Total N00B Question About Lap Tops

A

AGroove

New member
Hello everyone,

I am in the market for a new lap top strictly for home recording and using tracks live. I have Roland TD30 drums and intend on using them for drum covers/home tracking. I was just wondering what my best option is between Apple or a PC. I really appreciate any help you can give.

Sincerely,
Andrew
 
Here's how someone explained it to me

You get more bang for your buck with a pc, a better spec etc
But many home recordists choose apple because on the whole the operating system and software tends to be more robust and more reliable
However I'm a beginner also and not an expert
 
The whole Apple/PC debate is a wash these days. Long ago, like 20 years, Apple would have been the chosen platform for the reasons Matt stated. That is no longer the case. Let your budget decide and have fun.
 
One advantage to a Mac - Boot Camp.

I need Mac software for many things, including but not limited to being a MFiT certified facility (requiring software that's provided to me by Apple and one can safely assume they aren't going to have a PC version anytime soon). There are also a lot of popular DAW programs out there that are only for the Mac.

That said - My main DAW has been Samplitude for quite a bunch of years now. And although they've tossed around the idea of going Mac also, that idea seems to have dried up. Still both my "main" computers here are Mac Mini units running Boot Camp. Kind of the best of both worlds. Typically, the "business" machine is always running OSX (with Windows as an alternate) and the "music" machine is always running Windows (with OSX as an alternate). I even run Synergy between the two platforms.

THAT said - Ain't no doubt... The bang-for-the-buck factor of a PC is nearly undeniable. And there are plenty of units out there that are stellar for around half the price of a MacBook Pro. With wider screens, full-function keyboards, etc.

I'd submit that if you don't have a particular (usually software related) reason to go the Mac route, the PC thing should do you just fine.
 
Hey John! Did not know you were a Samplitude fan!

Son and I have used Sam SE8 for years. Ten or so years ago I could afford nothing and saw a program in W H Smiths (of all places!) called Magix Studio Generation Six. This was a revelation on our feeble XP computer but then Computer Music magazine gave a freebie out of SE8. This was the "growed up" version of Gen 6 and we soon learned to love it.

Tried and bought Cubase LE6 and Sonar Ess 1 but nothing ever seems as simple to get going with as Sam 8. The magazine gave out Sams 9, 10 and 11 in subsequent years but they had buggered the flow of SE8 in our HO.

I have downloaded and tried the demo of Pro X and like it. If son came back to stay and work from France I would splash out for it. I have Pro X silver, very limited of course but I reckon a good noob starter DAW?

I do wish Magix would produce a "lite" pro X comparable to Cubase LE6/7 for £50-80 I am sure it would sell. I have told them this but WTFDIK!

Lappies? Never even touched a mac so cannot comment but I am more than happy with this HP i3 (but I wish I could get A Audition to work on it again!)

Pitting now, g'night all.

Dave.
 
Dell. Only because I live in Dell Country and you would be helping to feed my neighbors. ;)

Honestly, most any laptop would work. Audio demand on a computer is minimal. You start to tax resources when you are using lots of plugs, sample based VSTs, and reverb. Your hard drive will be the limit for the number of tracks. CPU limits number of plugs, RAM limits sample based VSTs. But today's computers are very powerful and you shouldn't have a problem with most anything you buy.
 
Look on EBay. There are some good deals on new computers. There are guys on there that will build them to your specs for cheap.
 
"I am looking at PC now, any suggestions?"

I going to be unfair again and say "avoid Win 8.1" even tho' I have never tried it there was certainly great hatred for 8 at launch and the "improved" 8 dot One is better I understand but not a lot?

So, Windows 7 is the bizz and for that I think you will have to go for a refurbed unit. Things I would try to get....

SSD system (C) drive. By all accounts this will at least speed up boot up and prog' loading.

8G of ram. I had 4G on this HP and although I had no bother I upped it to 8G because the cost was minimal (60quid) and it can't hurt can it?! N.B. you must have W7 64 bits to make use of more than 4G of ram.

At least one USB THREE port. This will allow the connection of a 3.0 stick or a hard drive in a caddy and allow super fast file dumping (the SSD won't be all that big unless you are Richie Rich!) Then, you NEVER KNOW ! One day we might see a USB 3.O interface for us poor people!

Lastly, tiny point, try to get a charger PSU that does NOT earth the laptop.

Dave.
 
I use Lenovo laptops for audio (I often have to do location stuff so laptop is better for me than a desktop). I'm on my second one now and have been extremely happy with both...less so with a venture into the Toshiba world in the middle. My only reason for changes each time was a need for hardware changes forced on me by software...for example, Audition which I use changed to 64 bit only a few years back.

I've used Mac as well occasionally but can't justify the extra money. I have no reliability or stability problems with Windows. FYI, I'm still on Win 7, won't touch 8 but may change to 10 if all is good when SP1 comes out and all the interface people have updated their drivers.

The tips above are all good...I'd go for 2 drives (one SSD and one HDD, preferably 7200rpm. At least 4 gig, preferably 8 or more gig memory. Make sure the video card lets you hook up a second monitor (most do but just check)...laptop screen real estate is pretty limited with modern DAWS.

USB 2 and 3 are a good idea...if you can find a laptop that still has an Express Card slot, they can really be useful (but damn hard to get these days.
 
Bob, never seen a laptop that did not have at least a VGA port? Even my old 850mHz Compaq had one.

Most machine now have HDMI as well. Good idea for a second 7200 spinner but it will cut into battery time a bit.

Dave.
 
I don't think I've seen one without a VGA port either...but I have encountered one or two that only let you have a duplicate picture on that output, not a second screen if you see what I mean.

Yeah, an extra disk uses battery life but, frankly, the vast majority of my audio time is on mains anyway.
 
Bobbsy said:
I'd go for 2 drives (one SSD and one HDD, preferably 7200rpm.
Click to expand...

Yup. that's what I did on my laptop. The dvd drive pops out and there are hard drive caddies that fit in the dvd drive slot. I bought mine off of Amazon for $14.
 
One thing I'd suggest is making sure whatever you get is quiet. I used to have a tower with a CPU that handled tons of tracks and plugins with ease but it sounded like a vacuum cleaner on recordings because it was so loud. In my experience Macs are nearly silent without heavy load so that's all I record with nowadays.
 
+1 on making sure the laptop is quiet.

A number of years ago a bought a sony VAIO pro and it had pretty good power but the fan was really loud and would bleed into some tracks. :(
 
Massive Master said:
I run across a lot of laptops. A lot of newer units don't have VGA anymore. [/just throwing that out there]
Click to expand...

Is this the result of them becoming ever thinner John? If so I would guess an RJ45 is also lost? At which point the thing ceases to be a computer to me and becomes a toy!

Dave.
 
There was one a few weeks ago -- Had Ethernet, no VGA. Very pricey looking HP machine. Yes, quite thin. I guess I can see the whole HDMI and alternate video outs, but geez...
 
Trouble is that lots of useful things are disappearing from laptops--they're being treated more and more like tablets with a keyboard. Come my next upgrade I'll almost certainly have to find an alternative to Firewire since I only managed it this time via an adaptor in a Cardbus slot...and those slots are disappearing rapidly.
 
AGroove said:
Thanks guys, I was prepared to buy a MacBook Pro. I am looking at PC now, any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Just one, offhand. If you talk to some PC geek they are likely to insist you should buy the most expensive you can possibly afford. This is, as it always has been, hideously stupid advice unless you have tons of money to burn, but even more so today with the gap between cheaper vs more expensive considerably narrower than in days gone by (diff in brands is also negligible). That said, I wouldn't get bottom end either; get the least expensive middle-ground PC with 8GB RAM and you should be fine (if money is really a thing, you should be OK with 4GB of RAM, but this is one area I'd try for the upgrade to allow a little higher ceiling tech-wise). And yes if you can somehow get one with Windows 7 vs 8 on up, do it, but that's almost impossible for a new one.

PS re the USB 3 ports, it is extremely unlikely you'll find a new laptop without that, but yes it is a good thing to confirm.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top