Old 03-16-2009, 12:55 PM   #1
thelombardsrock
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Default Laptop Advice

Hi - want to buy a laptop to run reaper and do some recording. What do people recommend in terms of spec. I have about $500. I want to record live guitar, bass and drums and it needs to be portable - hence the laptop. I currwently use a lightsnake usb connector for the guitars and have a blueicilcle for vocals. SHould i jib them for a firewire connection or what.

ANy advice, no matter how basic would be gladdy taken as I'm quite a newbie.

PS do laptops have seperate or integrated soundcards? Can you connect external soundcards? I am such a novice I know


Mnay t5hanks JIMMY Lombard
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Old 03-16-2009, 01:20 PM   #2
TimOBrien
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Mmmmm... a $500 laptop is like trying to find a $200 desktop. You're not going to get much in the way of quality; I'd advise that you save your pennies and get something that you WONT want to be throwing out the window every time you try to record.

All laptop soundcards are integrated with 40cents worth of chips; you WILL always need to get an external.
Here's a good guide and tested suggestions: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards...ome_studio.htm

Big Hint: ALWAYS get more i/o than you THINK you'll ever need. Drums, a couple of guitars a keyboard and vocals and you better be looking at 8, 16 or more channels....

You'll need to get an external drive to record to.
Internal laptop drives are slow (5400rpm usually) and ALL recording computers - laptop or desktop - should be working on a secondary drive so the OS and application housekeeping doesn't interrupt the data flow.
You'll need to think of a USB2 or firewire drive.

Max out the RAM. Ram is TOO cheap these days not to max out and the computer will run better.

Don't buy any laptop that doesn't have TexasInstruments firewire chips - even if you don't use Firewire YET. It's a much more robust channel than USB2, which chokes after a handfull of i/o and is designed to work in BURST mode, not the full continuous data streaming we need and puts a bigger strain on the cpu. Firewire can handle over 100 simultaneous i/o's and goes directly from device-to-device without hitting the cpu.

--------------------------------------------------

I've been running a Gateway 2.8Ghz P4 single-core laptop (with built-in TI chipset) to a Motu828mkII daisy-chained to a dead-silent Glyph firewire drive for several years with >>ZERO PROBLEMS<<. I also have a Seagate USB2 drive for my sample libraries and video editing.

Last edited by TimOBrien; 03-16-2009 at 01:35 PM.
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Old 03-16-2009, 01:42 PM   #3
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500 buck for a laptop AND interface? New? Can't see how or where.

Took me over 6 months finding a laptop compatible with current interface, bought 4 and returned 3(new laptop are absolutely terrible), and what I ended up with cost me more than 500 buck.

You might have better luck finding a used P4 based laptop for cheap, those definitely work better than the current crop of crap, and have enough money left over for a decent audio interface.
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Old 03-16-2009, 01:47 PM   #4
thelombardsrock
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hmm been a bit cheap i think with the spec seen one with 4gb ram and 2mhz processor for £350. Its recondidtioned what else whould i get?
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Old 03-16-2009, 01:53 PM   #5
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Here is some stuff I posted in another thread:

Quote:
Three rules for prospective laptop buyers:

1. DO NOT BUY A RECORDING LAPTOP WITHOUT A RETURN POLICY AND TEST THE HELL OUT OF IT IMMEDIATELY. This cannot be over-stated. Do not rely on research or recommendations. Do not rely on buying a dedicated audio computer, because some of them still use Ricoh chipsets (bastards).

2. Two identically-configured consumer laptops with the same model number from the manufacturer cannot be counted on to be the same for audio. Consumer computers (i.e. the kind you get from Dell or HP's home and home office storefront) are made with generic specs and use whatever card readers, DVD drives, USB controllers, hard drives etc were cheapest on the day they built your computer. They are not thoroughly tested and may have numerous DPC latency problems that render them unusable for realtime audio. And unlike a desktop, a laptop is basically impossible to modify. So do not rely on recommendations, rely on a return policy, period. (The more expensive business-class computers are built more or less identically, and tested more thoroughly, so that a large corporation can use a single restore image for every computer. But they are not necessarily any better for audio).

3. Vista is teh suck for audio work. A brand-new Vista laptop with core2duo 8400 and 4 gigs of ram ran more sluggish than my old P4 1Gig laptop that has two years of websurfing and junkware, no joke. If you already have a Vista computer that works, congrats, if not, stay away. And see #2 above before you plan on buying a vista box and then installing XP-- it doesn't always work, even if the internet said it would.
From this thread: http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=31461

Sadly there is just no way to know in advance whether a consumer laptop will be any good for audio. The nitty-gritty, low-level DPC issues that make one computer good or bad for audio work are exacerbated on a laptop with even tighter IRQ, power, and bus-sharing requirements. So only buy with a return policy.

And BTW, older slower-spec PCs can work just fine for audio as long as you don't expect too much in the way of effects and virtual instrument processing power. An old P4 or Athlon 64 with a respectable-speed hard disk can run 100+ tracks of 44.1/24 bit audio without breaking a sweat. It's plugins that can start to become really demanding, especially the sophisticated late-model analog modelling ones and so on.

BUT... DPC and low-latency performance still matter a lot. And there are no specs for those things, you just have to try it and see (either that or shell out for a more expensive DAW or business-class computer).
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Old 03-16-2009, 02:18 PM   #6
iancanderson
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Default HP laptop for under $500

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/1875...fter-70-Rebate
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Old 03-16-2009, 02:23 PM   #7
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Default laptop

My laptop: dell latitude d630. With 7200 rpm disk drive - sata. 2 gig of RAM. Excellent. Can now buy refurbished on ebay about £400.00, some even less.

External audio interface using usb - Edirol ua-25.

----------

www.soundclick.com/vejayjay
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Old 03-16-2009, 02:29 PM   #8
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I went to Wal mart on the spur of the moment, and bought a Dell Inspiron 1501. That was about a year and a half ago. I don't remember what it cost.....seems like it was between $650 and $800....it has 2 gigs of RAM and 160 gigs of storage......and.....I've had no problems related to recording from it. I usually wind up with around a dozen tracks a song or less.

I just have a M Audio Fast Track for an interface...which cost me about $80.
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Old 03-17-2009, 09:47 AM   #9
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If you intend to record drums you probably will need to record more than 2 tracks at a time (you'll prob. want at least 3 tracks - snare, bass and at least one overhead) So you've just left the less expensive realm of interfaces. The Edirol ua-25 is a great 2 channel usb interface. You can get them used for just over $100 if you look hard. $150 the most. But for more channels you're going to need to spend some more cash.
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Old 03-17-2009, 11:51 AM   #10
thelombardsrock
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thanks everyone that was a big help. Looking at recon one's at pc world and i think i can get what i need. WIsh i'd carrie don smoking nowlol.

WOuld people recommend an m audio interface or the other one menttioned heer over that usb lightsnake or the blue icicle usb mic convertor?
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Old 03-17-2009, 12:23 PM   #11
Lawrence
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You can get a decent brand new AMD audio laptop for about $6-700. They cost a bit more with Intel chips. I wouldn't (and didn't) buy a multimedia laptop that didn't have the capability to install a second drive for media and that didn't have a ton of ports, VGA, SVideo, 1394 etc, etc, etc. Don't expect to run tons of realtime plugins at that price, although when mixing at higher latencies it should perform quite well.

$500 total for a laptop and an interface is not going to get much.

Anyway, I've very happy with my HP Pavilion Multimedia (9700 series) laptop. It's similar to this model... http://www.techforless.com/cgi-bin/t...20090317124145

You can get a refurbished one for a little over $500.

As to audio cards... the MOTU Ultralight is a great match for a notebook studio setup.

http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/ultralite-mk3

Last edited by Lawrence; 03-17-2009 at 12:28 PM.
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Old 03-18-2009, 02:23 AM   #12
battla
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Default some options...

hi lombard,

here's what i'd suggest...

interface

http://www.thenerds.net/CREATIVE_LAB...REATIVE%20LABS
the most recent edirol usb 2.0 interfaces are also a decent low cost option
if you're a guitarist you might bite the bullet and consider a gizmo from the corporate pigs at line 6. i hate them, but i can't deny that some of their current toneport/podfarm offerings are a good value.

latop

i think you should consider a used laptop if you want to get a reasonably capable interface/notebook combo for $500ish. i'd check craigslist for a late model notebook with an amd64 x2 or intel core2duo (pre centrino 2, santa rosa refresh platform). ram can be upgraded cheaply as needed and you should be able to find something to get you started with that generation processor in the $350 range.

also, i'd check out dux's nlited xp image. it'll help you get the most out of your rig with the least headache. three cheers for dux!!!

good luck
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Old 03-18-2009, 02:03 PM   #13
thelombardsrock
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if you're a guitarist you might bite the bullet and consider a gizmo from the corporate pigs at line 6. i hate them,

whats up with line 6 dude? I have a spider 3 or something and it's the best amp i've ever had. .

Thanks for the advice. its really useful. If i go a few more months without smoking i can afford a better pc.
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Old 03-18-2009, 04:38 PM   #14
hux
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Listen to yep. He's plenty smart. and then:

I have an older machine, it's a Dell latitude D820, in combo with a UX2 from Line 6, and I couldn't be happier. I'm good to about 25 tracks at 44.1/24bit. recording single stereo tracks.
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