PC Laptop...

[Roger Starr]

I'm thinking of getting myself a PC laptop. I have already a nice PC DAW, but just want some extra mobile possibilities. I would like to go for a Sony, Toshiba, Dell or Asus and was wondering what machine is adviced? I don't mind having a big screen etc., since it is extra and I was thinking of spending 1000 to 1500 or so...

Regards,

Roger

[Prahlad]

Hi Roger

I bought an Asus A3G series laptop about 2 yrs ago and i can only say im totally happy with it. its a good deal faster than a PIV 3.0 (its a centrino 1.7) and i got a 7200 rpm HD and 2 gb of RAM....only reason i could think of needing a desktop is to run UAD cards, but there seems to be something new on the horizon there. Be warned though that this model uses a RICOH cardbus controller which is NOT recomended for Magma chassis.
Make sure you really check out compatibility lists and forums considering what hardware you have or plan to buy in the next 2 years as ure stuck with what u get and if its incompatible well then thats it...Toshiba are good and so are Dell, heard bad stories about Vaios but within each range there are models that work and dont. For me a 15" screen with 1400X1050 res has been just perfect, more would be a strain, and the asus TFT is very clear and high quality...
If you figure out all the details with compatibility I very much recomend ASUS.....very very fast and stable, i can work on 95% load at 100 ms latency with the emu and the track keeps on rolling...The A3G model is awesome....and should be cheap by now, and its plenty fast to do anything u need on.

Good luck!

[Roger Starr]

Thanx Prahlad,

I will check out the Asus as well a Toshiba and a HP and then make a choice. Concerning the compatability I don't know. I have a Motu828 MKII linked to the computer and some keyboards and modules, that's it. With each of the current Asus, Toshiba and HP models this should be OK for the future isn't?

Regards,

Roger

[manning1]

starr..
search under my name for back posts on laptops lots of info.
saves me retyping.
my advice..dont buy any laptop till you run a test with the motu attached.
lots of people do it the other way round . ie,......get laptop then find out problems.
if were me i would look at the intel core duo's and see if you can get an internal hard drive upgrade to 7200 rpm and also use an external fast hd with 8mb cache and 7200 rpm for tracking to. some powertracks users also like the amd turion
based laptops.

[Reptil]

yes check with the interface and software.
which brand?
A friend of mine bought a sony vaio
it was even cheaper than a dell with the same specs.
impressive machine. beautiful sceen.

( or you could buy an apple and run windoos on it
sorry couldn't help myself saying that)

[mosrite]

There are so many things that affect stability within a PC system that lots of people tend to overlook (e.g chipsets, the relationship between chipsets, drivers and their relationship to chipsets, RAM brands, mobo quality etc etc). This is why for a truly stable system you have to spend more for what, on paper, seems like the same spec. In my experience nothing has given me the stability of IBM thinkpads. Mates have skimped in the past on laptops opting for Acer and similar but have always regretted it. IBM laptops also come with some pretty clever and useful technology built into them as standard. Check them out but they do tend to be pricier (for a reason).

[Reptil]

mm yes forgot about that one. thinkpads are the bizz
I thought they stopped making them. am I wrong?

[Roger Starr]

I have SX3.1 and some extra stuff. I will use the laptop besides my PC, traveling etc. 7200rpm I know, but I think I'll go for the 5400rpm because of the price difference and because I think it will handle enough, or isn't? IBM thinkpads I didn't check, I will check out. So far my interest went on the Toshiba's Satelites Pro, the HD and Asus stuff. Dual core I think with 2GhzRam...

Roger

[mosrite]

mm yes forgot about that one. thinkpads are the bizz
I thought they stopped making them. am I wrong?

They are now called Lenova I think. They are still the same company though making the same products. Chk out this link:

http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/st...goryId=2035724

So far my interest went on the Toshiba's Satelites Pro, the HD and Asus stuff. Dual core I think with 2GhzRam...

Toshiba laptops were always great in the past but they have changed a lot recently. A lot of their components are now out sourced and quality has suffered.

Asus are pretty good in my experience. They come from a component background and know how to make things work.

[Reptil]

Originally Posted by Roger Starr

I have SX3.1 and some extra stuff. I will use the laptop besides my PC, traveling etc. 7200rpm I know, but I think I'll go for the 5400rpm because of the price difference and because I think it will handle enough, or isn't? IBM thinkpads I didn't check, I will check out. So far my interest went on the Toshiba's Satelites Pro, the HD and Asus stuff. Dual core I think with 2GhzRam...

Roger

IMHO for audio you need the fastest harddisk you can get your paws on.
some pretty amazing stuff around the corner --- imagine in a year from now a machine without a harddisk, instead flashram!
It depends, but in my world a fast harddisk-system bus is the bottleneck.

do you do a lot of recording? multi track? or mostly softsynths? then you need CPU.

I'm facing the same choice. but a laptop is different from a desktop. IMO a laptop needs to be really balanced from the start. you can't just swap things, like in a pc desktop. Been kindof busy the last half year, but if you're in the neighbourhood, the invitation to pass by still stands. (of course) good luck with the choice.