Good laptop for Recording
Fri, 03/02/2012 - 23:31
Hey guys I need your help.
I’m planning to get myself a new laptop so I can do recordings and stuff like that but don’t know which PC to buy. Any suggestions? As for the speck, my buddy told me that I’m gonna need at least 4GB+i5 but what you guys think?
My budget is $500 thanks!
Sun, 05/02/2012 - 15:41
#2
get more than 4GB, RAM is dirt cheap right now (although still a little more expensive in laptops I guess). You can find laptops with 6 or 8 GB for a reasonable price.
Sun, 05/02/2012 - 17:58
#3
these days getting a computer that can record audio can be cheap. the only reason for someone to get an expensive one is if they are running more then 50 tracks at a time. 4GB DDR3 RAM and an i5 you're set. get more then 4 of RAM and i5 then you're laughing.
Sun, 05/02/2012 - 18:26
#4
I'm running an i5 and 8GB RAM and I've never even come close to overloading the memory or encountering a processing error; like Joey said, "4GB DDR3 RAM and an i5 you're set." The one other thing I would recommend would be a large hard drive. The folder on my computer that contains all of my patches, samples, and actual recordings is 78.3 GB and I've only written about 90 minutes worth of music!
Mon, 06/02/2012 - 03:20
#5
With a recording system the two most important things to consider are latency and virtual memory. The i5 is probably more than enough for your needs unless you're going to have tons of tracks (as Joeyshoelace mentioned) or you're running a ton of VSTs. Here are some suggestions:
Hard drive -- Instrument samples and uncompressed audio tracks take up a lot of space, so you want something pretty big. Keep in mind, though, that for most of your "storage" an external hard drive will suffice (especially if you can get an eSATA or USB3.0 drive). For your internal HDD it's better to be fast; at least 7200 RPM with a decent sized cache (around 32MB). A large internal hard drive can also be set up to use a portion of it's storage as "swap," which is kinda-sorta like having additonal RAM.
RAM - at least 4GB, 8GB or more is better. If you can get ECC memory (probably harder in a laptop), then I'd recommend that.
This is a harder thing to look for, but you also want a laptop that's well-grounded. This eliminates noise/hum/whatever from recordings. I know that the unibody MacBook Pros are great in that respect.
Also, people are probably going to disagree with me on this but I HIGHLY recommend using either OSX or Linux as your operating system. Windows' handling of virtual memory is *pathetic* which is a very real problem for real-time audio editing. OSX is obviously the easier choice since many industry-standard softwares are officially supported for Mac, but Mac hardware is ridiculously overpriced.
<snarf>I personally use Linux as my production platform. There's a lot of fantastic audio software available for free (legally!) so you obviously save a lot of money. Ubuntu Studio is a great recording distro, Ardour is a solid free DAW compatible with Windows VSTs, and GuitarPro 6 now runs natively in Linux.</snarf>
Mon, 06/02/2012 - 05:04
#6
Also recommend an external hard-drive just for music purposes, just in case something happens
Mon, 06/02/2012 - 05:17
#7
I had no idea how cheap it was!
I'm going to be making an upgrade soon.
Sat, 11/02/2012 - 11:56
#8
thanks a lot guys!! I'm assuming most of you guys are using windows?? I've done hell of research and tried to figure out difference between mac and windows and I came to the conclusion that there ain't no difference but just the price. so I better get windows right??
Sat, 11/02/2012 - 13:04
#9
Just build one honestly, if you have any knowledge on assembling your own. You'd save a lot of money also, unless your one of those guys thinking they are the S*IT with an Apple behind their screen
Sat, 11/02/2012 - 18:17
#10
Money is the difference between Mac and Windows really, there is some small things that I prefure on both but the big one is how expensive it is to get a good recording Mac as opposed to a cheap PC with the same specs.
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No "brand" preference. But yes at least 4 gigs of RAM and have a good sized hardrive as well. Most recording programs are quite large and require alot of CPU.