Within the next month, I am going to purchase a notebook for my "mobile studio". HA HA! Anyway, I built my PC with exactly what I wanted in it, and it is running so awesome, and has been for the last 3 years.. But I cannot do this with a notebook. I know It has to have firewire and USB, and at least a 30 GB 7200 rpm drive. I need a solid laptop to use with my US-428 Tascam DAW, and my Cubase 32 5.1 software and all my plugins- so I can record on the fly without lugging around a PC and monitor. Please give me some good ideas, I know they can't all be created equal. But truthfully, I know next to nothing about laptops. Please help!
Notebook / Laptop Ideas?
- Thread starter DigitalHS
- Start date
elevate
New member
If you want desktop-like power in a portable, you might want to look at the big HP laptops, or something from either Sager or Alienware. All three offer desktop P4 processors (up to 3.6Ghz), 7200 RPM drives, 17" wide screens, etc... Of course, battery life isn't going to be stellar, but as long as you're near a plug...
sile2001
_|_
I'm using a Motu 828mkII firewire interface on my HP notebook and haven't had any major problems. It's a decent machine, with a P4 2.8 mobile processor and 512mb of dedicated RAM (not shared to video). The limiting factor I ran into is that manufacturers almost ALWAYS put very slow hard drives in notebooks, mainly because fast AND small drives are so expensive. The vast majority of notebooks will come with 4200 rpm drives, which is just completely unacceptable for recording. My solution was to use and external USB2/Firewire enclosure and load it with 80gb 7200 rpm drives. Advantages are not only the faster hard drive, but also I have a separate drives for the OS and recording software and for the audio data, AND once I fill up the audio drive, I can just throw a new one in the enclosure and go from there.
christiaan
Active member
Bullshit. It all depends on your demand. As of yet, I haven't come to a point where I had to consider upgrading the 4200rpm drive in my laptop.sile2001 said:
pennylink said:I'm in the same situation as DigitalHS above. Silly question: What's an external enclosure, how large is it (portable?) and approximately what do they cost? Do most computer stores sell them or is it a special order item?
Thanks
They are just a box that you put your hard drive in that allows you to connect it to your computer/notebook via usb or firewire. Run you about 30 bucks or so. About the size of a hard drive - think of it as a sleeve. You can buy them for cd/dvd burners, too. Pretty much makes all your internal drive/burners external. Way cheaper than buying an external hard dive.
Here's an example: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-146-035&depa=9 - this one with connect with firewire or USB 2.0, whichever floats your boat. Most computer stores should sell them - they are a pretty common deal.
In my opinion, they are the way to go - with notebooks, anyway.