Laptop?

YOP1992

what laptop would you recommend for running a bus powered midi controller without crashing and at a smooth pace?

ED E

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/

Quiggers

anything with an intel chipset, big thing to look for is a double isolated power supply
so you dont get ground loop problems, of course running of battery solves this
but battery life is a dodgy thing to depend on. the midi + power over usb wont test any new machine as midi is so low bandwidth that its a bit of a waste using usb1 for it.
usb3 has just been anounced, trouncing firewire, tis the future!

electrogrimey

Lethal_Bullet wrote: »

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/

/thread.

Anima

Macbook Pro is crazily expensive. I'd get something else.

If power is an issue, you could try getting one of those 4-in-1 USB extension things that are powered. Should do the trick.

electrogrimey

Anima wrote: »

Macbook Pro is crazily expensive. I'd get something else.

If power is an issue, you could try getting one of those 4-in-1 USB extension things that are powered. Should do the trick.

I'd say it's more the RAM that's the problem, it usually is with running things like Traktor, and especially with a DAW & loads of VSTs. Hence why a lot of people opt for Macbook Pros, they generally run smoother and faster than a PC with the same ram.

ED E

TBH, the crucial thing is CPU. Get an i3 and you're totally sorted. That and sufficient ram.

ianuss

I know less than zero about computers so when it came to buying one I gave my nerd brother a wishlist of things I wanted from a laptop with a €500 budget.

He came up with this http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_7530_Gemstone_Laptop_LX.ARL0X.055/version.asp

I've had it over a year now and it works great. It runs Torq without a hitch. It's also got 4 in-built usb slots. And it's got a sweet 17" monitor which is great for watching movies an stuff too.

Hardware is always gauged when making these decisions.

The operating system should be up there along with ram, cpu, etc, it is this that binds all of these components.

And OSX does a good job.

Just look at the back of the manual in Traktor, the optimizing section, note the extra steps taken for a MS Box.

I have DJ'ed on both platforms, and twice I had a meltdown live on a MS box.

What ever platform you do decide on, it is always better to have a dedicated machine or partition tweaked for performing.

ED E

I've had window crash once. Since then I've been running off a partition with practically nothing on it. No security, nada. No problems

That said my lappy is ancient and I really should upgrade it asap.

YOP1992

Lethal_Bullet wrote: »

I've had window crash once. Since then I've been running off a partition with practically nothing on it. No security, nada. No problems

That said my lappy is ancient and I really should upgrade it asap.

what do you mean by partition? yeah i was thinking of a macbook, the macbook pro is very expensive, not really sure what to get at the minute

ironclaw

YOP1992 wrote: »

what do you mean by partition? yeah i was thinking of a macbook, the macbook pro is very expensive, not really sure what to get at the minute

A Partition is like a slice of cake except on the hard drive. You can have mulitiple partitions and on each you could, in theroy, have a different operating system. So one for Windows, one for Linux etc and when you turn the laptop on you can select which one you want. Critical piece however is only that operating system is loaded i.e. You must turn the laptop off to boot another OS.

The MacBook's are expensive but you do get what you pay for. Try Northern Ireland in September when the colleges go back. They do really good deals. I saved about €300 all told and got a free iTouch.

ED E

If I had the dosh I could gett 10% off anytime with my Student Travel Card, which costs all of E12

Anima

I'd say it's more the RAM that's the problem, it usually is with running things like Traktor, and especially with a DAW & loads of VSTs. Hence why a lot of people opt for Macbook Pros, they generally run smoother and faster than a PC with the same ram.

No, thats not true. There is nothing special about the Macbook hardware since they started using Intel chips. I went onto the Dell website there and you can customize a laptop with the exact specs, if not better, for around 600-700 quid.

They're an absolute ripoff Macbooks. You're paying the premium because they're pretty and for OSX. Not worth it I think.

If you want a very stable laptop, you should make a partition and put a fresh windows install on it. Then don't allow that partition online and turn off all the unnecessary services and programs.

rcaz

Anima wrote: »

They're an absolute ripoff Macbooks. You're paying the premium because they're pretty and for OSX. Not worth it I think.

And Apple control both the hard- and software sides of the deal. They know exactly what hardware their OS is going to run on, as opposed to Windows being made completely separate to hardware, leading to reliability issues.

It's prestige pricing, no doubt. But you get a more reliable computer with a better operating system that processes audio more efficiently.It's a very steep price gap for that, I know, but what can it be compared to? Also, while I know a lot of people can get Windows to work perfectly with a bit of time put into getting deep into the OS, Mac doesn't allow that customisation, it's safe and stable from the start. The vast majority of computer users will never need Window's flexibility. That benefited me, since instead of geeking out over my computer's settings, I was geeking out over making my music.

Zascar

You don't need a Macbook Pro - a normal macbook will do you grand. Yes more expensive than the equivalent PC - but worth it in the long run.

Basically, in this day and age, almost every single well known DJ's use Mac's - not PC's. There is a reason why. My macbook is proper plug and play I've never had any technical issues at gigs etc - this certainly not be guaranteed with pc's. If you did you'd be the exception rather than the rule. I did not understand this until I owned one, but "Sh!t just works" with them - espcially audio. My xp desktop setup causes me all sorts of conflicting driver issues but I now know how to fix them. Still I'd prefer not to.

electrogrimey

If you're planning on just running Traktor, a Macbook white will do fine. If you wanted to route Traktor through Ableton with loads of VSTs etc then you might run into problems without a pro.

Try getting it from the refurbished store, you can get a white for €800, and a few hundred off a Pro.

DaveyDave

Get a laptop with Windows 7 and put a partition on it dedicated for music. So nothing internet, virus protection, MSN or anything except for music software like Traktor.

So it's a fresh install of Windows, drivers for the controller, your music and music software.