PC laptop recomendations

[Changers]

Hi Everyone,

I know this might be an old topic but I need some advice. I recently got burned buying a Lenovo T520. The DPC latency was terrible and couldn't be rectified. It wouldn't play projects that my old HP probook with far less specs could play with ease. I am in the middle of returning it and need some recommendations on a new laptop solely for audio. I have melted my brain looking online and need some up to date advise. The thinkpad I bought had an i7 with 6 gig of ram and I got it for $1600NZ. I am using it for solo production so only need to record audio 1 track at a time and the rest is all electronic. Can any one recommend something that works well for the same price range?

Thanks in advance for your advice

Cheers

[spurious_code]

This is probably out of your price range

http://3xs.scan.co.uk/ShowSystem.asp?SystemID=1287

but have a look and take some great free advice.
It will not be cheap getting a really top working system unless you pay for it or, as some people do, get lucky.

The difference between audio heaven and audio hell can sometimes be as minuscule as one digit on that ten digit part numbered part that, for the life of them nobody knows - not the manufacturer, not the retailer. But don't listen to me - I don't know what I am talking about. Email someone over at Scan or ADK in the States - it probably makes little difference to you (I'm assuming you are in NZ).

Pc manufacturers dropped the ball with audio on laptops a few years ago. But you might still be able to get something decent on your budget. Pete at Scan or Scott at ADK will give you a bit of free quick advice. They know what they are talking about and are totally trustworthy. What they don't know about chipsets and their compatibility isn't worth knowing.

Obviously, the specs of that machine you had were not wanting.
You should have been roaring along. The trouble these days is not the cpu or amount of ram, or speed of ram etc... it is lower level system compatibility i.e. chipsets... You should definitely get something in your budget, but I just don't know about shipping costs or availability where you are, hence me saying you might need to spend more. That's a lot of money you spent there, that should have got you a blazing machine.


btw, I have no affiliation with either of them. And I realise a first post recommending specific companies might seem a bit 'dodgy', but I assure you, I am real, don't work for them, and have never worked for them either. But you asked a question and I answered it! They have earned their reputation by giving a bit of free advice here and there without any pressure to buy from them, so what have you got to lose?

Good luck.

[Changers]

Hi There,

Thank you ever so much for your reply and the link. I have been in touch with Scott at ADK and he seems a very knowledgeable, genuine guy. He has answered a lot of questions for me and on their website I have mocked up a customised machine with the same specs as the Lenovo and ,even with the shipping to NZ, it works out at around the same price. Unfortunately the machine I was looking at is out of stock but Scott said they should have some more in soon so I reckon I'm going to wait instead of getting burnt again. Unless any one can say any different the ADK machines look great and, from what I have read on various forums, perform well.

Thanks for your time

[H20nly]

The DPC latency was terrible and couldn't be rectified

why not?

what affect was the latency having on your music? - or rather, what where the symptoms?

i ask because i have a T500 and don't have any issues with it.

[Changers]

Hi,

The Lenovo wouldn't play projects that played on my old hp probook perfectly which had a far lower spec. The cpu meter in Ableton would go to around 40% for a project were the same project on the Lenovo would spike to 80-125% and play the audio slow and glitchy. The machine couldn't even play the Ableton demo without massive sound problems. Absolutely useless and I'm not the only one who had this problem:

https://www.google.co.nz/search?sourcei ... ency+issue

Unfortunately I only read good things about the machine when researching it. Then when I had the problem and researched that I opened up a whole can of worms. I just dont want people to make the same mistake as its very annoying.

Cheers for your reply

[H20nly]

^ cheers for yours. i'm surprised. sorry for your troubles.

[golemus]

Hi,

The Lenovo wouldn't play projects that played on my old hp probook perfectly which had a far lower spec. The cpu meter in Ableton would go to around 40% for a project were the same project on the Lenovo would spike to 80-125% and play the audio slow and glitchy. The machine couldn't even play the Ableton demo without massive sound problems. Absolutely useless and I'm not the only one who had this problem:

https://www.google.co.nz/search?sourcei ... ency+issue

Unfortunately I only read good things about the machine when researching it. Then when I had the problem and researched that I opened up a whole can of worms. I just dont want people to make the same mistake as its very annoying.

Cheers for your reply

Did you do all audio optimizations? Disabling Ethernet,WLAN,Bluetooth and ACPI battery from device manager and turning Aero off does wonders. If it is ethernet issue as suggested in your link then shouldn't turning it off while composing do the trick...?

Btw I have thinkpad SL510 which is much lower end thinkpad than yours. I used to have similar problems, most significant factor in getting away of them was Aero, second most spikes caused WLAN and ACPI battery. After turning them off latency spikes ended, although in my machine I was able to have ethernet controller on.

I mean Thinkpad T-series are supposed to be very good, or so I tought...

[Changers]

Hi, Yep I tried all the 'tricks'. Change power usage, changing the display to old windows, updating everything that can be found on the lenovo site,disabling wifi e.t.c... Still the same problem. I got in touch with my local PC shop where I bought my old laptop from to see if there was anything they could do. This was there reply:

Hi

If the laptop is still under warranty. I suggest you contact Lenovo directly and request a refund/replacement.
There appears to be a fault in the implementation that is causing this problem. It is going to be an issue with the way the bios handles the audio chip. It is fundamental flaw in design/implementation of the latest bios and therefore unlikely to be fixed by any software/patches (unless ibm release a new bios that solves the issue)

I'm now in my 3rd week of speaking to Lenovo and trying to get the machine picked up for a refund. The customer service is terrible I have had to wait a total of 9 working days (when I was told it would be 3)only to be told they have me details wrong when I have gone over them each time I have called!!!! Its meant to be getting picked up tomorrow, we'll see. The tech dept at Lenovo were very good, understanding and helpful. Now I've been passed to the Customer care dept I and not having a very good time ha ha.

Thanks for your reply

[H20nly]

^ why not get a replacement with a good BIOS? it's probably easier/faster than a refund.