Mar 29, 2009 07:56 pm Not a Mac guy here at all. Running Mac is a good deal more expensive in the long run from what I have seen. And if your running LE with the Lexicon Omega, yes a dual core is probably going to be your best bet.
Thanks for your continued help!! Here's a laptop purchasing question...
Posted on Mar 29, 2009 02:38 pm
auroraman
Member Since: Mar 17, 2009
Seeing as you guys have been brilliant with guiding me with equipment and problems I thought I'd ask another question.
I'm currently using a pc with my lexicon omega and cubase set-up. I'll be recording acoustic tracks with vocals using an sm58 and yamaha apx acoustic. I've also just purchased a pair of M-audio monitors.
I want to purchase a laptop so I can record when I'm on the move etc. I was looking into a mid-range vaio, and ive heard you need dual 2 core or something??
What I'm wondering is what is the best option and what should i look out for to cater for solid sound recording?
I've always been a pc man and I'm not very good with navigating macs, but is there a difference in ease of use or quality between the two formats??
Any help would be much appreciated
Thanks
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Mar 29, 2009 07:56 pm Not a Mac guy here at all. Running Mac is a good deal more expensive in the long run from what I have seen. And if your running LE with the Lexicon Omega, yes a dual core is probably going to be your best bet.
Mar 29, 2009 08:58 pm From a professional stand point and of having all the money in the world, Macs make more sense. They are just more reliable.
But, for common user stand point. PC is the way to go.
Not that either platform is less capable, but Macs just hold up better in the long run.
Mar 29, 2009 09:35 pm From experience of friends, I'd saty away from a Vaio...I have seen more than one person with terrible experiences. All sorts of obscure problems, warranty problems and more.
That said, my HP has been awesome, I love it.
Mar 30, 2009 04:56 am Thanks guys. I think as I'm used to the way a pc runs and I'm not the most computer literate, Ill stick with it.
What should I look out for spec wise in a laptop, such as RAM, hard drive capacity and sound card etc??
Mar 30, 2009 08:53 am Well.... simply put, you want horsey power in just about every category. This means either a dual-core or quad-core processor, at least 3 GB DDR SDRAM, a 256MB graphics chipset, and a killer audio system (for playback and low latency recording). Some good workhorse laptops include Sony, HP, and Alienware. I'd stay away from the "economy" brands like Dell and Gateway (though their high end models may be sufficient, spec wise). How much are you willing to spend?
Check out this system by alienware. It will serve as a good reference for specifications (when page loads, select tech specs option)
www.alienware.com/product...ode=SKU-DEFAULT
Mar 30, 2009 09:34 am Was that copied and pasted from a Geerslutz Low End thread?
Love the Pabst can, btw.
Mar 30, 2009 09:57 am Quote:
Love the Pabst can, btw.
Hahah... Thanks. It's the breakfast of Champions. I'm not a member of Gearslutz, but I suppose it could have been mentioned in that particular forum. =)
@ Aururaman
The bottom line is.... you're not doing 3D graphics, so a 512MB graphics card is overkill. 256 is the norm. Add to the fact that Windows OS (or any OS) hasn't actually been "packaged" to utilize anything more than 3GB of memory.... 4 GB plus of SDRAM is also overkill. A Dual-processor should be fine, but if you can find a quad-core for the same price, then go for it. AMD is typically cheaper than Intel and performs about the same.
www.sharkyextreme.com is a great site for processor stress tests and comparisons.
Mar 30, 2009 12:17 pm Dual core at least over 2.0Ghz (amd or intel) with 3GB of ram. If you get a laptop with Vista64 (vs. 32) you can run much more RAM, but that does come with compatability problems for some.
Don't worry about the laptop HDD speed so much, it will work (at least 5400rpm, avoid 4200rpm if they even make them anymore). But... a nice 7200rpm external drive would be a good thing. I always record to mine and simply plug it into whatever PC i'm using (desktop for mixing, laptop for mobile tracking).
Make sure the laptop has USB and firewire so you won't have to add a card. Not a huge deal but it's nice to have one neat package without adding on too much BS.
Discrete graphics are nice to have, but personally I'm running through an integrated Intel graphics card on my laptop. It works fine, but when the track count gets high my workspace can seem a little sluggish. You don't need a powerhouse gaming vidcard, but anything discrete (it's own RAM) will take the visual load off the system RAM.
I bought a dell for $600 and it rocks imo. My last 3 DAW machines have been Dell and Gateway all from BestBuy as they were cheap and they offer me credit :) Suprisingly, gateway found a place in my heart, I used to hate those damn cow computers.
Mar 31, 2009 05:18 am This is all really helpful guys, thank you. I haven't got a big budget, maybe about £500 (about $6-700 dollars i think?) so its great to hear that I don't need some super singing and dancing specced up laptop!
If its ok, I might look at deals that i can find and discuss with you guys on here.
Cheers
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