Need info on recording laptop

[NashBackslash]

Hello, I am currently recording using a MOTU 828MKII.

However, I have very crappy computer (using an ASUS motherboard). I have 1 gig of RAM, and a 120GB hard disk. I think the motherboard is causing tons of problems.

ANYWAY... I needed to go portable anyway, so instead of building a new desktop, I decided that I want to get a laptop-based system.

However, I have absolutely ZERO experience with laptops and I'd like to know what problems that laptop can cause. I am going to spend a lot of money on this, and I want to make sure that I can actually make use of what I am going to buy.

I would appreciate any recommendations made here.

First thing though, what exactly do I need? I do know for a fact that I would need:

1) A fast processor
2) An external hard disk for recording audio to. Would an external HD using USB 2.0 work for this?
3) Tons of RAM (probably 2 gigs)
4) Firewire port. What kind, though? I heard there are many versions.

Then again, I thought USB is slower than FireWire, and using an external USB HD is going to cause slowdowns because it has to send the data from the Firewire port to the USB disk.

I feel that my head is going to burst because I just don't know what kind of setup should I get. Stability is top priority for me, but I want the portability. No, I NEED the portability.

So any comments would be great. Thanks in advance!

- Nash

 

[cawhite12]

I have a Dell Inspiron 8600 with a Pentium M 2.0 Ghz, 512 MB of ram, and I use the Tascam 1804 as my interface. I use an external drive to record to, and had to end up using as USB 2.0 instead of Firewire (it has both) because the Tascam didn't like having something else in the chain. I have recorded 12 channels simultaneously without any problems, and have played with 24+ track mixes with loads of plugs without having any issues either. The Pentium M's are rated extremely high for Audio recording, and if you get one now, it will probably be even better than mine, because it will have the 533Mhz Bus (Mine has the 400Mhz, still fast as hell though).

The only thing I would think about would be the future. With 64 bit right around the corner, I would consider an Athlon 64 system, as the Pentium M's are not 64bit compatible. But, on the other hand, if you go with a Pentium M, you will not be dissapointed in it's performance.

Also, when you get a laptop, use the sites customize feature. That way you can get exactly what you want, instead of one they put together with some features that you want, but others you don't.

 

[dgatwood]

If you're going x86, I'd wait for Yonah.

As for the FireWire question, make sure you get one with 6-pin firewire if you can. Some laptop manufacturers (particularly those whose names rhyme with Pony) shave a few cents off their design by using a 4-pin firewire port so they don't have to provide power on the firewire ports.... That's fine for video capture, but it sucks if you want to hook up a bus-powered audio interface or hard drive.

 

[TimOBrien]

Using a Gateway M520 2.8Ghz P4 with a Motu828mkII and a 80Gb Glyph firewire drive.

>Zero< problems.

More important that you look for what chips the laptop's firewire adapter uses for compatiblity with the 828. Gateway uses T.I. (recomended by Motu) and I had no problems with either the 828 or Glyph drive (through a 4-to-6 pin cable BTW... I don't do battery-powered sessions so it was irrelevant to me to drive off the firewire bus power.)

 

[dgatwood]

Using a Gateway M520 2.8Ghz P4 with a Motu828mkII and a 80Gb Glyph firewire drive.

>Zero< problems.

More important that you look for what chips the laptop's firewire adapter uses for compatiblity with the 828. Gateway uses T.I. (recomended by Motu) and I had no problems with either the 828 or Glyph drive (through a 4-to-6 pin cable BTW... I don't do battery-powered sessions so it was irrelevant to me to drive off the firewire bus power.)

Sheesh. Next thing you know, there's going to be a recommended model of FireWire phy.

 

[NashBackslash]

I am a bit confused.

What I am picking up so far, is that if I use an eternal Firewire hard disk with a MOTU Firewire, I'll run into problems.

So how do I make sure I get the most compatible Firewire ports?

Also, the 828 has its own power cable, why would I need a powered Firewire port?

If I don't want to use external hard disks, would it be feasible to record multi tracks using an internal laptop hard disk with a specifically high RPM and buffer? Is this recommended?

 

[cawhite12]

You could record to the laptop internal drive and be fine. Make sure you get one that is 7200 RPM and 8MB Cash. Just be aware that because that is also your system drive, that it may limit your track count somewhat. As long as you don't go above probably around 16-20, you should be OK.

 

[TimOBrien]

I am a bit confused.

What I am picking up so far, is that if I use an eternal Firewire hard disk with a MOTU Firewire, I'll run into problems.

So how do I make sure I get the most compatible Firewire ports?

Also, the 828 has its own power cable, why would I need a powered Firewire port?

If I don't want to use external hard disks, would it be feasible to record multi tracks using an internal laptop hard disk with a specifically high RPM and buffer? Is this recommended?

Just told you above.... I'm using an external Glyph 80Gb firewire drive with zero problems.

I'm NOT using a powered cable to it. The only reason you'd need a full 6-pin firewire capabilty is if you want to run session off the laptop's battery power with something like a Motu Traveler.

Even a standard desktop DAW recomendation is to record to a separate fast hard drive, so the OS can work by itself on the boot drive. Do the same with your laptop.

You can usually find out what kind of firewire chips a laptop manufacturer or firewire card maker is using by going to their website and reading the fine print of their specs.

Right from Motu's website:

MOTU recommends using strictly FireWire PCI/PCMCIA cards based on the Texas Instrument chipset.

There's an incompatibility between the NEC chip found in some FireWire cards and the MOTU FireWire line of interface.

If the FireWire installer warns you that you're running a FireWire card with the NEC chip, you should replace said card with a card that uses the TI (Texas Instruments) or Lucent chip. Keyspan, Sonnet, Miglia, and ADS are a few of the many brands using the TI or Lucent FireWire chips.

Please check with the manufacturer of the FireWire card before purchasing it to ensure it has the TI or Lucent chip. Note that nearly all combo USB/FireWire cards do not a use TI or Lucent chip, so you will need a dedicated FireWire card.