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HELP! Fried on notebook shopping!

post #1 of 18
10/7/03 at 7:17pm
Thread Starter 
Well. I am very much on the verge (I think) of purchasing a laptop and these forums have been very helpful. My main criteria is that I want to use it as a mobile music studio (daw) and wanted a 17" screen as screen real estate is much valued for those apps. with that restriction off the bat I have only found the HP (no thanks) the Toshiba (hmmm) and the Sager. Correct me if I'm wrong PLEASE and let me know of any other PC-based 17" laptops.

The 2nd most important thing to me was a 7200 rpm hdd. I've been told that for sample based production, the highest speed is best to quickly access and playback samples--as well as for realtime audio recording. After scouring Toshiba's specs, I don't think I could order their satellite p15 with anything faster than a 5400 rpm. this all narrows things down to, obviously, the sager 4760. I've been scouring the tech forum for the 4000 series and the notes about clicking and popping from the speakers doesn't thrill me as a music producer, but that and screen problems seem to be the main complaints...is there any system out there I am missing before I take a plunge on a relatively unknown brand? (fwiw, on a software forum I frequent, Sager took a hard hit on reliability when I asked about it...) ANY FEEDBACK WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!

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post #2 of 18
10/7/03 at 7:21pm
If you are planning on using programs like Cubase or FruityLoops Studio then a 7200 rpm hard drive is pretty important. On slower hard drives there can be a delay in the audio (the processor speed also plays an important part in sampling).

You might also consider the Dell Inspiron. I'm not sure about the screen size (though there is at least one model of the Inspiron that is widescreen), but it does have the option for a 7200 rpm 60GB hard drive.
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post #3 of 18
10/7/03 at 10:09pm
Yoi may want to check out this topic.And as far as laptop harddrives go...lets just say they are the simpleist thing in the world to upgrade.
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post #4 of 18
10/7/03 at 10:21pm
Anyone concerned about audio quality will get an external soundcard...Audigy NX looks like a nice place to start...

Or get an Apple...I havent heard too many complaints about their sound quality...

Or get the Sager and the Audigy NX all for a lot less $$ than the apple and with a lot more crunching power, bigger faster HDD etc....
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post #5 of 18
10/8/03 at 12:02am
Quote:
Originally posted by gsferrari
Anyone concerned about audio quality will get an external soundcard
Personally I prefer PCMCIA solutions.Less to carry around, and generally lower power consumption.Altho if you have a noisy laptop, or are lacking portable soundproofing an external solution may be best for recording.
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post #6 of 18
10/8/03 at 12:32am
Yah, Alt's got it right with the PCMCIA solutions from Indigo. Also remember the Indigo cards are the low end of the range available. Some of the very best audio systems are PCMCIA based due to the high bandwidth it offers.

As for SAGER being an "unknown" brand, SAGER has been around for over 15 years. I've been buying them since I bought my first laptop (after 6 months of intense research) in 1994. They've been in Computer Shopper since before then. I've had 6 so far and have been very satisfied with the reliability of the machines.

The one big reason SAGERs are not frequently on the paid reviewers lists is they don't pay for reviews, prefering to pass the savings on to their clientele.

So it boils down to do you want the best machine available at a good price or don't you?
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post #7 of 18
10/8/03 at 1:35pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the Sager endorsement. I was unaware of their history. My comment was directed at the fact that they are not represented in retail (are they?) and of course aren't mass marketed like the other sheeptops, I mean laptops. And thanks for the other replies. Yes, I am considering my external sound solutions, most notably USB. I'm looking at the M-audio's Mobile pre or Ozone, the edirol external USB (forget the #) and of course anything else you guys may suggest. I want to be able to bring in audio and I wasn't finding the kind of flexibility in the pcmcia cards I need (ie phantom powered inputs, midi and such). The Ozone is an all-in-one solution including a keyboard which would be nice, but adds quite a bit to the load. Also, had some folks feedback on it that was not favorable. FWIW, my primary software is FLS. more feedback is WELCOME!
thx!

(btw--I said I shopped it to death and I have--no one can touch Sager's prices on equal configs!)
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post #8 of 18
10/8/03 at 2:39pm
I wish Sun or SGI made a notebook..UltraSparc processor driven lappy..oh baby
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post #9 of 18
10/8/03 at 5:21pm

Re: HELP! Fried on notebook shopping!

Quote:
Originally posted by pras
I've been scouring the tech forum for the 4000 series and the notes about clicking and popping from the speakers doesn't thrill me as a music producer, but that and screen problems seem to be the main complaints...is there any system out there I am missing before I take a plunge on a relatively unknown brand? (fwiw, on a software forum I frequent, Sager took a hard hit on reliability when I asked about it...) ANY FEEDBACK WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!
In my experience with Sagers I've never really noticed any serious problems with any of the speakers on the Sager. They are all more then sufficient. The 4760 (soon to be 4780) definitely has the best speakers I've ever heard on a laptop. Definitely blows my Dell away in quality from the speakers.
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post #10 of 18
10/8/03 at 6:53pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Re: HELP! Fried on notebook shopping!

Quote:
[i]. The 4760 (soon to be 4780) . [/b]
what will the diff be?? should I wait? (or will I get a better deal on the 4760??)
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post #11 of 18
10/9/03 at 12:47am

Re: Re: Re: HELP! Fried on notebook shopping!

Quote:
Originally posted by pras
what will the diff be?? should I wait? (or will I get a better deal on the 4760??)
Differences are really the processor (800fsb) memory, and the video card.

As it stands, the 4760 is a powerful laptop, but if you got a few weeks to spare you might as well wait for the new model.
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post #12 of 18
10/9/03 at 1:29pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Re: Re: Re: HELP! Fried on notebook shopping!

Quote:
Originally posted by ciro
Differences are really the processor (800fsb) memory, and the video card.

As it stands, the 4760 is a powerful laptop, but if you got a few weeks to spare you might as well wait for the new model.
pardon this pc-illiterate, but what does the 800fsb processor mean to me? (I understand the video card has more dedicated memory, right?) Thanks!
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post #13 of 18
10/9/03 at 1:35pm
actually a 7200 rpm and 5400 rpm ou will not notice the difference
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post #14 of 18
10/9/03 at 2:08pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: HELP! Fried on notebook shopping!

Quote:
Originally posted by pras
pardon this pc-illiterate, but what does the 800fsb processor mean to me? (I understand the video card has more dedicated memory, right?) Thanks!
Love to really answer this question but still kinda feeling sick from last night so...

This site has some information comparing both the 533 and 800.

or

Try this site, with a review of the new 800fsb processors.

Basically, all of the new 800fsb processors have HT (which is good). The new board also supports faster memory which the new higher FSB can support nicely.

Sorry I can't provide a better answer at this time, but if anyone else wants to help explain it, that would be grand.
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post #15 of 18
10/9/03 at 3:35pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: HELP! Fried on notebook shopping!

Quote:
Originally posted by pras
pardon this pc-illiterate, but what does the 800fsb processor mean to me? (I understand the video card has more dedicated memory, right?) Thanks!
Unlike what some companies would like you to think, there is MUCH more to vid cards than sheer memory size. The graphics in the 4680 (and currect 5680s and 8890s) are based on ATI's latest desktop chips, and are much faster than the graphics featured in the 4670..
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post #16 of 18
10/10/03 at 8:50am
Quote:
Originally posted by Microsoft
actually a 7200 rpm and 5400 rpm ou will not notice the difference
Speaking as someone who does a fair amount of work with floops and sampling, I have to disagree with this. I've found that having a 7200 rpm hard drive makes a difference in the quality of the recordings and reduces the delay that often occurs on slower hard drives.
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post #17 of 18
10/10/03 at 11:52am
Thread Starter 
Thanks Fresh--from a fellow flooper I'll take your word. I've been told several times now that 7200 will make a diff streaming larger wavs compared to 5400, so that's a must. seems most of the big guys don't put in 7200 drives. Sager's one of the few with that option... btw, do you ever pass thru the FL forums?
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post #18 of 18
10/13/03 at 9:57pm
I haven't been to their forums. For music related stuff, I read the boards at futureproducers.com, they have some good info on there -- not just for fruityloops, they have information on a lot of hardware and software for music production.
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