Best Computer For Home Recording

B

BudgetBeast

New member
Hello,
I am a songwriter who is about to enter into the world of home recording. I am going to use a laptop computer and am wondering which is the best to
buy. I have been told that any computer with the right specs and a decent build will do just fine. Is this correct?

Currently I am looking at purchasing a Lenovo laptop, either a G series budget laptop or an L series laptop. I considered purchasing a T series Thinkpad,
but it's way out of my budget right now. The specs on both are i5-3rd generation processors with lots of L cache, Windows 7 Home Premium, 4GB of RAM,
and a stock 320GB SATA 7200 RPM HD (which I intend to replace with an SSD).

Would you recommend either the G series or the L series Thinkpad for home recording? If not, is there another laptop model you could recommend with
the specs I mentioned (or better)? My budget is $4-500. Please write when you have a moment. Thanks!
 
Any decent laptop will work fine. Everything you posted above would be fine for most music production. You will be limited on hard drives in a laptop. Most programs recommend having 2 hard drives (one for windows, one for samples). So you probably wont be able to do 50 tracks with 50 plugins per track but you could easily do general recording.

You can upgrade your hard drive later to solid state and that would get rid of the need for 2 drives. The I-5 is a great processor so you're set there. Upgrading RAM would be a good idea (get another 4gb chip) and give yourself 8gb. If you have windows 64 bit anyway (you cant use over 4gb on 32bit OS).

The last thing to consider is your interface. If you plan on getting a firewire interface you need to find a laptop that has firewire installed or still has the expansion bays (hard to find these days). Not to mention most of the firewire devices are picky about which chipset they like to work with. So if you were going for the Presonus 16.0.2 for example, none of the machines listed would work. So make sure you know what equipment you are planning to hook up to the laptop before you make the purchase.

Good luck (sorry at work and tried to ramble this out fast but hit all the points.)
 
polarity said:
Any decent laptop will work fine. Everything you posted above would be fine for most music production. You will be limited on hard drives in a laptop. Most programs recommend having 2 hard drives (one for windows, one for samples). So you probably wont be able to do 50 tracks with 50 plugins per track but you could easily do general recording.

You can upgrade your hard drive later to solid state and that would get rid of the need for 2 drives. The I-5 is a great processor so you're set there. Upgrading RAM would be a good idea (get another 4gb chip) and give yourself 8gb. If you have windows 64 bit anyway (you cant use over 4gb on 32bit OS).

The last thing to consider is your interface. If you plan on getting a firewire interface you need to find a laptop that has firewire installed or still has the expansion bays (hard to find these days). Not to mention most of the firewire devices are picky about which chipset they like to work with. So if you were going for the Presonus 16.0.2 for example, none of the machines listed would work. So make sure you know what equipment you are planning to hook up to the laptop before you make the purchase.

Good luck (sorry at work and tried to ramble this out fast but hit all the points.)
Click to expand...

To OP:

I would second/confirm what was stated. This is pretty much dead on without going into fine details.

One item to note, it your DAW is 32 bit even on a 64 bit OS, you will still be limited to the 32 bit limitation. Just keep that in mind.

Also, Guitar Center is having a sell on their TASCAM US-1800 USB 2.0 Audio/Midi Interface for $199. This seems to be a pretty nice interface and the price is really decent. Just FYI.
 
Thanks for the advice! one question- is it fair to say then that the system's build quality is not as important as the computing specs of the laptop i.e. the processor, the RAM, the HD, the OS, etc.?

I ask because I am able to find deals on budget system but wonder if they have good-enough build quality. and if the build quality is not as much of an issue in home recording, then I can put that money into the upgrades like mentioned (RAM, replacing HD with SSD, etc.)

Please write back when you have a chance.

Thanks Again!
 
Last question about this, I swear lol

does it make a difference whether the OS is windows 7 or windows 8? I've heard some people complain about Windows 8 but none of those complaints are audio-production related so any input would be appreciated. If I can find a computer running Windows 8 at a bargain, is it worth snatching up? or would it cause problems to record using Windows 8?

Please write back when you have a chance.

Thanks Again!
 
BudgetBeast said:
Thanks for the advice! one question- is it fair to say then that the system's build quality is not as important as the computing specs of the laptop i.e. the processor, the RAM, the HD, the OS, etc.?

I ask because I am able to find deals on budget system but wonder if they have good-enough build quality. and if the build quality is not as much of an issue in home recording, then I can put that money into the upgrades like mentioned (RAM, replacing HD with SSD, etc.)

Please write back when you have a chance.

Thanks Again!
Click to expand...

Now that is a harder question. Build quality I think what you really mean is higher grade (long story, but most people confuse quality and grade, I won't go into detail). But yes, a good high grade, well designed board, chipset, etc. play major roles. Most systems like Dell, HP (to some level) design their systems, control their suppliers, etc. This is where Apple (I don't like Apple, but facts are facts) have advantages over the general Windows OS market. The highest level Windows machine I have seen to date is Alienware (now a part of Dell). These were always top level performers and well designed systems from MB components, to graphic cards, etc. But, they are not $500 (try around $1500-2k).

So, do some research, look at performance specs, but at $500, it will be a low grade computer. But that doesn't mean it won't server you well.

(Quality is a measure of expected performance by the manufacturer, grade is meeting a specification, like grade A beef, verses grade B or even lower)
 
BudgetBeast said:
Last question about this, I swear lol

does it make a difference whether the OS is windows 7 or windows 8? I've heard some people complain about Windows 8 but none of those complaints are audio-production related so any input would be appreciated. If I can find a computer running Windows 8 at a bargain, is it worth snatching up? or would it cause problems to record using Windows 8?

Please write back when you have a chance.

Thanks Again!
Click to expand...

You may face compatibility issues with some of your apps in Windows 8.
 
Pretty much every computer made will work with this.

And I agree with the above about build quality. If you buy from any reputable dealer they will have already run hardware compatibility tests which is really what you have to watch out for.

I just picked up a new machine. Quad Core I-5, 12gb ram, 2tb hard drive (I purchased and installed a solid state drive when it came in), 2gb video card, etc and all the basics. I think I paid less than $500.

I paid another $200 for the drive, another $60 for a firewire card to work with my digital mixer, and another $100 on an OEM windows 7. That being said the computer could have worked fine out of the box with everything I'm doing so you don't need those upgrades. There are tons of options, and if you are shopping on a budget don't be afraid to look at factory refurbished machines (bought from a reputable dealer!!!! NOT CRAIGSLIST). You can save yourself a lot of money that way and end up with a much better machine.

BudgetBeast said:
forgot to mention this. but I am planning to get the Komplete Audio 6 which comes with Cubase LE (I forget which version). It's a USB 2.0 interface.

Please write back when you have a chance.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
polarity said:
Pretty much every computer made will work with this.

And I agree with the above about build quality. If you buy from any reputable dealer they will have already run hardware compatibility tests which is really what you have to watch out for.

I just picked up a new machine. Quad Core I-5, 12gb ram, 2tb hard drive (I purchased and installed a solid state drive when it came in), 2gb video card, etc and all the basics. I think I paid less than $500.

I paid another $200 for the drive, another $60 for a firewire card to work with my digital mixer, and another $100 on an OEM windows 7. That being said the computer could have worked fine out of the box with everything I'm doing so you don't need those upgrades. There are tons of options, and if you are shopping on a budget don't be afraid to look at factory refurbished machines (bought from a reputable dealer!!!! NOT CRAIGSLIST). You can save yourself a lot of money that way and end up with a much better machine.
Click to expand...

Refurbs are the best deal out there. You might have to send one back, but I have extreme good luck with refurbs. Check out Tiger Direct, they have a lot, Amazon, I can't say anything about other places as these are my two primary go to places.
 
so I've purchased both an L430 Thinkpad and a Lenovo Z580 from the Lenovo Outlet. they offer free shipping and free returns. one of them is going back. i'm trying to figure out which one. I've heard some chatter about video cards and how they can affect DPC latency numbers. is this true? the Z580 is actually a gaming laptop. it comes with really good graphics capabilities for the $380 price tag. the L430 has an intel graphics card that isn't nearly as good. but I've been told for recording that might in fact be a good thing. is this true? and if it is, is it possible to disable the graphics card on the Z580 when recording? or is it just a better idea to use the stock Thinkpad? here are the basic specs for each:

Z580: i5- 3rd gen, win 7 hp, 8 gb RAM, 750 gb hdd 15.6" $382
L430: i5- better 3rd gen processor, win 7 hp, 4 gb RAM, 320 gb hdd 14" $570

which one's better?

please write back when you have a chance.

thanks!
 
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