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 Now online (1)ijonspeches ...and 162 guests Last 5 registered Oplandisks nothingstar N_loop yipe foxtrotromeo Browse members... |
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In your opinion, what is the top PC laptop for music production? Please only musicians answer. |
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As fast as possible P4 cpu with alot of RAM (min 512Mb) and a fast HD (7200rpm min). Graphics don't really matter unless you need to play games or design stuff. Then, get a proper audio interface, these are usually external. There are quite a few to choose from and some of them are really smallish. I'm getting an IBM Thinkpad R32 through work in a month or so. It's not top notch, far from it, but it will be fine for music production. The RAM is 256Mb, but I will up that to the maximum 1024Mb. You can't have too much RAM when running alot of DSP stuff at once. -P |
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Some audio interfaces I've been thinking about: ESI Waveterminal U24 ESI GigaPort AG (The DG version is for ADAT) Oh and check this out: Evolution UC-16 USB MIDI-interface with 16 freely assignable knobs. Perfect with DSP synths and plug-ins. -P |
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I want a laptop. :( |
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arent DSP soundcards meant to free up ram and cpu power? i thought that was what they were all about. they have there own processors? |
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Yes, you are right. There are soundcards that are very powerful on their own, like the Creamware cards with their Sharc DSPs. These don't fit inside a laptop though. I'm talking about audio interfaces. Somewhere to plug in leads to be able to listen to it all on monitors or if you want to direct the sound into a proper mixer etc for mastering. With a built-in CD-R, you can master a cd directly in the laptop, but some of us do have separate recording hardware we want to use. Mixing and mastering on proper monitors is the way I prefer to do it. -P |
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yes paco already hace said all, a 1.8 ghz p4-m (desktops cpu's are shit, they take need much power and are loud as hell) min 512 ddr (333 fsb possible, the faster is, asbetter you enjoy the power of p4 technology) oh, and don't buy a notebook with 1024x768 tft screen, it sucks, a too less resolution for all ya plugins etc. look out for future compatibility, firewire, usb 2, infrared. paco, i have the uc-16 controller and want to buy the ESI Gigaport, but i'm not sure with these 8 analog outputs, it's via USB... |
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hammerhead's products are perfect for notebook, especially the DSP interfaces, actually the best solution for notebooks. |
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I have a laptop. :) |
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cost me an arm and a leg, though. :( |
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Thanks for the info. I understand the technical specifications, but the number of different companies for PC make it difficult to choose. Choosing the G4 Titanium was easy for my Mac based work, because its widely regarded as the standard. In your opinion, is there a PC company that makes the superior laptop system? Or are they all very similar as long as they share the same technical specs.? I will be setting up a VST Cubase based environment on PC. |
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you got a Ti? why don't you just run all your pc apps on virtual pc... It could probably handle it nicely. |
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I'm new to laptops, but some do look better than others. I'd like a 15"+ screen, but will have to settle for less (well apart from the separate IBM T750 heheh). I haven't seen any IBM R32's in real life yet, but it seems fairly slim and light. -P |
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I'd recommend a Powerbook G4 titanium, but you did say only PCs... |
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..and he already has one. |
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http://www.connectix.com/products/vpc5m.html run nicely... you can share network connections with the emulated os, even has good sound intergration. My mate has Linux+windows running on his 800mhz G4 imac under VPC and he swears that its better than on his pc laptop (a nippy PIII). always an option. |
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for external usb sound cards chek out the ONKYO sEU-55 its a nice affordable alternative to the Mbox |
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I assumed running large PC softwares with virtual PC on the G4 would be unreliable for music making, and I haven't heard of anyone else doing serious music making this way. Is there any reason why it wouldn't be a good idea? |
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"is there a PC company that makes the superior laptop system?" dell |
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"I assumed running large PC softwares with virtual PC on the G4 would be unreliable for music making, and I haven't heard of anyone else doing serious music making this way. Is there any reason why it wouldn't be a good idea?" well, i dont suppose you could have something like logic running on an emulated os.. you'd have to pretty brave to try :) and you could just run it on Mac Os anyway. granulab, coagular, cdp and all those other smallish windows apps which do unique things would probably work though. |
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What about games? For example, I love to play Starcraft on my PC desktop...is it actually possible to play on battlenet off of my G4? I thought it wasn't, but never really tried to look into it. Also, have any of you seen any of these big electronic artists live? If so did you catch any of them with PC laptops? |
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i'd agree with cre. dell makes reliable machines. this is my second job supporting their equipment, and the laptops are pretty beefy. the OS is the tricky part- drivers, compatibility, etc. |
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Yep, Dell machines are good. About 95% of the servers I work with are Dell machines. |
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I like the look of the extigy, do you know if that's any good? |
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Ceri, stay away from Soundblaster. There are some serious cards out there for HD-recording for a similar price. You get much better performance latency-wise with a dedicated card. -P |
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I was tempted by the extigy also, Ceri. What alternatives do you suggest Paco? |
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For a desktop? At the higher end you've got Digi001 from Digidesign. Creamware Pulsar 2, Creamware Elektra, Creamware Powersampler and TC Works Powercore. At the lower cost there's ESI, RME, Audiotrak, EgoSys, M-Audio, Event etc. -P |
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What audiocard situation do most professionals who use PC laptops go with? Is there an industry standard? |
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Check this article out, the 3rd page deals with audio cards/interfaces: http://www.computermusic.co.uk/tutorial/laptop/laptop1.asp MOTU (Mark of the Unicorn) are known for higher-end midi and audio interfaces. -P |
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"Also, have any of you seen any of these big electronic artists live? If so did you catch any of them with PC laptops?" cowardly unanswering your mac/vpc games q, i've seen richard devine uses one mac AND one PC machine when hes playing live. fuck knows why though. loads of other people probably do it aswell. if i had a G4 ti i'd just chuck an itunes playlist on when playing live and do something useful instead :) I'm gonna be getting a usable copy of VPC for G4 OS X pretty soon (fingers crossed) so if you haven't decided by then i'll tell u whether xxx app runs on it.... if you can wait :) otherwise, peace. |
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Omnei, here's a link with some serious laptop soundcards: http://www.audiomidi.com/hardware/audio_pcmcia.cfm These look great, but are stretching my budget a bit. I think I'll go for the ESI U24. It's only 9cm x 9cm in size. -P |
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I really appreciate all of the help guys, thanks. |
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