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Advice on laptop for audio

post #1 of 15
3/9/05 at 10:50am
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I want to buy a laptop that I can use for doing audio work.

I've looked around but can't find one that will meet my needs - they all seem to have at least one factor that doesn't match what I'm looking for.

I want to be able to run cubase sx with as many virtual instruments and effects plugins as possible, and loading lots of samples into RAM. This means I want to find a laptop with as high speed a processor as possible, and 1GB of RAM, again as fast as pos.
Since I will need to be able to record audio to disk whilst also playing back samples from disk I will need a high capacity 7200 rpm hard drive, preferably 80GB, or at least 60GB. I'll need a firewire port to connect my sound card, and at least 3 USB2 ports to connect mouse, external hard drive and midi keyboard. Monitor needs to be at least 15 inch.
I'm also going to be using the laptop to play live gigs with ableton live so it needs to be fairly sturdy.

Here;s the catch - I don't want to pay more than £1250 (equivalent to $2400)

in summary

processor at least 3GHz
RAM 1GB 400mhz ddr
60+ Hard Drive (7200rpm)
1x firewire
3x USB 2
under £1250

Does anyone have any ideas of a suitable machine they could recommend that fits these requirements? Or if there is one that is suitable but too expensive let me know and I'll rethink my budget.

thanks in advance,

Alex
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post #2 of 15
3/9/05 at 11:17am
Acer ferarri, i think you can get the A64 2800 cpu in that one, and then upgrade the ram to 512
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post #3 of 15
3/9/05 at 12:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pr50wner
Acer ferarri, i think you can get the A64 2800 cpu in that one, and then upgrade the ram to 512
ok,
A64 2800 cpu would probably be ok, but I reckon I need 1024 MB RAM, not 512, cheers.

Any other options?

Alex
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post #4 of 15
3/9/05 at 6:34pm

dell inspiron 9300

I just purchased a Dell Inspiron 9300 for audio. 2ghz, 2gb ram, 60gb 7200rpm, WUXGA, 256mb video for under $2400.

I've read in the kvr forums (http://www.kvraudio.com/) that the Pentium M is a great chip for doing audio.

I currently have an Inspiron 9200, and I had a hard time getting my Edirol FA101 Firewire interface going. I had to resort to setting the laptop as a "Standard PC" (I don't know if you know what I'm talking about now...), but it works! It is very smooth...

You can have the fastest laptop on the planet, but if you can't get the audio card to have its proper priority within the computer, you're going to be in trouble. I would make sure you can return the computer if you encounter problems.
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post #5 of 15
3/10/05 at 4:22am
There aren't too many (if any) actually released yet, but I think a Sonoma-based system (compare Pentium M with high-end Pentium 4 for processor speed) with Intel's new Azalia interface should do the trick. I pre-ordered the Asus Z71v, which has Azalia and will be released in a week or so in the US. I don't know when it will be released in Britain. Otherwise, you could just buy a PCMIA or USB sound card.
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post #6 of 15
3/10/05 at 5:03am
You might also consider buying some high-quality headphones. Bose is a good example.
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post #7 of 15
3/10/05 at 5:37am
Bose are awful. He's probably got good headphones already, but Sennheiser are a safe bet.

Check out www.headfi.com.

As for the laptop, none of them have great sound cards. You may want to check out a PCMCIA card like the new Soundblaster or Echo Indigo. The rest of your specs shouldn't too hard.

Steve
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post #8 of 15
3/10/05 at 6:05am
Hehe. I use my headphones usually to kill noise. http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=29191

I've also got a pair of acoustic noise-canceling headphones. I don't use my headphones the same way most people probably do, as I've got some good speakers. ^^;

Also, my ears are actually overly-sensitive, so after reading the reviews on Bose, I understand why they work so well for me. (My ears are extremely sensitive to high-frequencies, and being that Bose's headphones actually cut out a lot of high frequencies, or rather, I should say color them, it gives me a more balanced listening sound. This is actually something fundamental that most self-proclaimed audiophiles aren't aware of. Everyone, to some degree, loses certain frequencies, simply because their eardrums don't interpret them. For some it's a balanced mix of high to low frequencies, and for others it's a specific frequency range.)

Also, according to the reviews there, the Bose aren't the best, but they're not terrible either. In fact according to the review I linked to, they actually get better with burn-in. (Of course, many just hate Bose because they overprice their products, but it'd be nice if they'd just say so instead of calling the product crap.)
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post #9 of 15
3/10/05 at 6:58am
I would not recomend getting a P4 based notebook as the fans are usually very loud. Cubase sx3 allready has a 64bit version out which according to Steinberg gives big gains in performance (have not seen any reviews out yet).

I would say either get a pentium -m 1.8ghz or 2.0ghz, or then an A64. The problem with A64's is that alot of the smaller manufacturers (like my previous Targa) did not have good ACPI implementations, and did'nt give as good performance as the potential would have been.

Fujitsu and Acer have some A64's out which should be good, also the Turions are coming out at the end of the month and they will run cooler then most of the current offering.

I don't know how up to date this page is, but RME has made tests with quite a few notebooks in audio use. RME makes just about the best soundcards there is, and if you find a model they like that fit's your need you can be sure you won't have problems.

http://www.rme-audio.de/english/tech...p_notetabe.htm

Again I don't know if those are really old, as I noticed that atleast one of them had the bx chipset... (a few years old)
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post #10 of 15
3/10/05 at 7:11am
I'd also make sure you know what the maximum output is for your laptop... I've had a few friends get stuck with laptops that had wattages they couldn't use for their purposes.

It'd be helpful if you gave us an idea of
a) how much output you want and
b) how much compromise you're willing to make on your demands

2400 dollars for everything you're asking for is a bit hefty. I'll see what I can cook up though.

Also note that an AMD 3700 is about the equivalent of a 3GHZ (Intel) processor in terms of content creation and multi-tasking.

The 2nd one from the right about covers your needs. (I guess the graphics card is just a bonus)

http://www.alienware.com/Product_Pag...ll_gaming.aspx

I'm not sure if it has Firewire, you may want to call and ask them. If they don't, I'm still looking to see if there's anything similar to this, so if I find a better deal, I'll let you know.

http://www.pro-star.com/index.cfm?ma...ail&model=4764

The above satisifies all your criterion, and is cheaper than Alienware's.

http://www.pro-star.com/index.cfm?mainpage=product

Actually, just look at these. There're lots that fit what you want, and you can even add stuff on.
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post #11 of 15
3/10/05 at 7:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Talbain

Also note that an AMD 3700 is about the equivalent of a 3GHZ (Intel) processor in terms of content creation and multi-tasking.
He mentioned Cubase, where AMD A64's more then live up to there pr-rating, and pentium -m processors also seem to do very well.
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post #12 of 15
3/10/05 at 7:43am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Talbain
http://www.pro-star.com/index.cfm?mainpage=product

Actually, just look at these. There're lots that fit what you want, and you can even add stuff on.
hey, that looks spot on, thanks!

thats wicked that you can pick your own components
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post #13 of 15
3/10/05 at 8:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex00
ok,
A64 2800 cpu would probably be ok, but I reckon I need 1024 MB RAM, not 512, cheers.

Any other options?

Alex
oops mistyped, it comes with 512, i ment ADD another 512 to make 1gb, 1gb should be min on all laptops

and no bose is not good, they actually are the biggest rip off ive ever seen and people for some reason buy them blinded by their brainwashing ads. alot of their home theatre speakers are using drives with paper cones, how is that quality? that would sound like sh*t. i have heard alot of bose products esp. the ones in cars pretending to be the upgraded audio package. they sound absolutly HORRIBLE. alot of corvette owners would say the same. the one in the mazda6 is just a joke. if i had to buy that car the first thing i would do is rip out the speakers and throw them off a cliff
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post #14 of 15
3/10/05 at 8:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dropadrop
He mentioned Cubase, where AMD A64's more then live up to there pr-rating, and pentium -m processors also seem to do very well.
Ah, right you are. Sorry, I'm new to the whole "1337" computer thing. You'll excuse my ignorance I hope. ^^;
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post #15 of 15
3/10/05 at 2:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Talbain
Ah, right you are. Sorry, I'm new to the whole "1337" computer thing. You'll excuse my ignorance I hope. ^^;
For laptop based audio work, any mid-high end laptop should fit your needs. The USB ports can be increased using a PCMCIA solution. For outboard audio, I would recommend an M-Audio solution such as either the USB or Firewire Audiophile or something even more professional. This will give you a much cleaner signal to work with especially with headphones (Use the AC Adapter to lower the noise-floor and increase signal quality).

For pro-audio, get a pair of pro-audio headphones. Sennheiser 6xx series or Stax are some of the best you can get. I'm not sure what your budget is, but check out head-fi.org for recommendations. Personally, I use a Sennheiser 580 with Cardas Cable Upgrade and a Grado SR-60 for audio.

Hope this helps.
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