[basslapn]

Hi all,

(Longtime lurker - first time poster)

I need a little help.
I'm not a musician by trade, but I do record lots of music, play in a band and generally have a lot of fun doing it!
I 'm fairly well versed with programs like Cakewalk, and I'd like to get rid of my trusty 10yr-old PC in favour of something a bit more portable.
That, and the trusty isn't so trusty anymore......

In the past, I had to steer clear of anything with a "standard" audio card, due to latency problems which can make a a computer absolutely unusable for any recording.
I haven't really considered a Lappy due to this until a friend told me his was 'no worries'.

So I'm hunting for a nice new Lappy with great audio ability (speakers aren't really a factor here, as I'll likely be using cans regardess) with no latency issues and plenty of options for connecting inputs to the lappy itself.
Preferably something that'll be a swiss-army knife for everything else, including movies, burning DVD's/CD's, and of course games - without having any major weaknesses for any of those.

What should I look for?
Would a gaming level lappy with lots of ports/jacks be my first thought?

Cheers!

[mjd420nova]

BASSLAPN: Welcome to the PC World forums. My oldest son just bought one of the new HP laptops with the high end audio setup and is very pleased with how well it works and ease of operation. The audio is superior to most I've heard but can't compete with any desktop with a medium cost audio card installed. I demonstrated to him what the difference is between playing MP3 files and the audio media .WAV files. He was amazed at how much of the music was missing, especially the mid range notes and harmonics. I don't want to get on a soap box but you should try it yourself to see the difference. Use the same track and play it first in the .WAV format, then an MP3 format. The difference will surprise you.
HP has some very resonable priced laptops designed just for audio work and they will do games equally well.

[waldojim]

HP USED to make those laptops. They went under the 'Beats' brand name. When HP figured out that a music oriented $3,000 laptop wouldn't sell, they removed everything that made them unique for that purpose.

SO... that leaves an important problem to consider. Just what kind of quality are you looking for? What is your price range? Are there any other concerns? Size, weight, battery life, screen type, etc.

For a quick couple of items to consider, take a peak at the Lenovo W520, or Alienware M14x.

If you can afford the cost associated, the lenovo is POWERFUL. Mine is more or less a base model with a 1080P display. The base model still plays every single game I own, and easily nets me 6 to 8 hours or more batter life depending on what I am doing. Shoot, it will even make 2 hours playing games! So for that scenario, it is great but not perfect. The Quadro 1000m is about the equivalent of a Geforce 540 (a tad more powerful considering the clock speeds). This thing also has choices of processor ranging from an i7 2.6Ghz dual core, up to the high end quad cores.

The audio card is the only I can't tell you much about. I never have done that type of recording on here, as I have a PC with dedicated card for that purpose. SO, let me bring this up. Depending on what you REALLY need out of your sound card, remember that there are many companies (like M-Audio) that produce excellent external solutions. Firewire, USB2, USB 3, and Express card 34 are all supported on the Lenovo.

The Alienware I bring up because they are gaming machines out right. They are also extremely powerful, using a very similar compliment of gear as the Lenovo. They are also much flashier. That said, the important reason I bring them up is they have the option of including a SoundBlaster X-FI audio card. Again, I have no idea how this would compare to a proper dedicated card, but they are a nice step up from the usual run-of-the-mill stuff.

[basslapn]

waldojim, on 17 October 2011 - 06:45 PM, said:

HP USED to make those laptops. They went under the 'Beats' brand name. When HP figured out that a music oriented $3,000 laptop wouldn't sell, they removed everything that made them unique for that purpose.

SO... that leaves an important problem to consider. Just what kind of quality are you looking for? What is your price range? Are there any other concerns? Size, weight, battery life, screen type, etc.

For a quick couple of items to consider, take a peak at the Lenovo W520, or Alienware M14x.

.....Depending on what you REALLY need out of your sound card, remember that there are many companies (like M-Audio) that produce excellent external solutions. Firewire, USB2, USB 3, and Express card 34 are all supported on the Lenovo.

The Alienware ......they have the option of including a SoundBlaster X-FI audio card. Again, I have no idea how this would compare to a proper dedicated card, but they are a nice step up from the usual run-of-the-mill stuff.

Thank you very much for the responses here guys!

Quality and Price are really the main thing I guess.
I want a poota that'll be a keeper. I'd rather spend 2k on a class-act that'll last me 5 years, than half that on something that will "almost" do everything I'd like.
So really, I guess a gaming type machine with a V8 processor and kick-ass video card may be the go.

In my experience, working with programs like Cakewalk/Protools etc, I find a nice big screen is a real plus also, and portability is the only reason I'm not looking at a desktop in the first place. So a nice big heavy lappy with all the fruit is definitely on the cards.
Any recording takes a long time to set up regardless, and my old SVT bass amp is 40kg's anyway! ....so weight is not really an issue ;D
Funnily enough, going through the 8-track or the zoom, top-notch studio quality sound reproduction isn't really a must, as I'd only be relying on the computer's soundcard when doing a tiny part here or there away from a live recording scenario. I would like the audio to be decent, but doesn't have to be top of the line.

I hadn't thought of an external soundcard, I may have to look into that if I run into latency problems - but I usually run through a Zoom or a 8-track as my front-end before hitting the computer, then run that through a USB.
I've used that through a USBv1 in the past, so a USB 2 or 3 may do the trick.

So I guess I'm looking for a computer with a V8 processor, kickass graphics, large screen, and preferably a large to fullsize keyboard and plenty of ways to patch into the computer.
Blue ray/HDMI is definitely something I'd look at too, however CD/DVD burning is a bit more important.

Cheers for the links to the Lenovo and the Alien.
I had a look at both but the Lenovo, as good as it looks - doesn't have an audio line-in? It has a Headphone out at least. Unfortunately this is a deal breaker for me.

So is it possible to get a large lappy for 2k that has all the fruit?

[waldojim]

basslapn, on 18 October 2011 - 02:25 AM, said:

waldojim, on 17 October 2011 - 06:45 PM, said:

HP USED to make those laptops. They went under the 'Beats' brand name. When HP figured out that a music oriented $3,000 laptop wouldn't sell, they removed everything that made them unique for that purpose.

SO... that leaves an important problem to consider. Just what kind of quality are you looking for? What is your price range? Are there any other concerns? Size, weight, battery life, screen type, etc.

For a quick couple of items to consider, take a peak at the Lenovo W520, or Alienware M14x.

.....Depending on what you REALLY need out of your sound card, remember that there are many companies (like M-Audio) that produce excellent external solutions. Firewire, USB2, USB 3, and Express card 34 are all supported on the Lenovo.

The Alienware ......they have the option of including a SoundBlaster X-FI audio card. Again, I have no idea how this would compare to a proper dedicated card, but they are a nice step up from the usual run-of-the-mill stuff.

Thank you very much for the responses here guys!

Quality and Price are really the main thing I guess.
I want a poota that'll be a keeper. I'd rather spend 2k on a class-act that'll last me 5 years, than half that on something that will "almost" do everything I'd like.
So really, I guess a gaming type machine with a V8 processor and kick-ass video card may be the go.

In my experience, working with programs like Cakewalk/Protools etc, I find a nice big screen is a real plus also, and portability is the only reason I'm not looking at a desktop in the first place. So a nice big heavy lappy with all the fruit is definitely on the cards.
Any recording takes a long time to set up regardless, and my old SVT bass amp is 40kg's anyway! ....so weight is not really an issue ;D
Funnily enough, going through the 8-track or the zoom, top-notch studio quality sound reproduction isn't really a must, as I'd only be relying on the computer's soundcard when doing a tiny part here or there away from a live recording scenario. I would like the audio to be decent, but doesn't have to be top of the line.

I hadn't thought of an external soundcard, I may have to look into that if I run into latency problems - but I usually run through a Zoom or a 8-track as my front-end before hitting the computer, then run that through a USB.
I've used that through a USBv1 in the past, so a USB 2 or 3 may do the trick.

So I guess I'm looking for a computer with a V8 processor, kickass graphics, large screen, and preferably a large to fullsize keyboard and plenty of ways to patch into the computer.
Blue ray/HDMI is definitely something I'd look at too, however CD/DVD burning is a bit more important.

Cheers for the links to the Lenovo and the Alien.
I had a look at both but the Lenovo, as good as it looks - doesn't have an audio line-in? It has a Headphone out at least. Unfortunately this is a deal breaker for me.

So is it possible to get a large lappy for 2k that has all the fruit?

Ok, if you are willing to go that route, grab the Lenovo W520 with a quad core processor (the 2820QM is your best choice), and the Nvidia Quadro 2000m. That machine there will be a multitasking beast that can easily handle multiple recording threads at once. The 1080P screen on it is amazing, and Lenovo keyboards are second to none. Blu-ray, sadly, is not really an option. There are after market BR readers, but all Lenovo offers right now is an overpriced BR burner (about $600 last I looked). If a 15.6" screen is big enough, then the W520 i7qm/Nvidia 2000m is a perfect fit. The only other issue to consider... if you really want to call it an issue, is that is has a display port output for video. If you need to connect to HDMI, then you will have to buy a $30 adapter.

The sound cards on todays laptops should net you around 100DB SNR, but I cannot say how much system noise you may end up with, or what the quality of the DACs are. I will say that Windows seems to think this card is good for 24bit 96Khz audio, which should be great for most recording though. The only real issue you are going to find with the lenovo, is that it has ONE jack. Good for either recording or playing back audio.

As I mentioned before, I would certainly consider an external solution.

I don't know a whole lot about the Alienware machines.

I will say, that if you want a larger screen than then 15.6, then Alienware has you covered with both a 17 and 18" model.
The 17 ships with a 1080P display as well, quad core i7 processors, and choice of video cards. The base card, a 560M is going to be a tad more powerful than the quadro 2000M (about 5%) and they have the creative X-fi option.

Both are excellent solutions to your problem. Both are extremely well made, and are quality machines that should last. I personally trust Lenovo more, but that is because of past dealings with them.

If you do opt for the lenovo, talk to their sales agents and haggle with them. Their prices are NOT set in stone. I got about $300 taken off the price of my Laptop. I don't know if Alienware will haggle though.

[Dellinsp531]

A laptop would be xoptic Sager NP5165. It has a good graphic card and the sound card are ok. If you want, you can customized the sound card.

This post has been edited by Dellinsp531: 18 October 2011 - 12:59 PM

[basslapn]

Thanks for the replies once again!

After checking out the Lenovo W520 I'm quite impressed..... but I'll have to see if anyone carries them over here is Australia.
The 15 screen is a little smaller than I'm aiming for TBH, but that keyboard looks pretty good.
Why does so few other laptop manufacturer's offer the little red ball thingy in the middle of the keyboard?
After using one I can't understand why they aren't mainstream.......

I've had a few people I know, who work in IT, tell me I have to check out a few others;
(All of these are locally available too)
They told me about the Asus G74sx, Dell XPS17 and a HP of some sort.(with a 17" screen of course)
There was a Toshiba they said something about too, it may have been the X770 after looking at their website.

I like the look of the Asus with it's big keyboard.
16GB is just more than I need, but having a Full HD 17 inch screen, that sits just a little bit higher than all the other lappies is looking much better for my back and neck than all the other lappies out there.

What does everyone think of these laptops?

[waldojim]

basslapn, on 22 October 2011 - 10:23 PM, said:

Thanks for the replies once again!

After checking out the Lenovo W520 I'm quite impressed..... but I'll have to see if anyone carries them over here is Australia.
The 15 screen is a little smaller than I'm aiming for TBH, but that keyboard looks pretty good.
Why does so few other laptop manufacturer's offer the little red ball thingy in the middle of the keyboard?
After using one I can't understand why they aren't mainstream.......

There are a few others that use it, but only on workstation (high end) machines. HP and Dell both use them in their pro-grade machines.

Quote

I've had a few people I know, who work in IT, tell me I have to check out a few others;
(All of these are locally available too)
They told me about the Asus G74sx, Dell XPS17 and a HP of some sort.(with a 17" screen of course)
There was a Toshiba they said something about too, it may have been the X770 after looking at their website.

I like the look of the Asus with it's big keyboard.
16GB is just more than I need, but having a Full HD 17 inch screen, that sits just a little bit higher than all the other lappies is looking much better for my back and neck than all the other lappies out there.

What does everyone think of these laptops?

Asus machines are not what I would describe as high end. Those machines are great econo-builds, but cannot really compete with quality workstation class machines. Toshiba has a few decent machines, though I honestly couldn't identify them these days. I stay away from them because of the keyboards. HP has some wicked nice machines in the workstation range, that compete well against Lenovo's offerings, with solid keyboards there as well. We use a few of them at work. I personally won't own another HP, but that is because of how they treated their customers during the Compaq buyout, and then later with a DV5 machine.

Your best bet would be to see if you can actually touch, and hold a couple of these machines. You would be surprised the story a machine tells when you can actually hold it.

[coastie65]

Ugh. I can't stand those track points, course, I don't care much for the touch pad either and use a mouse at every opportunity.

[LiveBrianD]

Quote

There are a few others that use it, but only on workstation (high end) machines. HP and Dell both use them in their pro-grade machines.

No kidding! When I don't have an external mouse connected to my laptop, I use the pointing stick.

[basslapn]

Thanks again guys.

So I went and had some demo-time at a few different places, and I'm still unsure!
It's come down to a few. The HP is off my list, as is the Tosh.
The Aleinware '17 was a real surprise, a lot nicer in real life than what I saw online.....but $3k is too much to spend for me.

I really like the Asus G74sx. I like that the screen is higher off the desk than ALL the others, and I like the big keys.
Being 6 foot 4, this is a big thing for me ;D
And it really seems like it can do everything I need.

So I guess it comes down to whether I should be avoiding the Asus or not - is there a newer version coming out I should hold out for?
Is there a certain processor, SSD drive etc. that I should make sure I get?
Cheers once again!