Newbie: Laptop Recommendations

  • Thread starter Thread starter sbattisti
  • Start date Start date
S

sbattisti

New member
Hi folks,

I'm a newbie here, and frankly, I don't even use my computer for recording! What I have is a 14-year old son who plays guitar and drums, and who is getting progressively more and more interested in music and recording various things.

I'm planning on getting him a laptop for Christmas this year, and I'd like to be sure to get him something that at least doesn't completely stand in the way of audio work. He has a Guitar Port (from Line6), so that will have to work on it, but other than that, what sorts of things should I consider when buying him a laptop? Are there certain criteria I should consider when choosing a sound card, for example?

I'm fairly computer-savvy, but not very audio-savvy, so go gentle on me. :)

(Oh, and p.s., unfortunately, the laptop is pretty much a requirement. I'm divorced, and he shuttles back and forth between houses, so getting a desktop PC isn't practical...)

Thanks!

Steve
 
what's your budget (the guitar port will serve as the sound card btw)
 
Good point, and a big "duh" to me for not thinking of posting that in advance. :P

Budget is essentially <$1000

Thanks for your help!

Steve
 
Sounds like just enough for a macbook if you want to go mac.
I've been a pcer since the 8088XT day's, but made the switch
a short time ago and really like them. The imac are not to bad
to haul around. I see them in backpacks all the time.
 
2-3 (or more) gigs of ram will never hurt you, either. Or a dual-core processor. . . if you're going the pc route, you should easily be able to find a good laptop used (or possibly new) for under $1000.
 
The ONLY big name manufacturer who's laptops off the shelf are well excuted for audio are Mac

If you wan't a PC Lap top you need to buy from someone like ADK pro audio who specifically test their laptops for audio gear compatability.

Dell, HP, Acer, etc, etc are not building with audio aps in mind (irregardless of fancy CPU, Graphics etc). The BIOS, IRQ allocation, Bus execution and 9 times 10 Firewire chipsets are not designed for audio production and often cannot be made to work well (or at all) with audio gear. Toshiba used to be a better bet but they are not consistently using TI Fire Wire chipsets any more and still suffer from poorly written BIOS and IRQ set ups
 
Bristol Posse said:
The ONLY big name manufacturer who's laptops off the shelf are well excuted for audio are Mac

If you wan't a PC Lap top you need to buy from someone like ADK pro audio who specifically test their laptops for audio gear compatability.

Dell, HP, Acer, etc, etc are not building with audio aps in mind (irregardless of fancy CPU, Graphics etc). The BIOS, IRQ allocation, Bus execution and 9 times 10 Firewire chipsets are not designed for audio production and often cannot be made to work well (or at all) with audio gear. Toshiba used to be a better bet but they are not consistently using TI Fire Wire chipsets any more and still suffer from poorly written BIOS and IRQ set ups
Click to expand...


Apple is not using TI chipsets either.. They have been on agere since late 2007..
 
Yeah, unfortunately, my son has used several Macs in the past, and has really taken a disliking to them. So, whatever I get, it's likely to be a Windows-based machine.

Any suggestions for good software programs related to sound recording that I could preload on this machine? I'm looking for budget-end stuff that would allow him to fool around with putting together songs, etc., and not professional stuff.

Thanks!

Steve
 
sbattisti said:
Yeah, unfortunately, my son has used several Macs in the past, and has really taken a disliking to them. So, whatever I get, it's likely to be a Windows-based machine.

Any suggestions for good software programs related to sound recording that I could preload on this machine? I'm looking for budget-end stuff that would allow him to fool around with putting together songs, etc., and not professional stuff.

Thanks!

Steve
Click to expand...

Reaper combines two worlds: it's cheap, but it's professional.
 
altitude909 said:
Apple is not using TI chipsets either.. They have been on agere since late 2007..
Click to expand...

Not entirely true. It has gone back and forth, at least in the MacBook Pro. I'm pretty sure the FW400 models are all Agere. Mac Pro used TI at last check.

BTW, as I understand it, the Agere chips used in the MacBook Pro (FW800) are not the same chips that people were complaining about a few years ago (FW400). I haven't heard any real screaming about the old ones, either, since RME fixed their firmware bugs. :D
 
dgatwood said:
Not entirely true. It has gone back and forth, at least in the MacBook Pro. I'm pretty sure the FW400 models are all Agere. Mac Pro used TI at last check.

BTW, as I understand it, the Agere chips used in the MacBook Pro (FW800) are not the same chips that people were complaining about a few years ago (FW400). I haven't heard any real screaming about the old ones, either, since RME fixed their firmware bugs. :D
Click to expand...

There has never been any clear answer from apple about this and every person I have heard from that has checked it, it came back with an Agere vendor code. I am not implying that the Agere chipset is bad btw
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top