Laptop/Notebook Recommendations Appreciated

Bongo Bill

New member
Greetings Fellow "Noise Makers,"

I'm a guitarist and drummer whose previous recording experiences consists of recording groups of fellow musicians on 4-track machines back in the day and with my Yamaha AW16G digital recorder/cd burner over the last decade or so. I like to make my own songs with layering tracks or recording live sessions with friends and family (my wife is pretty good drummer and singer as is my daughter). We have had lots of fun and look forward to advancing my skills and recordings into the next decade by transitioning to a computer and interface as my main platform.

I just purchased a Scarlett 18i20 interface and now I'd like to mate it to a new laptop or notebook (I'm not too CPU savvy so what I mean by notebook is a laptop that has the detachable keyboard).

I've been trained on Microsoft products so plan to stick that route vs. going Apple (nothing against Apple). I'd appreciate recommendations on a unit that's in the $1,500 price range. A little more $ would be ok if necessary and I'm not looking for a bare minimum spec/unit as I'd like to have potential to grow with future technology/gear. I'd like the capacity to record up to 8 line inputs max simultaneously but have various mixers if I need to route drum mics through a single channel.

My initial thoughts are that I should focus on at east 16GB and ideally the latest I7-10processor available but possibly is worth going with an older I7 processor (8) if the unit comes with more GB & RAM. Again, I'm not too CPU savvy and what I just stated is already pushing the boundaries of my knowledge/understanding. As I'm sure is case with all of us, avoiding latency is of substantial importance.

This will also be my personal laptop for regular use so it won't be dedicated to just recording. Maybe worth noting that I'm not a video gamer.

Any particular brands proven to work better than others and any I should avoid?

Any/all advice and recommendations are greatly appreciated.

This is my first recording forum and I'm excited for all the knowledge being shared here. One of my other hobbies is restoring muscle cars so I've learned how valuable these types of forums can be.

Thank You and a Happy New Year to All!
 
Tried to copy some links to options but appears since I'm a new member, it won't allow me to. I found a Dell Inspiron at Best buy for $1,500 that is 32GB with 1TB of Ram and latest greatest processor, thunderport and 15" screen. Seems pretty good but this is new territory for me. Thoughts?
 
We just had a similar discussion on another thread.

fast i5 vs slow i7 for reaper...?

16GB is more than enough for basic recording. If you're using lots of virtual instruments, having more memory is good. You definitely want an SSD. You should be able to find something for $1000 easily.

In terms of processor, I'm really liking the new 11th gen processors. They have a better GPU section, support faster memory, support Thunderbolt 4, and generally draw less power for more processing ability. An I7-1165G7 looks to be a very nice processor. I'm running a 1065G7 on this laptop and its quick.

The Scarlett should run just fine on most modern machines. I run a Tascam 16x08 on a 4th Gen I5 that is several years old with 12gb and a 500g SSD and a 1TB hard drive. No problem recording a half dozen tracks at a time.

Do you know what software you will be running? I know Focusrite interfaces come with ProTools First.
 
Thanks TalismanRich (always liked the meaning of Talisman by the way). I did notice that other post and was following so thank you. The laptop I was looking at does have the most latest processor you referenced and it does have SSD (not that I know what that is yet). It seems to have all I need plus some to spare and this morning it went on sale for $150 off so I went ahead and bought it and will pickup later today.

I haven't even opened the box for the Scarlett 18i20 yet but I recall it uses ProTools and has Appleton and I believe 1 or 2 other offerings came with it.

I can't wait to sync the 2 and start tinkering. I should probably watch a few youtube videos on the ProTools before I get started.

Thanks again for your feedback on this.
 
Thanks TalismanRich (always liked the meaning of Talisman by the way). I did notice that other post and was following so thank you. The laptop I was looking at does have the most latest processor you referenced and it does have SSD (not that I know what that is yet). It seems to have all I need plus some to spare and this morning it went on sale for $150 off so I went ahead and bought it and will pickup later today.

I haven't even opened the box for the Scarlett 18i20 yet but I recall it uses ProTools and has Appleton and I believe 1 or 2 other offerings came with it.

I can't wait to sync the 2 and start tinkering. I should probably watch a few youtube videos on the ProTools before I get started.

Thanks again for your feedback on this.

Hi Bill, if you haven't fired up the laptop yet, a couple of tips? Have p&paper to hand and your phone charged and ready and its number written down. You will I am sure need to register the PC with Msoft and this can be a bit tedious so carve out a chunk of "quiet time". Likely also that there will be a dire warning on the lappy to the effect "Do not run the laptop on battery power for setup. plug it in"

By comparison, setting up the F'rite should be a breeze!

Dave.
 
I haven't even opened the box for the Scarlett 18i20 yet but I recall it uses ProTools and has Appleton and I believe 1 or 2 other offerings came with it.

You can use pretty much any recording software with any interface, with a few exceptions, so don't feel you have to tie yourself to whatever light versions they included.
If you're starting from scratch with no preference I'd go straight to Reaper as it's very capable, well maintained, and free/very cheap.
 
You can use pretty much any recording software with any interface, with a few exceptions, so don't feel you have to tie yourself to whatever light versions they included.
If you're starting from scratch with no preference I'd go straight to Reaper as it's very capable, well maintained, and free/very cheap.

+1 The impression I have gained over some years infesting forums is that unless you intend to 'Go Pro' and work in or send files to a commercial studio, give PT the big E. (and PLENTY of top bloke 'Reap' anyway!)

Dave
 
+1 The impression I have gained over some years infesting forums is that unless you intend to 'Go Pro' and work in or send files to a commercial studio, give PT the big E. (and PLENTY of top bloke 'Reap' anyway!)

Dave

Yup. I use ProTools and have done for over ten years but I was always prepared to jump over to Reaper if the pricing got too nasty.
It's great and I love it but for the amount of work I do with it I couldn't justify paying the current retail price for it.
 
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A friend of mine bought a gaming laptop and found out that it is also very usable for doing recording, mixing and also working on various samples. Maybe you could look ito it.
 
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