Creating Portable Studio With Laptop (Numerous Computer Questions)

B

BigEZ

The Devil Has Blue Eyes
Hi All,

I've decided to create a portable studio set-up and I have a ton of questions for you who likely have way more computer knowledge than myself. I have a Lenovo Yoga 11s (Intel i5 1.5 Ghz Processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Windows 8.1 64bit), an RME Babyface and Faderport (mainly for transport controls rather than mixing). This studio will be used for solely for tracking with some very minor mixing just to get levels close during sessions.

-Do you think the specs of the comp are decent enough for this task?

-What is the least demanding DAW (comp usage wise) for this task? I'm looking at Reaper at the moment...wouldn't mind if the DAW supported multi-touch as my laptop has the functionality.

-I noticed the Faderport will cause all USB ports on the same bus to run at 1.1 speed. The Lenovo has one USB2 port and one USB3 port, would these have separate buses? I wouldn't want the Babyface to suffer any lag due to the Faderport.

-Is there any option available to expand the number of USB ports available while ensuring the devices currently installed get enough power and speed? For example, the Faderport and Babyface will be taking up all available USB slots but I have an Ilok that I may need to use as well.

-The SSD is fairly small. I'm thinking of purchasing an external wireless hard drive for audio storage. Would this be a fast enough connection for the DAW to pull from while tracking?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
 
I have an external I started using after I kept getting errors by running off the 1 hard drive and it definitely helped but I still get the occasional error because it is 5400....so make sure you go to a 7200rpm
 
I would definitely use an external drive for audio recording. The issue may come with your RME and the external drive running on the same USB3.0 port. Yes, the USB 3.0 and 2.0 will be separate controllers. No need to worry about mouse and Faderport conflicting. I am curious why you really need the Faderport for portable recording. Even in studio, I rarely used it. In fact I just gave mine away. I would eliminate that from your chain if it is an issue.

I have never heard of a 'wireless' external drive being useful. Though I have never had a need to look into it either. I would seriously doubt it is even an option.
 
Thanks for the feedback.

I like the idea of having the faderport for external transport controls, I just find it so much quicker and easier to use than the mouse. I am trying to limit the USB usage since I only have two ports which is why I'm looking at the wireless harddrive (new product from Seagate) and a Bluetooth mouse.
 
I would use a 64GB microcard something like that. Wireless, I just can't see that giving the performance. You are going to have two USBs, wireless, etc. Sounds like you are getting ready to over tax your system. Plus, I am 99.9% sure your wireless is going to drop audio.

Most laptops have a microcard slot, that would give you better performance, they come in large enough size and you can dump them to a HD after your sessions.
 
Thanks for the tip David, I'll definitely look into that. Do you think my laptop is powerful enough to handle tracking?
 
BigEZ said:
Thanks for the tip David, I'll definitely look into that. Do you think my laptop is powerful enough to handle tracking?
Click to expand...

For tracking, in all honesty, it really doesn't require much computer. What do you think the portastudio's have in them? (They are computers too ;) )

You will be fine as far as power, get your storage set (mainly around I/O) and you should have no issues tracking. Now if you are going to mix, then number tracks, VST usage, etc. begins to play into it. I don't see any major issues based on what I have seen of your specs.
 
I thought wireless drivers were more for streaming content from the drive to iPads and the like... so they can obviously handle decent output. Can they actually do complex read and write operations that audio recording requires?
 
Thx again. Is there a way to expand the amount of USB ports? I. E. A hub?

Also do u think Reaper would be the least taxing Daw?
 
BigEZ said:
Thx again. Is there a way to expand the amount of USB ports? I. E. A hub?

Also do u think Reaper would be the least taxing Daw?
Click to expand...

Reaper is pretty efficient. That is why the GUI is so ugly, they keep it down to a minimum.

If you use a hub, keep all of your non-performance critical devices attached (say storage should be OK) interface should be connected directly, that kind of thing.

If you''re just tracking, you should not need but two three things connected. Keep it simple and then the rest of your work you can perform later. Just track, don't bring your studio with you. What little I know of live, you're going to have your hands full getting good sound.
 
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