dog pounder
Max Output Level: -89 dBFS
- Total Posts : 92
- Joined: 12/4/2003
- Status: offline
ADVICE on laptop selection
I've been needing a new laptop for some time and I want one that runs Sonar 6 PE and has no known issues with the Presonus Firestudio Project.
I also run an original Yamaha Motif Rack (usb)
Anyone using any (or all) of these with a laptop successfully and have recomendations on laptop selection?
|
bapu
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 86000
- Joined: 11/25/2006
- Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
- Status: offline
RE: ADVICE on laptop selection
December 08, 08 6:10 PM
(permalink)
I would seriously consider going with a pro DAW builder.
ADKproaudio.com
StudioCat.com
These guys are both reuptable builders and I would trust either one with my laptop purchase.
|
razor
Max Output Level: -59.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1557
- Joined: 5/10/2004
- Location: Irvine, CA
- Status: offline
RE: ADVICE on laptop selection
December 08, 08 7:01 PM
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: dog pounder
I've been needing a new laptop for some time and I want one that runs Sonar 6 PE and has no known issues with the Presonus Firestudio Project.
I also run an original Yamaha Motif Rack (usb)
Anyone using any (or all) of these with a laptop successfully and have recomendations on laptop selection?
Stay away from Gateway/eMachines. Their price tags may be appealing, but you will be very sorry in the long run. We have had good luck with HP (the Compaq line they bought). Bad luck with Dell laptops, but you'll get an argument from folks on that one, I know. If you can swing the price tag, look at Lenovo Think Pads. Maybe if you wait until after Christmas, you can get a good deal on one. Enjoy the process...
Stephen Davis Cakewalk by Bandlab Windows 7 Pro 64-Bit ADK DAW - (out of business 2018) Intel i7 4930K CPU Core i7 SB-E MOBO 16 GB DDR3 RAM 7 TB Storage Layla 3G SoundCard (11.5 ms Roundtrip Latency) UAD-2 DSP WaveLab 8 Pro 64-bit Sound Forge 10 Pro
|
Bonzos Ghost
Max Output Level: -68 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1112
- Joined: 3/31/2005
- Location: Canada - Left Coast
- Status: offline
RE: ADVICE on laptop selection
December 08, 08 8:39 PM
(permalink)
I've heard of issues regarding Presonus firewire and Sonar. Also heard that these issues were resolved with S8. Can't confirm as I don't have any Presonus products. Might want to look into that though.
|
qiitxx
Max Output Level: -89 dBFS
- Total Posts : 51
- Joined: 12/23/2007
- Status: offline
RE: ADVICE on laptop selection
December 09, 08 1:58 AM
(permalink)
of the mirid of choices youll find that Hp, or Toshiba tablet pc's are the best. Now you can always jump the fence and go with a mac. but you just buying the young image that goes with having a mac...save the monety and get an HP or Tosiba.
|
jackn2mpu
Max Output Level: -47.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 2765
- Joined: 11/8/2003
- Location: Soprano State
- Status: offline
RE: ADVICE on laptop selection
December 09, 08 10:01 AM
(permalink)
Issues to be aware of with a laptop (and this from a laptop daw user):
Cooling - some have fans that don't run all the time but are quite noisy acoustically when they are running. Can be real distracting when working, especially if you're using a mic in close proximity with the computer.
Lack of ram memory space.
Ports - you usually won't find 6 pin firewire ports but just 4 pin ones. That's for fw400. I know Macs have fw800 ports.
Hard drive capacity - you'll more likely than not need an external drive. That's where the issue of ports comes in. You'll want firewire for an external drive. That's 1 port. Audio can be either usb2.0 or fw. That's another port. You could run an interface off the card slot, but the newer machines use a newer configuration that's physically incompatible with the older PCMCIA stuff.
See if the laptop can run with the battery not installed and just off the power brick. A number of users mainly use their laptop as a desktop replacement (like I do) and having the battery in all the time charging (even if it's just a trickle charge) can result in reduced battery life.
These issues can be addressed adequately, but it won't be cheap.
|
Michael Five
Max Output Level: -83 dBFS
- Total Posts : 366
- Joined: 1/18/2008
- Status: offline
RE: ADVICE on laptop selection
December 09, 08 3:09 PM
(permalink)
I'm not an expert, but it seems like if there is anywhere I'd feel like the $ for a pro DAW builder would be easily justified, it would be laptops, expecially if you are aiming to do serious work on it. There's just so much less 'wiggle room' with a laptop - harder to work on, harder to expand, fewer choices for componentry, etc - if I were working on a laptop, I'd really thing about having one built.
If not that, then consider that the major manufacturers - HP, Toshiba, and IBM (lenovo) - all have two lines - one for home users, the other for business/professional use - be sure to get something from the pro line. Dell and Gateway don't sell pro stuff IMO, though there are those who would disagree, especially about dell.
And probably most important given your concerns would be making sure the FW interface on the laptop had a TI chipset - I think that's the kind that people find works best with most stuff, you can review posts on that subject to be sure.
Oh, and I tried a Mac, and hated it. I found it to be dumbed-down and terribly counter-intuitive for me. But they are less susceptible to malware.
|
lazarous
Max Output Level: -61 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1461
- Joined: 9/15/2005
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
- Status: offline
RE: ADVICE on laptop selection
December 09, 08 4:05 PM
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: qiitxx
of the mirid of choices youll find that Hp, or Toshiba tablet pc's are the best. Now you can always jump the fence and go with a mac. but you just buying the young image that goes with having a mac...save the monety and get an HP or Tosiba.
While I've definitely heard of people doing just fine with Toshiba and HP, the two WORST experiences I've ever had trying to run DAW software, or even just DJ software, was on one of each. Returned the Toshiba after 10 days, took that money and sent $200 less to Scott at ADK... nary a problem since. The machine ROCKS, and was a better price than a similarly spec'd Toshiba. Jim or Scott can provide you with a cost-effective solution, plus you know for SURE it'll do what you want. Period. Corey
|
jackn2mpu
Max Output Level: -47.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 2765
- Joined: 11/8/2003
- Location: Soprano State
- Status: offline
RE: ADVICE on laptop selection
December 09, 08 4:13 PM
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Michael Five
I'm not an expert, but it seems like if there is anywhere I'd feel like the $ for a pro DAW builder would be easily justified, it would be laptops, expecially if you are aiming to do serious work on it. There's just so much less 'wiggle room' with a laptop - harder to work on, harder to expand, fewer choices for componentry, etc - if I were working on a laptop, I'd really thing about having one built.
If not that, then consider that the major manufacturers - HP, Toshiba, and IBM (lenovo) - all have two lines - one for home users, the other for business/professional use - be sure to get something from the pro line. Dell and Gateway don't sell pro stuff IMO, though there are those who would disagree, especially about dell.
And probably most important given your concerns would be making sure the FW interface on the laptop had a TI chipset - I think that's the kind that people find works best with most stuff, you can review posts on that subject to be sure.
Oh, and I tried a Mac, and hated it. I found it to be dumbed-down and terribly counter-intuitive for me. But they are less susceptible to malware.
You tried a Mac - which version and what was the app? They work gangbusters for Photoshop much better than the pc version. I've not tried music work on one. Some of the Dell stuff is killer - they use it on Atlantis. Actually, I like Dell machines, I just wouldn't use one for music. They make a great machine for the office. Gateway - they used to be a good machine when they first started. Then they got stupid and started using rebuilt/refurbished parts in computers they were selling as new. That in itself isn't so much of a problem as it seems; they just weren't telling their customers about that. That's what the FTC told them when they got caught. You can use used and/or refurbished parts, you just have to tell the buyer. Gateway did just that for a while and then got lazy or stupid (again) and went back to not telling customers about refurbished and/or used parts.
|
...wicked
Max Output Level: -1.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 7360
- Joined: 12/18/2003
- Location: Seattle
- Status: offline
RE: ADVICE on laptop selection
December 09, 08 7:32 PM
(permalink)
+1 MacBook. The $999 12" white one that's still for sale.
I got one, dumped 4GB of mem into it, and BootCamped it. I now run SONAR on the Windows half for all our live audio needs and love it. I don't even need to use my Firebox to get acceptable live latency, but it works with the Firebox just fine.
Of course, I then flip over to the Mac side to do all my non-audio computing needs. Heaven.
And, for just over $1K, which is easily what I think you'd pay for a PC based laptop with 3GB RAM (you know, because WinXP 32 can't deal with 4GB)
=========== The Fog People =========== Intel i7-4790 16GB RAM ASUS Z97 Roland OctaCapture Win10/64 SONAR Platinum 64-bit billions VSTs, some of which work
|