I've been using a laptop for my primary recording rig for a little over a year now. My focus is to have the portability to record live shows and demos for local bands, as well as record our jam sessions and shows. That said, I started with a Pentium IV 2.8 ghz with 1gb RAM and an 80gb 7200 rpm HD. This was fine, but it was loud as piss when you were recording in the same room. I accidentally fried the Motherboard in it when I was doing some work on it...so it was time to upgrade. As of me righting this, there have been numerous tests done and the processor getting the highest marks on audio production in a laptop is the Pentium M, Sonoma, with 533mhz FSB.
There is a guy at
www.adkproaudio.com that has overclocked a PentM 740 (1.73) to be keeping up with a dual Xeon processor system running the Thonex Nuendo test. That's very impressive. So here's what I would look for if I were you. There are tons of specials going on right now. Look for:
Pentium M 740 (1.73 ghz, 533 FSB)
512 DDR 533mhz RAM- atleast, better with 1gb
60 gb 7200 rpm HD- do not skimp, go with the 7200 speed
atleast 128mb
DEDICATED video memory, NOT SHARED!
Make sure you have either USB 2.0 ports and/or a Firewire port (1394)
Beyond that, the rest is your choice, but that is what you are going to be the best using.
Now, I was going to buy my next music laptop from James at
www.adkproaudio.com. Probably the 7000s, that's the one that is the beast right now. However, that laptop is $2000, just a bit out of my price range right now.
Dell is currently running a 40% off special for their Inspiron laptops and I just ordered the 9300 with the configuration below:
PentM 740 (1.73, 533FSB)
1gb DDR, 533mhz RAM
60 gb 7200 rpm HD
256mb Geforce 6800
8x DVD R/W
Wireless and extras
3 yr Complete Coverage with Accidental damage
All for $1500 before tax. Now that my friend is a deal. This is with a 17" WXGA display, rock solid build and good reviews all around.
Here's the link to where you can find the coupons:
Notebook Forums Deals
Good luck and happy shopping!
Jonathan