Thread DAW Notebook & Laptop Recommendations?
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dejacky
2
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1 Posted on 06/21/2006 at 15:06:20DAW Notebook & Laptop Recommendations?
I've been out of the mobile DAW loop and would greatly appreciate some input from you more experienced folks as to which laptops/notebooks you recommend for my purposes? Thanks in advance.
1) What is your budget?
$1,500 or less
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
d. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
A) Recording and editing 8-10 tracks of 24bit/88.2khz (sometimes 176khz) live audio simultaneously, then editing & mixing 12-16 tracks in realtime. Notebook must be QUIET and as SILENT as possible
--> I'll be using a RME Multiface & FireFace (www.rme-audio.com%29, but from my understanding:
too many devices on the same IRQ means the firewire wont work right. the firewire MUST be on its own IRQ with MOST firewire devices to monitor 2 channels with no crackle/pop.
I also need a seperate hard drive (internal or external) dedicated only for audio.
B) Mediocre Gaming..Geforce 7900gs sufficient?
C) MINOR web coding, CAD, & video editing
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Yes, it will accompany me on trips.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 2
Need For Speed (the newer series)
Half Life 1 & 2
Counterstrike
Any good combat flight sims
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
not really, i'm looking for best Bang/Buck for my needs
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
1 hour? It will be plugged into power outlet 99.9% of the time.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No, that is fine.
9) What country are you buying this in?
U.S.A
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
either one is fine.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
f. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Wider viewing version of UXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Glossy with as minimal reflectiveness as possible :o
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
NO
14) How long do you want this laptop to last?
5+ years
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
As long as I can use external hard drives to their full 7200rpm potential transfer rates, internal hard drive size or speed doesn't matter.
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
I prefer a DVD-RW drive, yes..but if there is a better notebook deal without one, I can just use an external drive.
1) What is your budget?
$1,500 or less
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
d. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
A) Recording and editing 8-10 tracks of 24bit/88.2khz (sometimes 176khz) live audio simultaneously, then editing & mixing 12-16 tracks in realtime. Notebook must be QUIET and as SILENT as possible
--> I'll be using a RME Multiface & FireFace (www.rme-audio.com%29, but from my understanding:
too many devices on the same IRQ means the firewire wont work right. the firewire MUST be on its own IRQ with MOST firewire devices to monitor 2 channels with no crackle/pop.
I also need a seperate hard drive (internal or external) dedicated only for audio.
B) Mediocre Gaming..Geforce 7900gs sufficient?
C) MINOR web coding, CAD, & video editing
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Yes, it will accompany me on trips.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 2
Need For Speed (the newer series)
Half Life 1 & 2
Counterstrike
Any good combat flight sims
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
not really, i'm looking for best Bang/Buck for my needs
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
1 hour? It will be plugged into power outlet 99.9% of the time.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No, that is fine.
9) What country are you buying this in?
U.S.A
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
either one is fine.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
f. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Wider viewing version of UXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Glossy with as minimal reflectiveness as possible :o
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
NO
14) How long do you want this laptop to last?
5+ years
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
As long as I can use external hard drives to their full 7200rpm potential transfer rates, internal hard drive size or speed doesn't matter.
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
I prefer a DVD-RW drive, yes..but if there is a better notebook deal without one, I can just use an external drive.
thesparrowband
137
AFfinity Poster
2 Posted on 07/02/2006 at 18:12:13
I used to be in the exact same situation as you, except for the desire to game. Thats why I went with a powerbook. Of all the stuff your looking at, here's my reccomendations, based heavily on processor performance and OS.
-Apple MacBook Pro, 17", but a 15" won't kill your wallet, and you can always go for a new monitor. With the new apples, you can run boot camp, booting both Windows XP and OSX. I never thought i would want an apple over a PC and I do the exact same stuff as your looking to do, minus the gaming. I wanted a serious audio machine, capable of mobile DJing, recording, and editing. But i also wanted video projects to work out for me fairly well. From what i've learned, you can get anything done on a Mac faster than a PC. Its just more efficient on OSX, especially for anything video. If your not going to do much video, then yeah, the line between mac and pc thins in my oppinion, but video on a PC is so hard to learn. I've tried, its a huge learning curve. Number one reccomendation that I think you'll be happy with is the MacBook. Spend the extra money, its worth it for the efficiency. They also have the low noise thing goin on for them, which any desktop replacement PC laptop doesn't.
-If you don't want to use a Mac dual booting XP and OSX, then go for an HP. That was my second choice. Go for the Dv8000 series of notebooks. 17" screen, AMD Turion 64bit processor, all for less than the Mac. They make a racket when they get hot, but they are fast. really fast. powerbooks used to not stand a chance to these, until the MacBooks came, so now i think the MacBook is faster, but the DV8000 series gives you the option of DDR2 RAM ( two sticks of ram running at the same time = fast as hell when paired with a fast enough system bus). When dealing with huge syths, thats definitly a benifit, but then again, there's the noise. IF you must go with a PC, be prepared to slave at the video thing. Seriously, the difference is black and white. I'm making a 30 minute cinema film about snowboarding, and with out my powerbook, i'd be dead in the water. Mac's video editing apps are so much easier for me to use. If you already have PC editing mastered, thats a bonus.
If you can swing the cash, go for the Macbook pro. its perfect for what you want. So many options, it'll be a while before there's a better PC alternative. If you can't swing the cash, go for the HP. I checked into many other brands of laptop, and HP came out on top in my case. I made a post asking the same thing 8 months ago on this forum. If you click on my profile, you can read it and maybe pick up some vital info. Unfortunately for mine, nobody replied. I got lucky with my choice though. On that post there are some other laptops i was considering at the time.
Good luck, and thankyou for all the info you included.
-Apple MacBook Pro, 17", but a 15" won't kill your wallet, and you can always go for a new monitor. With the new apples, you can run boot camp, booting both Windows XP and OSX. I never thought i would want an apple over a PC and I do the exact same stuff as your looking to do, minus the gaming. I wanted a serious audio machine, capable of mobile DJing, recording, and editing. But i also wanted video projects to work out for me fairly well. From what i've learned, you can get anything done on a Mac faster than a PC. Its just more efficient on OSX, especially for anything video. If your not going to do much video, then yeah, the line between mac and pc thins in my oppinion, but video on a PC is so hard to learn. I've tried, its a huge learning curve. Number one reccomendation that I think you'll be happy with is the MacBook. Spend the extra money, its worth it for the efficiency. They also have the low noise thing goin on for them, which any desktop replacement PC laptop doesn't.
-If you don't want to use a Mac dual booting XP and OSX, then go for an HP. That was my second choice. Go for the Dv8000 series of notebooks. 17" screen, AMD Turion 64bit processor, all for less than the Mac. They make a racket when they get hot, but they are fast. really fast. powerbooks used to not stand a chance to these, until the MacBooks came, so now i think the MacBook is faster, but the DV8000 series gives you the option of DDR2 RAM ( two sticks of ram running at the same time = fast as hell when paired with a fast enough system bus). When dealing with huge syths, thats definitly a benifit, but then again, there's the noise. IF you must go with a PC, be prepared to slave at the video thing. Seriously, the difference is black and white. I'm making a 30 minute cinema film about snowboarding, and with out my powerbook, i'd be dead in the water. Mac's video editing apps are so much easier for me to use. If you already have PC editing mastered, thats a bonus.
If you can swing the cash, go for the Macbook pro. its perfect for what you want. So many options, it'll be a while before there's a better PC alternative. If you can't swing the cash, go for the HP. I checked into many other brands of laptop, and HP came out on top in my case. I made a post asking the same thing 8 months ago on this forum. If you click on my profile, you can read it and maybe pick up some vital info. Unfortunately for mine, nobody replied. I got lucky with my choice though. On that post there are some other laptops i was considering at the time.
Good luck, and thankyou for all the info you included.
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