Old 09-02-2009, 08:42 PM   #1
jonty
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Default Best Laptop for Reaper?

Hi,

I'm just now finding out about Reaper and thinking of moving over from an old (about 5 yrs old) Pro Tools HD3 system.

So I'm thinking of starting fresh with a new machine... Any ideas what's the best laptop/notebook currently available for Reaper? I see a few machines with Intel Core 2 Quad processor (is that the fastest?) - Does Reaper actually use all the processing power from these new processors?

Could I run say 24 tracks with maybe one plugin per track (mostly delays) and have mix down automation...?

Another question: Is there any way to import Pro Tools sessions? Or do I have to export .wav files and import them into Reaper?

Many Thanks!
Jonty
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Old 09-02-2009, 10:06 PM   #2
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I have a old hyper threaded Pentium 4 2.8ghz.(Basically a single core that shows up as two)It can handle 24 tracks just fine all with some sort of fx. Although it really depends on the fx you'll be using. Some are really hungry. If you get a quad core laptop I will be jealous. Anyways dual or quad should do what you need.
Core i7 processors are on top of the heap right now, not sure if they come in laptops yet.
Protools I believe needs to be exported.
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Old 09-02-2009, 10:07 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jonty View Post
Any ideas what's the best laptop/notebook currently available for Reaper?
This question has been asked and answered (and debated) over and over on this forum, just search...

My advice is to stay away from new Dell laptops if you want to use the laptop for other stuff than just DAWing. To make my Dell Vostro 1510 useful as a DAW I have to disable the battery controller and the wireless. It works, 24 tracks with loads of FX is no problem, but it's dedicated to DAW work, so I would probably have been much better (and cheaper!) off with buying a stationary.
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Old 09-02-2009, 10:32 PM   #4
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I don't understand why a Dell shouldn't be a good option? This sounds more like a very special problem that you have with your special model. Dell's are one of the best laptops aviable. Of course, they are not inexpensive and you get faster one's for less money.

But i woulnt give to much on performance only, Jonty.

A Quad-core in a laptop is imho no good idea. Yea, they are fast, but they also are expensive and getting hot. Means: Loud. And you never need this CPU-Performance for the purposes you describred.

i'm sure, my subnotebook does what you want to do easily. I could check that if you like. Its 2x 1.76 Ghz with 3 GB Ram. My Dual-Core PC (2x3.6) does like 24-32 tracks with 30-50 FX and some not easy ones on like 15-25% CPU.

So believe me, its not much the CPU that counts. I would really look more fore a more silent system, if you buy a laptop a portable and reliable one. And i would strongly recommend you to buy a laptop with Win7 64bit installed. This OS is just MUCH more stable than any other Windows. And the HDD makes for Recording (especially multitrack) maybe a bigger difference than CPU.

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Old 09-02-2009, 11:33 PM   #5
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I don't understand why a Dell shouldn't be a good option? This sounds more like a very special problem that you have with your special model.
It is a well known problem with new Dell laptops. Read Steindorks post here http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=28626. Basically there's a design flaw known by Dell and something Dell explicitly will not change. Dell is not aiming for the DAW market. That Dell make laptops that are well suited for their intended consumer market is one thing, that their devices are not suitable as DAWs is another...

Disabling battery controller and wireless is also a common remedy to gain low latency; again, this is well known, just search.
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Old 09-03-2009, 12:31 AM   #6
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Laptops in general are trouble. Dell is six of one half dozen of the other, they all have issues.

Jim Roseberry has a lot of posts here about certain macbooks that have the TI FW chip instead of the lucent that seem to work well. Dells come with RICOH's generally which sucknuts but seems like 99% have the argere or ricoh or lucent, so its screwed all around

I'm running a dell vostro 1500 with real good results, but it was after some extensive tweaking
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Old 09-03-2009, 12:59 AM   #7
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I'm running a dell vostro 1500 with real good results, but it was after some extensive tweaking
Exactly my experience with my vostro 1510. It is possible to make it work ok, but it takes some tweaking.
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Old 09-03-2009, 03:02 AM   #8
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I'm using a Dell M1210 with 2 gig of RAM.
I have to disable the wireless after a clean boot and it runs ok (Alphtrack & POD X3 Pro).

I'm currently on the look out for something with a bit more poke!
Probably will buy around December/January.

Been looking at the Scan purpose built DAW machines - very tasty!!
http://3xs.scan.co.uk/Category.asp?S...erCategoryID=2

I have to admit though that I love the plexibility you get with a laptop.
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Old 09-03-2009, 06:54 AM   #9
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I use my Latitude D820 with reaper and a UX2, no issues at all. I rarely go more than 10 tracks, though.

Maybe I'm just lucky, or my low track count keeps me safe..
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Old 09-03-2009, 07:07 AM   #10
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I use my Latitude D820 with reaper and a UX2, no issues at all. I rarely go more than 10 tracks, though.

Maybe I'm just lucky, or my low track count keeps me safe..

Yes, your low track count keeps you safe.


To the OP:

I work in IT building, configuring, and supporting 100's of PCs in my day job. Please take my advice: Contact Jim R at studiocat and Scott (& crew) at ADK Pro Audio and talk with them first.

Don't listen to what any *one* single person tells you (including me), laptops are different than desktops in some very significant ways and you need to research the fuk out of them before you get one. Just because something has a quad-core CPU in it doesn't mean that it has fast sustained throughput like you need for audio.

You have been warned.

Good luck!

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Old 09-03-2009, 07:09 AM   #11
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Dell M4400 Core2Duo T9400 @ 2.53 Jigglesnitz 4GB RAM XP Pro

Tascam US-122L... Haven't killed it yet but right now I'm using it just for mixing some 20-24 track 24/44.1 projects.

Gotta turn off the wireless or you get DPC latency spikes. Once that's off, it's smooth sailing. I have not tried Firewire with my sons Presonus FireBOX yet so I don't know about the FW chipset.

Overall though with laptops, it's a bit of a crap shoot IMO. This Dell belongs to the company I work for. It's lucky for me that our I.T. guys are not anal jerks about what I can use my laptop for... Matter of fact, both of them are budding musicians and I'm trying to get them into Reaping...

D

PS Yeah... what Mr. Moon sez... Try before you buy if at all possible. Look for a generous return policy if you can't try before paying...
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Old 09-03-2009, 08:15 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jonty View Post
Hi,

I'm just now finding out about Reaper and thinking of moving over from an old (about 5 yrs old) Pro Tools HD3 system.

So I'm thinking of starting fresh with a new machine... Any ideas what's the best laptop/notebook currently available for Reaper? I see a few machines with Intel Core 2 Quad processor (is that the fastest?) - Does Reaper actually use all the processing power from these new processors?

Could I run say 24 tracks with maybe one plugin per track (mostly delays) and have mix down automation...?

Another question: Is there any way to import Pro Tools sessions? Or do I have to export .wav files and import them into Reaper?

Many Thanks!
Jonty
Hi Jonty,

You can get a laptop with up to an i7 975 Extreme CPU.
That said, it's going to be *expensive*!
That CPU alone is $1000.

If you have very demanding performance expectations, be aware that very few laptops make a great DAW. Only a small handful... and it's not the garden variety $600 laptop that you'll find at Best Buy.

If you need low round-trip latency, your choice of audio interface is critical.

My advice is to not buy a laptop unless you absolutely need the portability.
You'll get a *lot* more machine for the money with a tower/rackmount DAW.

If you need the portability of a laptop... and you're looking for performance that's on par with the best i7 tower/rackmount units, you're looking at a $3000+ laptop. Anything less will be a disappontment.

Reaper does indeed make use of the multiple CPU cores.
With the memory controller on the CPU itself, the i7 CPUs currently smoke other CPUs when working at ultra low latency settings (ASIO buffer size of 64 samples or less).

Take your time and do some serious research before you buy.


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Old 09-03-2009, 10:26 AM   #13
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Default I'm happy with my Dell

True, I do have to turn off the wireless and battery control but, is true of all laptops (I think). I use it for all sorts of other stuff and as long as I keep it cleaned up and defragged it seems fine. I run XP Pro.
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Old 09-03-2009, 10:38 AM   #14
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I'd add "one with XP" but if anyone has had a good experience with Vista then do let me know! Playback crackles (DPC related) and jerkiness are problems for me and, it seems, plenty of others
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Old 09-03-2009, 12:09 PM   #15
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I own 2 Dell Inspiron 9300 laptops. Both have 4 gigs of RAM. One of them runs without a hitch and only gives me joy when running Reaper. The other one is fine but I need to disable the CD/DVD drive while running Reaper.

Obviously not every "identical" Dell is identical.
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Old 09-03-2009, 12:33 PM   #16
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I'd say wait for 7.

Personally am running a Toshiba satellite pro with 4Gb RAM & an intel core 2 Duo at enough GHz (don't remember) and am very pleased with it, including some handy tools such as the accelerometer to put HDD heads away when something happens to the laptop.

Be sure to take something with an expresscard to get a firewire extension card. And don't bother with integrated firewire, they very seldom work.

additionally if you can turn off wifi, networking & such, you'll have much better results on DPC latency.
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Old 09-03-2009, 12:33 PM   #17
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I'd add "one with XP" but if anyone has had a good experience with Vista then do let me know! Playback crackles (DPC related) and jerkiness are problems for me and, it seems, plenty of others
My previous experience with Vista on a Dell was awful, jerky everything and the DPC related problems caused even the mouse pointer to freeze for an instant every 5 seconds plus all the problems I've read about it made me really hate Vista. That explains why I was so surprised that the opposite is even possible. This ~$600 Samsung (R510) has even 1GB less RAM than the Dell but: Browser and chat client are using the WLAN, all peripherals (BT,NIC, card reader, webcam) are standby, Reaper is running in the background playing a project with 75 FX over the onboard chip at 256 samples and a CPU load of 90%. This is on Vista Home Premium with no tweaks at all except indexing turned off, Aero is running, the sidebar displays useless crap, Avira Antivir, the Windows firewall and automatic updates are running and so are the 3 billion services and processes a stock Vista comes with. Unlike 90% of all other off shelf laptops, this one didn't come with mean truckloads of preinstalled crap though. DPC figures are typical for Vista with lots of yellow spikes but no impact on audio. It doesn't choke when I send that thing to sleep instead of turning it off for a month and I can even do this nonsense:



So customers being forced to change the OS and cripple their configuration to make their laptops behave with realtime audio are obviously not the industry standard, even though the mass of sold Dells and the fact that so many other laptop makers have/had similar problems make it look like. Even the Bermuda triangle laptop-Vista-DAW can apparently be sailed safely if things are done right. But I'm confident that they'll fix this and the next series will be as crappy as the rest.
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Old 09-03-2009, 01:29 PM   #18
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Here's an(other) interesting thread http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=31461

Oh, BTW, the need to disable battery controller, wireless, CD/DVD, what-not on Dells, that concerns newer Dell's. I have a three year old Dell Precision M20 as my work laptop. I can run Reaper and record on this one with everything intact, even DL'ing stuff in the background, no problem. I did my first recordings in Reaper on this through the built-in audio card. I tried that on the Vostro 1510 I bought last year; no game!
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Old 09-05-2009, 10:28 PM   #19
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Thanks to everyone for your very helpful replies!

Much appreciated!
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Old 09-06-2009, 06:53 AM   #20
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I'm running a Dell lattitude d830 dual core 4 gigs of ram.2.4 ghz etc etc ,,,,, running xp pro.
I have set up 2 hardware profiles through the device manager. One is for REaper and the other for regular use. I also have a routine to disable services in mscongig. In other words strip it to the bone for use with reaper. This works well for me. I also had to buy a ti chip set firewire express card for my presonus v fire interface,and a seperate usb hard drive for the audio to reside on. Works pretty good for me. Although if I had to do it over again I would have one built right.
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Old 09-06-2009, 08:21 AM   #21
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I'm running a Dell lattitude d830 dual core 4 gigs of ram.2.4 ghz etc etc ,,,,, running xp pro.
I have set up 2 hardware profiles through the device manager. One is for REaper and the other for regular use. I also have a routine to disable services in mscongig. In other words strip it to the bone for use with reaper. This works well for me. I also had to buy a ti chip set firewire express card for my presonus v fire interface,and a seperate usb hard drive for the audio to reside on. Works pretty good for me. Although if I had to do it over again I would have one built right.
The built in FW adaptor on my Dell works OK for me but, I'd be interested to know the brand and model of express card you found that works well. I have a Cool Gear bus card that I used with a previous Dell model that didn't have a FW port at all. But, it won't work with an express slot.
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Old 09-06-2009, 09:16 AM   #22
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http://rainrecording.com/1-877-MIX-R...=16242&cat=289
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Old 09-06-2009, 01:22 PM   #23
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Default Problems With Dell Laptop

This is a particularly interesting thread to me since I have a Dell laptop 1420 with a dual core processor. I intermittently have pops and cracks during playback even though I rarely tax more than 5% of processing power.

What I'm hearing from this thread is that disabling the battery controller, network connections and possibly the Cd/DVD controller lessens the likelihood of problems when using Reaper with a Dell laptop. Does anyone have any other advice?
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Old 09-06-2009, 05:02 PM   #24
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This is a particularly interesting thread to me since I have a Dell laptop 1420 with a dual core processor. I intermittently have pops and cracks during playback even though I rarely tax more than 5% of processing power.

What I'm hearing from this thread is that disabling the battery controller, network connections and possibly the Cd/DVD controller lessens the likelihood of problems when using Reaper with a Dell laptop. Does anyone have any other advice?
You need to check the laptop's idle DPC latency.
If it's high... and especially if it has large spikes... that's virtually guaranteed to cause glitches/dropouts/etc.
Do a Google search for DPC Latency Checker.


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Old 09-06-2009, 05:36 PM   #25
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Here is a picture of my device manager settings. I disable my wi fi also usually with the switch on the laptop.
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File Type: jpg device manager.jpg (62.7 KB, 405 views)
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Old 09-06-2009, 08:14 PM   #26
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Originally Posted by jonty View Post
Another question: Is there any way to import Pro Tools sessions? Or do I have to export .wav files and import them into Reaper?

Many Thanks!
Jonty
I've been converting a few PT HD & LE mixes to REAPER with success. The first thing you'll want to do coming from the PT world is change the pan law to -2.5(attenuate c) which will match the pan law in PT that you're use to. File > Project Settings... > Click on Project Settings tab > Default track pan law: -2.5(attenuate c)db, then click "Save as default project settings".

Another thing to grab now at the current price before they raise it is AATranslator. The next release will support PT 5 files to REAPER. In PT you can "save as" PT 5 files no matter what version you're on. From there, AATranslator can be used to port over to REAPER. While you wont get a 100% port over of everything, you will get region location in the time line, volume, mute and pan automation from audio tracks. Nonetheless, that alone takes care of alot of the manual and time consuming hard work.

Debates on the "sound" of PT HD versus REAPER are pretty easy to put to a halt. If anything, the 64-bit mix bus, audio engine and end-to-end signal path in REAPER is far superior to that old 48-bit point fixed mix bus we had in HD.

Hope that helps.

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Old 09-06-2009, 11:51 PM   #27
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Originally Posted by DTW View Post
This is a particularly interesting thread to me since I have a Dell laptop 1420 with a dual core processor. I intermittently have pops and cracks during playback even though I rarely tax more than 5% of processing power.

What I'm hearing from this thread is that disabling the battery controller, network connections and possibly the Cd/DVD controller lessens the likelihood of problems when using Reaper with a Dell laptop. Does anyone have any other advice?
In addition I use DuX audio optimized XP, see here http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=30162. Works wonders...
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Old 09-18-2009, 07:36 AM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DTW View Post
This is a particularly interesting thread to me since I have a Dell laptop 1420 with a dual core processor. I intermittently have pops and cracks during playback even though I rarely tax more than 5% of processing power.

What I'm hearing from this thread is that disabling the battery controller, network connections and possibly the Cd/DVD controller lessens the likelihood of problems when using Reaper with a Dell laptop. Does anyone have any other advice?
/
I have a dell XPS gen4 stationary computor, that does the same thing. I got 3 gig of ram, its a 3,6gighz double cpu comp.
And i can only guess that it is dell that sucks.
Bought a new one that im getting this weekend, intel I7 quadcore 2,66 6gig of ram.
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Old 09-26-2009, 07:54 AM   #29
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I have a Dell latitude E6400, Core 2 Duo 2.4Gz, Win XP Pro, seems to be running just fine without any tweaking. I just be sure to leave wireless off. I bougt a MOTU 8Pre and a Behringer ADA8000 unit to record our worship band a couple weeks ago - worked like a champ - recorded 15 tracks simultaneously routing outputs to an Aviom system for our headphone monitoring. I have just a couple little flaky things, but nothing that affected the recording process in general. Guess I lucked out with the Dell.
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Old 09-28-2009, 08:14 AM   #30
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PC makers don't test their designs for latency, so brand reputation hardly matters here: a great machine from brand X today does not make their _next_ model DAW-worthy.

For example, the finest laptop I've used to date came from a no-name OEM (Clevo), while...
Quote:
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I don't understand why a Dell shouldn't be a good option? This sounds more like a very special problem that you have with your special model.
Dell made quite a few "special problem" laptops, using less-popular components with sloppy device drivers (which "steal" the bus or the CPU... there goes your DPC latency).

Worse, once you run into poor latency -- you're on your own. The DAW market is well below the radar for PC makers; their support departments might have never heard of that issue.

Which explains, in part, the success of Macs as DAWs.

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Old 09-28-2009, 09:01 AM   #31
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I picked up a Cheap HP T6500 Dual Core2 3gig.. just for travel/email I run Vista on one side and Ubuntu on the other side I use for my main OS.

I was thinking of buying an RME Express Cardbuss to plug into my RME Digiface which I have my SSL Alpha Link Madi AX hooked to.. Then I could have a quick mobile rig.. Then when back at my studio unplug the digiface firewire and back to desktop..

Plan sounds good not sure how well it will go.
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Old 02-14-2015, 11:24 PM   #32
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I am looking to purchase a new laptop to record with Reaper and I am wondering what recommendations or horror stories you all have since the last 2009 post in this thread

Thank you in advance
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Old 02-15-2015, 12:41 AM   #33
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Default Lenovo e420 is cheap and I have had pretty good success

Once I disable a number of things in the BIOS (wifi, etc), it runs pretty stable, no dpc glitches, latency around 125-175 microseconds.

It's 3 years old. I think the newer ones have slightly higher CPU capabilities etc. It was pretty cheap (about 550 USD with 8GB). I run an m-audio FTU8R interface and at 44.1k the RTL is about 6.8 ms
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Old 02-15-2015, 12:53 AM   #34
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Reviving a link that was dead for 5 years brings so much outdated info to the top of the forum list - not ideal. But now that it's here and has had a reply already..

After years spent giving different big & small name brands my money + facing a range of reliability issues, blue screens, overheating, display connection weakness, inadequate drive throughput etc etc I finally did what I thought I'd never do.

I got a Mac.

Then a second one :O

For me, nothing has been better than a small MacBook Air as a really good portable recording & editing system (which plugs into a big monitor if you want to). If I don't need a lot of VSTis then it's fine at handling projects and the SSD means a large track count is fine. That one I use with OS X.

When I do need the bigger RAM & faster processor speed to work with orchestral VSTi I use a MacBook Pro with SSD which has never given any reliability or glitching problem. I use that one mainly with Windows (Boot Camp).

MBP has been the best machine for Windows that I've owned - quite unbelievable to be saying that, as I was never a Mac evangelist and still consider them to be 'reliable computers' rather than other-wordly magical devices. They still have design flaws and the adaptors annoy me - though not as much as Apple Store staff.

But the point is I know the support network is now there, while my local computer authorised Toshiba/HP/Dell/Sony/Samsung dealer really doesn't have the same access to info and will always (be able to) blame the OS/drivers/malware for hardware issues. I've even had repair guys tell me I need to change to Logic, because REAPER is to blame (grrr!!!).

Manufacturers test compatibility with Macs and quickly provide support for new OS versions; I can get an adaptor from a friend if I forget mine; there's plenty known about common issues; and I really don't need to do the heavy-going research into which driver version of wi-fi is 'the one' which will work with the hardware & OS combination I've got and which this & which that are 'compatible'.

Ouch - I sound like an Apple fan. That hurts a bit. But not as much as all the ****ing around I used to have to do!

Cheers,

Drew
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* Media and event music composition & production, sound design + auto-processing at Qsonics.com
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