A New Music Producing DAW Laptop For ~1000$ or more. Recommendations?

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zoobooboozoo

Junior Member
Feb 12, 2013
3
0
61
Hello everyone,

I'm into buying my 1st DAW Laptop. Would love some help.

I would like to pay around $~1100 and my max is a lil' under $1500

Uses:
1) Performing live with Ableton Live. Using many VSTs as well live instruments.
2) Recording/producing at home.

I was thinking:
1) Intel Quad Core processor
2) 15" screen
3) 8GB, preferably 16GB RAM
4) At least 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD 7200 RPM (But also open to different combinations like 1tb ssd, or 512ssd + smthng....)
5) at least 3 usb ports, preferably more
6) Full HD resoultion at least
7) Some dedicated graphics card.
8) Important: Needs to be a reliable system that I can count on for live performence
9) Of course the lighter it is the better, and the longer battery life it has the better. but the rest of the points are more important.

Some Questions:
1) How can I tell if a laptop can have two hdds/ssds ? some laptops are great, but I'd like to add an additional hdd or ssd to them. then they would be ideal.
2) is there a big differnce beweetn 6th/7th/8th gen cpus ? is a i5 8th gen > then i7 7th gen?
3) which vendors/brands are recommended and from which I should stay away ?

My Equipment:
1) Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 Audio Interface
2) Some mics
3) A midi controller
4) Some cables ;)

Any tips, thoughts and also specific recommendations are very welcome!
thanks
 
dave_the_nerd

dave_the_nerd

Lifer
Feb 25, 2011
16,797
1,474
126
If you want multiple HDD bays, you'll probably need to buy one of those "gaming" laptops. They're big (15-17"), heavy (7-15 pounds), have a lot of cooling capacity the keep the GPUs stable, and should last a long time if used for DAW and Office-type tasks. Battery life is measured in minutes, though.

If it were me, I'd probably be looking at an Ultrabook and an external HDD. Personal preference. I don't really think you need a distinct GPU for the workload you're describing.

Some Questions:
1) How can I tell if a laptop can have two hdds/ssds ? some laptops are great, but I'd like to add an additional hdd or ssd to them. then they would be ideal.
2) is there a big differnce beweetn 6th/7th/8th gen cpus ? is a i5 8th gen > then i7 7th gen?
3) which vendors/brands are recommended and from which I should stay away ?
Click to expand...

1) It will say in the specs. You may have to download the manual from the manufacturer and do some reading.
2) Not much.
3) "Good" brands are ASUS, Alienware, and Clevo (which provides machines for a bunch of companies with different brand names.) More mainstream labels like HP and Dell make solid machines too, but it's their "business" lines that are the "good" models. Their cheaper consumer models aren't as good.

For the equipment you have, you really just need a machine with a couple USB ports, so that's not abnormal.
 
Z

zoobooboozoo

Junior Member
Feb 12, 2013
3
0
61
Any other thoughts?

I was also wondering what would be the best laptop drive configuration? hdd + ssd / external hdd + ssd / ssd + ssd etc.
in audio work the software work with
1) recording/writing audio in real time
2) "pulling" samples usually at the start of the work and sometimes while working as well if I need it to

Would anyone recommend a touch screen? thought it might come in handy for live performences.
 
dave_the_nerd

dave_the_nerd

Lifer
Feb 25, 2011
16,797
1,474
126
Ssd + hdd internal. Touchscreen is not useful for most DAW but you might want it for other reasons. Or if your DJ software has onscreen touch controls. (Although the usb fake turntable controllers are probably "cooler.")
 
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