If you went PC laptop...then what brand??

  • Thread starter Thread starter rimisrandma
  • Start date Start date
Murdersgalore said:
Someday I'm gonna get a netbook and use it to record an album just to quiet the "OMG you need a 6 vore processor with 4 ssd's in raid and 32gb of DDR16" bunch.
Click to expand...

lol...I have Reaper installed on a netbook. It runs great.
 
jjsimonds said:
...Something I can speak about.... 15 years building & repairing PC's...

Almost all laptops are built by a very few companies. All of them source components from all the same sources, but there are better components and there are good ones.
Click to expand...

There was a source I had that was interesting that stated there were nine companies responsible for producing the parts for all laptops, but I could not find the link.

jjsimonds said:
Sony and Toshiba control more of their systems than others and they actually own more of the product, whereas Dell buys from the same vendors as any number of other laptop vendors. In most laptops, you get what you pay for.... IE the more expensive units tend to have larger and faster hard drives, and brighter and faster displays with better video subsystems... etc etc... as in my current battle to grasp what I need/want/afford for a midi/key/wrkst/sequencer/midi-controller unit... you need to understand all of the components going into the laptop in order to make a good decision on what to buy... so it is homework time I am afraid... hours upon hours of sorting through feedback and geek forums... there really is no other way to make an informed decision... however there are a good number of techy sites with decent reviews that can help narrow the field of contenders...

In my experience in repairing hundreds and hundreds of computers... they all suck and will puke and die and disappoint you. If you start there, you won;t be disappointed in anything they don;t do in the future. With this understanding of the machine you are now ready to deal with the eventuality of it meeting it's demise and with it your reliance on it...

High end models of most brands do well in the long run with an occasional lemon. Avoid cheap systems... the cases are flimsy. In any case, do a case test.. gently see how much twist the base and screen frame you can make it do... but be GENTLE and stop when it flexes. Aim for a more rugged frame.

Don't skimp on Ram, it beats on the hard drive when you run out of system memory and you want that drive to be waiting for you, not playing swappsies with memory.

Sony and Toshiba seem to assemble the best systems. There have been some proprietary quirks with both companies over the years, making some driver compatibility issues, but overall they just seem to be be better constructed... but don't buy the cheap ones.

Do not buy used computer unless it is from your grandmother and even then, hesitate. PC's loose 40-50% of their value in the first year. Within 3-4 years they are down to 20% tops... that $1000 system you bought 3 years ago isn't as fast or nice as the new one I can buy now for $400, why would I pay you $300 for your used one? Laptops live a hard life usually, so even worse than a desktop in loosing value, they take physical abuse.

All computers are an assemblies of parts from different hardware manufacturers. So regardless of the label outside they all share a great many components, so those pieces matter, but the design and packaging of the unit also counts, as in the Toughbook series from Panasonic... if you need a pC in the swamp, they are the rig to get...

I hope this helps some... feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer...
Click to expand...

What about Asus? From what I heard they had a lot to do with hardware in a lot of computers before they went out on their own.

Also, Lenovo (IBM) pops up as a workhorse laptop....thoughts??
 
rimisrandma said:
There was a source I had that was interesting that stated there were nine companies responsible for producing the parts for all laptops, but I could not find the link.
What about Asus? From what I heard they had a lot to do with hardware in a lot of computers before they went out on their own.
Also, Lenovo (IBM) pops up as a workhorse laptop....thoughts??
Click to expand...

At one point.. back in 05/06 someone staed that there were 4 comapnies making laptops in the world.

Prior to the buyout by Lenovo, IBM did not manufacture laptops, they were in the same boat as dell/hp/ etc etc they were doign some design work, but mostly in packaging, and the high end IBM laptops were built well with solid frames.

ASUS is the quiet guy behind the scenes, until the past decade... as you say, they've been in the background making units for everyone else for along time. Our shop was using thier parts to build our own boxes for years before they had thier own branded units on the market.

The problem with PC laptops is consistancy, or rather the complete lack of it... whatever new model Laptop is out there right now, it won;t be for long... models are designed manufactured and EOL'd so damn fast it makes your head spin.... plus your run of the mill laptop will live 3-5 years, if you are nice to it.. yes I know we have all seen ones that last longer, but the live a hard life usually... so the makers of these beasts are jumping from one bandwagon to the next in order to keep new product in the pipeline, therein the high risk of issues with systems in general and even more of these issues in the low end stuff due to profit-margin pressures.

I'll go back to they all suck... lol... Models stay around for 6-12 months... so finding feedback in forums on how they are doing is tough... the media is mostly interested in talking about new, versus being a watchdog on what was... don;t buy a cheep laptop... :)
 
jjsimonds said:
At one point.. back in 05/06 someone staed that there were 4 comapnies making laptops in the world.

Prior to the buyout by Lenovo, IBM did not manufacture laptops, they were in the same boat as dell/hp/ etc etc they were doign some design work, but mostly in packaging, and the high end IBM laptops were built well with solid frames.

ASUS is the quiet guy behind the scenes, until the past decade... as you say, they've been in the background making units for everyone else for along time. Our shop was using thier parts to build our own boxes for years before they had thier own branded units on the market.

The problem with PC laptops is consistancy, or rather the complete lack of it... whatever new model Laptop is out there right now, it won;t be for long... models are designed manufactured and EOL'd so damn fast it makes your head spin.... plus your run of the mill laptop will live 3-5 years, if you are nice to it.. yes I know we have all seen ones that last longer, but the live a hard life usually... so the makers of these beasts are jumping from one bandwagon to the next in order to keep new product in the pipeline, therein the high risk of issues with systems in general and even more of these issues in the low end stuff due to profit-margin pressures.

I'll go back to they all suck... lol... Models stay around for 6-12 months... so finding feedback in forums on how they are doing is tough... the media is mostly interested in talking about new, versus being a watchdog on what was... don;t buy a cheep laptop... :)
Click to expand...

Apparently there are 9 companies responsible for all laptops out there. Here's the source;

computer for pro audio comparison, Sweetwater creation station, Rain recording, ADK Pro Audio


Here's the actual quote I am referring to from the source posted;

"Contrary to popular belief no one makes their own laptops. In other words Dell is made by someone as is Apple, Gateway, etc.
There are 9 or so ODMs (manufacturer's of laptops) in the world.
Clevo, Quanta, Compal, Mitac, Asus, MSI, Twinhead, Uniwill/ECS, Arima, Movita."
 
Is the OP running Sonar? I wouldn't run Sonar on any laptop - not even a Cray XK6 Notebook!
 
arcadeko said:
Is the OP running Sonar? I wouldn't run Sonar on any laptop - not even a Cray XK6 Notebook!
Click to expand...

WTF? Some DAW's are more laptop friendly than others?? If so, then what DAW's are more laptop friendly and which ones are not??

Also, I am the OP and NOT running Sonar on a laptop or any laptop for that matter because I am still in the planning stages of my computer studio set-up and do not own a computer, of any type, at this point. But, I will in the near future when I have my game plan in order and why I have so many retarded questions posted, so I am not simply running into the purchasing phase and spending money in the wrong place.
 
rimisrandma said:
WTF? Some DAW's are more laptop friendly than others?? If so, then what DAW's are more laptop friendly and which ones are not??

Also, I am the OP and NOT running Sonar on a laptop or any laptop for that matter because I am still in the planning stages of my computer studio set-up and do not own a computer, of any type, at this point. But, I will in the near future when I have my game plan in order and why I have so many retarded questions posted, so I am not simply running into the purchasing phase and spending money in the wrong place.
Click to expand...

Smart move- do your research first.

I see a lot of people posting drop-out problems with Sonar on laptops - I do not see people posting that problem as much (or ever that I can recall) with other DAWs like Reaper and Cubase. So that is just an observation.

If you are creating a home studio and do not need portability you will get more for your money and have a more expandable system getting a desktop PC. Make sure you read the Introduction to multitrack recording sticky in the newb forum before deciding on an interface.

There are a lot of people here who will help you put together a great setup :) first figure out your recording needs - what types of instruments etc you will be recording - and then get a budget together - then start looking for stuff in your price range.
 
Absurd. I've been running Sonar 8.5 on my cheapo HP lappy for a couple of years now. Zero problems, period.
Keep the baseless crap out of the noob forum...its confusing enough for them as it is.
 
TeyshaBlue said:
Absurd. I've been running Sonar 8.5 on my cheapo HP lappy for a couple of years now. Zero problems, period.
Keep the baseless crap out of the noob forum...its confusing enough for them as it is.
Click to expand...

As I said - this is an observation from recent threads - so if you want to call an observation baseless go ahead - but it's based on observations so not sure how you come to that conclusion.

arcadeko said:
I see a lot of people posting drop-out problems with Sonar on laptops - I do not see people posting that problem as much (or ever that I can recall) with other DAWs like Reaper and Cubase. So that is just an observation.
Click to expand...

Just because it works perfect for you doesn't mean it's perfect. I'm glad you have had zero problems, but several other people have had problems recently.

Here are the threads I was referring to

https://homerecording.com/bbs/gener...lp-figuring-out-some-issues-im-having-328173/

https://homerecording.com/bbs/gener...nyone-else-have-drop-out-issues-sonar-328491/

https://homerecording.com/bbs/gener...hours-mix-down-3-min-song-327388/#post3695311
 
Those links suggest nothing unique to laptops. I had many of those issues on a desktop that runs rings arojnd my laptop. Then I learned how to optimize my comps and bingo. No more probs.
Seriously, unless you are running a bunch of vsti plugs, practically any comp will suffice to record audio. It doesnt take alot of power until you start hosting softsynths and other cpu intensive vsti. I have Roger Nichols M30 vsti reverb. It beats my cpu senseless. I can only run 7 or 8 plugs when I use that. Ozone can be very resource intensive too.
 
I would suggest you to get Toshiba laptop. I've been using one since long and it is giving superb performance.Toshiba also offers very good discounts.
 
Personally I have now stopped using a PC laptop as they all seem to be plasticy and low spec.

I now use a MacBook Pro and, as I still need Windows to run my editing software, run Windows7 under BootCamp.
 
A recent Consumers Report Magazine had a survey of laptop returns and repairs. Of all the major brands, there were two tied for first place with the fewest problems: Acer and Toshiba. I was surprised but pleased, as I have an Acer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top