Laptop for DAW

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jimmy77611
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2009/04/06 20:58:34 (permalink)

Laptop for DAW

I'm looking at getting a laptop to run Sonar PE8. I know I need a 7200 RPM HD for data. I plan on using an external HD for audio, possibly through a eSATA port or USB. Do both HD's need to be 7200 rpm, or is it OK to use a 5400 for the system, and a 7200 external for my audio data?
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    gswitz
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    RE: Laptop for DAW 2009/04/06 23:39:10 (permalink)
    It depends on what you are going to be doing... Faster is better...
    Many use one drive for OS program files and one for writing of wav files. In this case, two speedy drives helps...

    Notice this post that may help you get a little more out of your drives...
    http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.asp?m=1684291

    I use a x64 Vista laptop, and it is sufficient for me (and so wonderfully portable!). Mine has 2 7200 150 Gig drives. I have 4 Gig of Ram and a T9600 2.8 Ghz Intel Core2 Duo. I have a GeForce 9600 video card... I didn't get the fastest one available, and I wish I had... The video is fun.

    :)

    Geoff

    post edited by gswitz - 2009/04/06 23:48:41
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    Jim Roseberry
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    RE: Laptop for DAW 2009/04/07 01:22:13 (permalink)
    First, Make sure you do a lot of research before you purchase the laptop.
    Most laptops (including many custom builds) don't make a good DAW.
    For maximum performance, you definitely want to record to an external HD via eSATA.
    Custom assemble the HD using a perpendicular-II HD in a nice external enclosure.
    That'll net you well over 100MB/Sec sustained.
    By comparison, the same exact HD connected via USB will top out at ~30MB/Sec... and use more CPU.

    Best Regards,

    Jim Roseberry
    jim@studiocat.com
    www.studiocat.com
    #3
    jcschild
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    RE: Laptop for DAW 2009/04/07 13:12:20 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: jimmy77611

    I'm looking at getting a laptop to run Sonar PE8. I know I need a 7200 RPM HD for data. I plan on using an external HD for audio, possibly through a eSATA port or USB. Do both HD's need to be 7200 rpm, or is it OK to use a 5400 for the system, and a 7200 external for my audio data?



    google "pro audio lapops"

    Scott
    ADK
    Home of the Kentucky Fried DAW!
    #4
    MiWi
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    RE: Laptop for DAW 2009/04/16 23:35:24 (permalink)
    I thought I'd piggy back on this thread since it follows my questions exactly.

    My wife wants a large laptop because she needs a larger screen. Because I'm the one who uses the performance, I get to give her my old laptop (17" HP with dual core, 8GB, Vista64, dual HD) and upgrade to even better :-)

    So, I'm eyeing this: HP HDX18 This is really the follow on product from the laptop I'm giving my wife - slightly bigger, slightly better resolution, and available quad core.

    I'll be going with dual 320GB 7200 RPM HDs, 6GB DDR3 memory, Vista 64, etc.

    The main question: Should I get a 2.00 GHz quad core, or a 2.8 GHz dual core?

    This will be a secondary DAW, photo editing, and email/web browsing machine. My main DAW is a fairly beefy desktop, again with Vista 64.


    Mike

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