laptop vs. desktop

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corban

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i'm building a computer for the first time, up until now i've used primarily other people's equipment and space for recording. My own personal space for recording is limited, but is enough that I can record myself and mix properly. I have recorded bands in the past and hope to again, probably by renting out a practice space to track the big stuff before going home to mix.

I don't have much hardware gear, so I rely on plug-ins for mixing, and since some of my own music can get pretty track-heavy, I'd like a fair amount of computer power. I run Nuendo 1.6, might be upgrading. My original plan was to build myself a decent desktop, 1.8 Ghz or higher intel core duo 2 with 1-2 GB RAM, 7200 rpm hard drive, for under a grand. But I'm thinking i might want a laptop since I could potentially be somewhat mobile and I could also just use a laptop for personal use, since I plan to travel abroad soon. The cons against the laptop is the added cost and I'd feel like I was roping myself more into my decision, since desktops can easily be upgraded. My max budget for the comp is about $1300. If I got a laptop I would obviously record onto a separate firewire HD.

Any thoughts on whether the laptop is a good idea?
 
I'm not so good on the tech side...but in terms of laptop portability, this will depend. For example, you said you'd probably need an external hard drive, so this cancels out some of the portability. Same with your soundcard, a Tascam US 122 or Presonus Firebox is portable enough....Presonus Firepod is a different story. But i'f youre into say electronica, with samples, or use Reason, I guess your processing power will come before your sound card commitmnets. Just something to think about.
 
i think both have there uses, and from my experience (very little..) i think that you should have your main desktop for mixing, and tracking at home, but also having a laptop for tracking somewhere not in your studio is also good.
 
If you do go the laptop way, make sure you have/get a firewire external hard drive, and track directly onto it. Saves CPU power, and lets you easily transport all your tracks.
 
djhead said:
If you do go the laptop way, make sure you have/get a firewire external hard drive, and track directly onto it. Saves CPU power, and lets you easily transport all your tracks.
I'd like to try this but I have only one firewire port in my laptop and I used it for my firewire audio interface. Anyway thanks for this tip.
 
TheHunter said:
I'd like to try this but I have only one firewire port in my laptop and I used it for my firewire audio interface. Anyway thanks for this tip.


I'm using a Gateway P4 2.8Ghz laptop with a Motu828mkII that has a GlyphGT050 firewire drive daisy-chained to it on one firewire port. ZERO problems.
 
A laptop is significantly more expensive, and somewhat more portable than a desktop. I say "somewhat" because, as noted, to actually use a laptop for recording, you will need an external interface/pres, maybe an external HD, and if you plan on using it for more than 10 minutes at a stretch, you will need to bring the power cord for the 'top, plus one for any of the external gear (since PCM1A doesn't seem to provide power for anything).

My next build will be a racked desktop. The rack case is only a few dollars extra, and my interface, 800R, a power strip or conditioner, and a couple of RNC's can all go along for the ride in one box, and it will all plug into a single outlet. The only portability downside is I'll continue to have to tote a monitor (17" LCD for me is fine). Once I get one of those DAV 8 channel jobbies, I'll be a mobile recordin' mofo.
 
thanks for the input folks, i'm still weighing the options. One snag is I don't know how much to get in a processor, which affects how much money I have. Are the basic dual processors from AMD/Intel good for recording 8 tracks at a time and then mixing 30-40 tracks with a good amount of plugins? I'm not using samples, although I could expand to using Reason in the future. I just don't want to be pissed a few months from now cause my laptop processor isn't fast enough.
 
get dual core if you can.

really, that would be a huge help to you.
speed doesnt matter as much, but the dual core would help significantly.
 
corban said:
Any thoughts on whether the laptop is a good idea?

What do you want to do in the way of remote recording? Perhaps a desktop and a dedicated portable recorder would work better?

For example, I have a MicroTrack that I use as my digital mixdown deck from my soundcard and also use for all kinds of portable 2-track recording. If I really want a good sound remotely, I also bring along the MixPre, a high-end 2-channel preamp/field mixer that also works on batteries, as the front end for the MicroTrack. That rig is small, simple to use and gives a great recording which is easily ported back into the DAW using a card reader.

I prefer a desktop in the studio, actually OUT of the studio, which is a big reason why. Laptops don't have fans, but the hard drive makes noise and you can't move it out, while a desktop CPU can be exiled out of the studio via long cables to give you a truly silent studio. Also, of course, all the options for CPU power, PCI interfaces, storage, etc. are available and usually lower cost than the laptop options.

That's my two cents.

Otto
 
Hi Corbon,
Lots of good suggestions,I especially like the rackmount pc idea since I build my desktops too.
I just put together a mobile rig featuring the Motu 828mk2 and an off the shelf 17"HP laptop- DV9005US (AMD 1.6g Turion 64 X2). I love this set up so much I rarely track thru my desktop at all, of late.
Ideally $1300 would buy you a killer laptop that would crush my setup and do everything you want and more.
Just be patient and the right deal for the right laptop will come to you.
Good Luck,
Keith
 
firepod plus laptop

I have a one year old HP Laptopp with a P4 1.7 GHz. Just Bought a firepod. First problem: My laptop has a four pin Firewire Port. Firepod has a six pin. Argh.

They make adapters and different ended cables. And the firepod runs at 400Mbps, which the four pin should be capable of.

Guess I'll find out if it'll work...
 
i vote for macintosh.

either way, desktop, laptop, racked server, whatever.

once you go mac, you never go back ;)
 
TragikRemix said:
once you go mac, you never go back ;)
Are you sure? I can think of four friends who used Macs a few years ago and now only one of them hasn't switched to PC. I don't have any friends who switched from PC to Mac though. ;)
 
hmm, apparently he's not sure. i've also used both platforms extensively and prefer pc. I'm not saying windows doesn't suck ass, I just haven't found mac to be that much better, especially for everyday ease of use. keyboard shortcuts, way easier on pc. and then there's the cost. thanks for the input though.
 
TimOBrien said:
I'm using a Gateway P4 2.8Ghz laptop with a Motu828mkII that has a GlyphGT050 firewire drive daisy-chained to it on one firewire port. ZERO problems.

This is interesting, i was wondering how people do it with laptops, since they usually only have one firewire port. Could I expect that same compatibility with any firewire soundcard do you think?
 
For PC, I'd either build a desktop from parts from New Egg or get a Dell Inspiron with the Duo Core processor. Expect about $900 for the PC and monitor and $1100 for the laptop.

For Mac, I'd go with the iMac 17" 2.0 or the MacBook 2.0. $1100 and $1300 I believe on the price.

I'm going from PC to Mac and from desktop to laptop. I'm just bored with Windows and tired of having to wipe my hard drive every year because my programs start to hang. The desktop to laptop move is because I hate having to bring 50 pounds of computer crap everywhere just to record. With the MacBook, I can plug in the laptop, hook up the FirePod, hook up a hard drive, and literally get everything in one trip.

Any way you go, go dual core...it will last much longer (before you will want to upgrade). Get between 1 and 2 gigs of memory, and get an external hard drive for your data/documents/audio.
 
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