Some Laptop Questions (PC)

  • Thread starter Thread starter futurestar
  • Start date Start date
F

futurestar

New member
I'm looking at getting a laptop for mobile recording. I currently have a desk top system (2.4 gig 1 gig ram 2 harddrives) running Saw Studio. What kind of specs should I be looking for to record and mix with a Windows XP Laptop? I assume I would need to upgrade from 512 to 1 gig of ram? (Or can I get by with 512)? Any other things I should be looking for?

Thanks!

Mark
 
..

unless you are doing some crazy stuff, 512 should be fine. i have 512 in my laptop and have not needed more ram.
 
Re: ..

minofifa said:
unless you are doing some crazy stuff, 512 should be fine. i have 512 in my laptop and have not needed more ram.
Click to expand...

Nothing too crazy, but 24+ tracks with plugins is quite common. What kind of a track count have you been able to get without any problems?
 
I've got a Dell Inspiron 8500 and have got along fine with only 256 meg on Vegas.

When I start to get crazy with plugins it does start giving me dropouts on playback.
 
What about hardware? I've looked at Firewire units from Motu and Presonus, but also see USB 2.0 is an option now as well. Any suggestions that have worked well for others?
 
how many tracks are you recording at once?
I have a usb interfact (tascam us122) and it serves it's purpose with me. It's 2 mic preamps are all i need right now.

As far as the ram, i have had success using at least 16 tracks with real time effects on some without any audio failures. that is in sonar 3. cool edit was pretty solid with a lot of tracks as well.
 
futurestar said:
What about hardware? I've looked at Firewire units from Motu and Presonus, but also see USB 2.0 is an option now as well. Any suggestions that have worked well for others?
Click to expand...

Firewire is still faster than USB 2.0 when talking about real life throughput/bandwidth. I have yet to find a USB device that works as promised. If you have the money, go for something like the M-Audio Firewire Audiophile, otherwise, just use a PC-Card interface like the Echo Indigo IO.
 
brzilian said:
Firewire is still faster than USB 2.0 when talking about real life throughput/bandwidth. I have yet to find a USB device that works as promised. If you have the money, go for something like the M-Audio Firewire Audiophile, otherwise, just use a PC-Card interface like the Echo Indigo IO.
Click to expand...

I've heard good things about the Indigo. My concern is having enough ram at this point, if I go ahead with getting a laptop.
 
My eMachine's laptop has 512Mb of RAM and works just fine with my Cakewalk software.

I do 3D modelling, Photoshop and video editing on that laptop as well with no problems either.
 
futurestar said:
I'm considering dropping the money on this unit (the 1705 SCi):

http://www.acer.com/APP/AKC/INTERNE...7C2383C2148C15F688256E2F006A5B85?OpenDocument

What do you think?
Click to expand...

That's a desktop replacement, not a true laptop. It doesn't seem to use the Mobile P4 processor - the battery life will really suck. I really don't care for SiS chipsets either.

How much is it? My eMachines M5309 only cost me $1000 after rebates and had the following:

15.4" widescreen display
Athlon 2500+ XP-M Processor
60Gb HD
512Mb RAM
3 USB 2.0 ports
1 Firewire port
CD-RW/DVD combo drive
Ethernet and Modem ports
VGA and S-Video ports
 
brzilian said:
That's a desktop replacement, not a true laptop. It doesn't seem to use the Mobile P4 processor - the battery life will really suck. I really don't care for SiS chipsets either.

How much is it? My eMachines M5309 only cost me $1000 after rebates and had the following:

15.4" widescreen display
Athlon 2500+ XP-M Processor
60Gb HD
512Mb RAM
3 USB 2.0 ports
1 Firewire port
CD-RW/DVD combo drive
Ethernet and Modem ports
VGA and S-Video ports
Click to expand...

It's expensive for sure. (About $2300 Canadian). I was looking at another Acer model that has almost exactly the same specs as yours, except with the Athlon 2400 XPM Processor and a 40gb HD. It was about half the price. (Canadian funds).

The thing is, I don't see myself using the battery very often, if ever. Maybe on a plane once in a blue moon, but that's about it. I'm basically looking for something that could potentially replace my PC, which means I'd need the ability to do some serious tracking and mixing on it. That was the reason I was looking at a portable pc.

By the way, what is it that you don't like about SiS chipsets? Also, what kind of track counts have you been able to get to with your E-Machines unit? I generally use a minimum of 10 just for drums (imported from a studio session) - this is where the problems lies. Mind you, with my Saw Studio program, the CPU usage is really low. (I guess I could submix drums before doing overdubs). Either way, I still think I'd need 1 gb of ram for what I do.
 
if you can afford it go for it!


If you want to know if you would use it.... set your page file to start at 50 MB and let it expand to whatever you want ...

then if the little bubble pops up telling you it needs to expand the pagefile... you could utilize more ram.

Still that doesn't mean you need it. Windows holds program info for later use, no big deal. All the data from your earlier sesssion of media player or a video game get overwritten before denied use by an active app. So maybe in a crunch get 512, but get it so you can expand later, like just in one stick ya know? ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top