:

VirtualMark wrote:i don't know why everyones recommending macs like its the definitive answer. I used a dell laptop for the past 3 years and its been fine. it depends on what os you prefer, what software you use etc.

One thing that is important is dpc latency, as this will determine how low you can set your buffer sizes. Certain motherboard/graphics card/wifi etc combinations can cause dpc spikes and this will come through as pops and crackles in your audio.

Scan do a range of audio laptops that i've been thinking of buying:

http://3xs.scan.co.uk/Category.asp?Syst ... tegoryID=2

i don't know if they're any good or not, but i've emailed them and they say the dpc latency is really low. as said above, get the best specs you can afford. also don't buy anything you don't need if you're using it purely for music production. on my main pc, i don't have any internet, no dvd drive and have disabled on board sound so theres nothing demanding the cpu's attention when i'm making music.

In my experience apple makes better laptops for music and windows makes better desktops. Just an opinion though

If that were true, I'd own a MacBook.

I'm a mac user. It doesn't do anything too different then the shitty toshiba i had b4 but it definitely prettier to look at

I just had to go through this myself, and I went PC for a number of reasons:

Windows 7 is pretty freaking stable, on par with OSX, and even more secure (especially with MSE as your Anti-Virus...free and super efficient). Apple has let security lag behind recently... (Apple failed hard in the hack to own competition in Vancouver recently). No it's not Unix based, can't have everything...but you can always dual boot with your favourite Linux distro.

For hardware I usually go with Asus for building Desktop PC's, and their Laptops are just as high quality. Best Warranty (2 year Global, 1 year Accidental Included)...and they overpower Apple laptops at any price point. I just picked up an Asus B43J-AB1. Core i5 560M ...Plenty of power, upped the RAM to 8GB. The case is brushed aluminum, the keyboard is spill proof...finger print scanner, facial recognition login, ...switchable graphics with an on-board video card. (I'm trying to avoid games, but this thing handles L4D2 like dream).

It handles all my synth's fine (mostly use Alchemy), even better than my desktop (wasn't really expecting that, huge performance increase with the new generation i5's).

I paid about $700.00 WAY cheaper than any Macbook.

Cons: Average Battery Life. Not a problem for me, this thing's usually plugged in anyway.

mbp all day

Toshiba FTW!!

I would suggest getting the best Mac you can.
If you really want a PC, it doesnt really matter what kind, but I would suggest NOT getting a Vaio or Toshiba, seeing how they are overpriced.

But spec-wise, looking at your budget, I would suspect a quadcore i7 processor, 8g of ram, and buy a new soundcard. (do not use the one coming with the laptop)
You obviouslly don't want an 11inch screen, 15" is ideal for me, especially if your going to be moving around. If your using this laptop as a ddesktop replacement, than get a 17".

In regards to this being over done, I don't know that it is. The landscape does change and fluctuate with release cycles and what not.

Bottom line mac laptop is 2x the price of pc laptop same specs. Try very hard to figure out what you are paying for.

nowaysj wrote:In regards to this being over done, I don't know that it is. The landscape does change and fluctuate with release cycles and what not.

Bottom line mac laptop is 2x the price of pc laptop same specs. Try very hard to figure out what you are paying for.

Much smoother OS, way better build quality, much more durability (every pc iv owned slows way down over time and evwntually shits the bed, where macs stay strong and fast like.new for years and years), over all pure sex.

I persinally think its worth it. Maybe not so much for a desktop but for a laptop, def.

if you are going pc way, then go with sandy bridge..i think its in your price point. Brands...dell, asus, lenovo(these are rock solid, thou cost a bit) and toshiba.