New Laptop suggestions

[glenn303]

Looking to buy a new laptop soon and i was hoping to get some feedback from you guys.
I am looking for a good PC laptop running Windows 7 and so far i narrowed it down to 3 brands, my first choice is the ADK 9000 and this is what i built....

Review System Components
Case ADK - ADK 9000: 17" Laptop. WUXGA 1920 x 1200, 3 Hdd capable,up to 12gig DDR3, Ex
Power Supply None
Processor Intel - Core i7 930 2.8GHz Quad Core with HT 8meg Cache
Memory DDR3 1066 2Gig Sodimm (single stick)
Memory 2 DDR3 1066 2Gig Sodimm (single stick)
Memory slot 3/4 DDR3 1066 2Gig Sodimm (single stick)
OS/Programs Drive SEAGATE - 500GB 7200RPM 16MB SATA II/300 G-Shock(ST9500420ASG)
Audio Drive SEAGATE - 500GB 7200RPM 16MB SATA II/300 G-Shock(ST9500420ASG)
Audio/Samples None
Samples/Storage None
Removable Drive None
External Storage none
FW or Raid Controller SIIG - Siig FireWire 2-Port ExpressCard2 x 6-pin IEEE 1394a - FireWire External -
Dual Head Video NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M w/1GB DDR3
2nd Video None
DVD-RW Slim 8X DVD-RW/+RW and CD-RW Drive. Dual Layer
Sound Card Onboard
Pro Audio Interface None
NIC included wired 1Gb and Intel Ultimate-N 6300 Wi-Fi
Operating System Microsoft - Windows 7 Pro 64 bit OEM
Other Software Paragon Hard Disk Manager 2010 Suite with ADK recovery DVD.
Other Software 2 NONE
Other Software 3 NONE
Mouse None
Warranty Laptop warranty 3yr. (adds 2 yrs to original 1 yr)

Laptop
ADK 9000 $3,227.00

Its a bit pricey and i dont know if my girlfriend will even let me spend that much (my actual budget is 2,700.00 USD)
My other 2 choices are either Dell Studio series (including the XPS studio) or a Lenovo Thinkpad, both having the i7 processor and a screen size between 15 to 17 inch.
Ive been using a Dell desktop since 2004 and never had any probs with it, but ive heard good things and bad things about the laptops.
I have the Native instruments AK1 (actually bought it 4 years ago when i was going to buy a new laptop but never came to fruition) that i will be using with my new laptop. I also dont use large track counts normally and will be running the latest version of Live 8 as well as Komplete 6.
Any advice would be appreciated.
PS i dont want a Mac! (unless they release a Macbook pro with a i7 processor within the next 2 weeks.)

[BassTooth]

patience young padawan...

the new MacBook Pros will be here soon.

[glenn303]

Bump.

[H20nly]

Lenovo Thinkpad T500 FTW!

I love mine.

Save about a grand and have it loaded... I'd recommend not getting too large of a screen on a lappy for two reasons;
1.) they're supposed to be portable but really aren't if they're too big to get in your lap in an airplane on the bus etc.
2.) the battery life is shorter... that big screen takes more juice.



my .02

someone coming along and refuting it in 3....2....

[esky]

Over 3000usd for a Laptop...? What do you want to calculate with it...the next Mars mission...? As H20 said, save a grand and buy a nice lingerie for your girlfriend...

[rikhyray]

So you consider buying BMW and asking here if Kia or Huyundai will do? You getting couple of happy Kia users who enthusiastically say I have Kia it is great has 4 wheels and steering wheel, why do you want BMW?
Come on, go for it if you can ADK are professionals for professionals, if you can afford it dont bother about some sissies asking you why BMW. The specs are great so is ADK`s reputation, perhaps you can save on display if you have to otherwise congratulations in advance.
P.S. Regarding GF - she wont believe anyway ( and understand why you need it they never do) that a laptop can cost that much, say it was....whatever, 2k...

[glenn303]

Lenovo Thinkpad T500 FTW!

I love mine.

Save about a grand and have it loaded... I'd recommend not getting too large of a screen on a lappy for two reasons;
1.) they're supposed to be portable but really aren't if they're too big to get in your lap in an airplane on the bus etc.
2.) the battery life is shorter... that big screen takes more juice.



my .02

someone coming along and refuting it in 3....2....

Thanks for the reply H2Only.
That's true about the larger screen, so I think I will go for the 15 inch + the 17 inch Lenovo doesn't have the i7 processor.
The one thing that kinda disappoints me is that it only has 1 HD, but then again 2 would drain the battery pretty quick.
How is the performance with your Thinkpad? How many tracks are you running and are you using a USB interface or Firewire? Also is W7 your os or XP (or Vista?)
Does the Thinkpad come with a lot of bloatware?
Thanks.

[glenn303]

Over 3000usd for a Laptop...? What do you want to calculate with it...the next Mars mission...? As H20 said, save a grand and buy a nice lingerie for your girlfriend...

Quantum physics , but yeah if I can get a kick ass laptop without spending 3 grand then I am all for it.

[glenn303]

So you consider buying BMW and asking here if Kia or Huyundai will do? You getting couple of happy Kia users who enthusiastically say I have Kia it is great has 4 wheels and steering wheel, why do you want BMW?
Come on, go for it if you can ADK are professionals for professionals, if you can afford it dont bother about some sissies asking you why BMW. The specs are great so is ADK`s reputation, perhaps you can save on display if you have to otherwise congratulations in advance.
P.S. Regarding GF - she wont believe anyway ( and understand why you need it they never do) that a laptop can cost that much, say it was....whatever, 2k...

Yeah I like the ADK a lot as it was my first choice but its the cost that might prevent me from buying it, but if I go for a 15 inch model, one HD then it will lower the price but not necessarily the performance.
With that being said, what I like about the Thinkpad is that its built like a tank.
So now its a choice between a BMW and a tank

[glenn303]

P.S. Regarding GF - she wont believe anyway ( and understand why you need it they never do) that a laptop can cost that much, say it was....whatever, 2k...[/quote]

Lol so true.

[H20nly]

It came with Vista Pro. I upgraded to Vista Ultimate and then had them install (downgrade) XP at the factory. This was before Win 7 was released in October. I got the laptop in September. They sent me a Win 7 upgrade disk. So I finally installed that and have been running Win 7 Ultimate (32 bit) for about 6 weeks. I love it.

It comes with a 4 pin firewire input on the front of the enclosure. I bought a 6 pin Siig Firwire card directly from Lenovo when I ordered it.

I haven't had any issues with Live, but most of my sets don't have that many tracks. They're mostly band type recordings. In other words bass, guitar, a few vocal tracks (3-8) and then MIDI drums and ambiance... I think the biggest project that I've worked with on the lappy had about 15-20 tracks max, but it handled them well. Even at 10,000 feet... in an airplane

As far as the hard drive goes... Just get a big one... but not too big. Remember that uber large hard drives in a laptops are ultimately new technology. We all know how reliable the latest and greatest can be/not be. 320 or 500 should serve you well.

The pre-installed wares from Lenovo all seemed pretty decent. I normally hate that stuff, especially since my job is in IT and I always like to run a clean XP install, but in this case I wasn't put out by it. I actually miss the wireless software. It was cool for finding out which direction an unsecured router was in. It came in handy in parking lots or at a friends house that had no access... I would find a connection to 'borrow' some internet for a few minutes and walk towards it to get a better signal... When I upgraded to Win 7, I basically lost all the software they installed and have since had to settle for Microsoft's version of wireless management which only gives you signal strength not relative location.

Another thing I like about it is the "roll cage" as they call it... and the shock resistance features they have on the hard drive. It should be able to take a fall... thankfully, I have not tested this yet and I hope that if you get one you never have to either, but the thought that they took the time to develop a safe enclosure with the case as opposed to some pretty little skinny thing that is more for their own interests (advertising) really appeals to me. Don't let that imply that its bulky though... its not. Still, its sturdy. Built well.

Hope this helps... and I hope you enjoy whatever you ultimately decide to go with...
good luck!

[H20nly]

oh and fwiw with all my upgrades 4 GB ram, LCD upgrade, video, faster processor it was $1280.00 USD

For 2 grand I think you'll run em out of options... I didn't get the crazy warranties, but I can later... Comes with 1 year. I also opted out on fingerprint recognition (pain in the ass if it breaks) and the on board web cam (creepy).


No Office either http://www.openoffice.org FTW

[glenn303]

It came with Vista Pro. I upgraded to Vista Ultimate and then had them install (downgrade) XP at the factory. This was before Win 7 was released in October. I got the laptop in September. They sent me a Win 7 upgrade disk. So I finally installed that and have been running Win 7 Ultimate (32 bit) for about 6 weeks. I love it.

It comes with a 4 pin firewire input on the front of the enclosure. I bought a 6 pin Siig Firwire card directly from Lenovo when I ordered it.

I haven't had any issues with Live, but most of my sets don't have that many tracks. They're mostly band type recordings. In other words bass, guitar, a few vocal tracks (3-8) and then MIDI drums and ambiance... I think the biggest project that I've worked with on the lappy had about 15-20 tracks max, but it handled them well. Even at 10,000 feet... in an airplane

As far as the hard drive goes... Just get a big one... but not too big. Remember that uber large hard drives in a laptops are ultimately new technology. We all know how reliable the latest and greatest can be/not be. 320 or 500 should serve you well.

The pre-installed wares from Lenovo all seemed pretty decent. I normally hate that stuff, especially since my job is in IT and I always like to run a clean XP install, but in this case I wasn't put out by it. I actually miss the wireless software. It was cool for finding out which direction an unsecured router was in. It came in handy in parking lots or at a friends house that had no access... I would find a connection to 'borrow' some internet for a few minutes and walk towards it to get a better signal... When I upgraded to Win 7, I basically lost all the software they installed and have since had to settle for Microsoft's version of wireless management which only gives you signal strength not relative location.

Another thing I like about it is the "roll cage" as they call it... and the shock resistance features they have on the hard drive. It should be able to take a fall... thankfully, I have not tested this yet and I hope that if you get one you never have to either, but the thought that they took the time to develop a safe enclosure with the case as opposed to some pretty little skinny thing that is more for their own interests (advertising) really appeals to me. Don't let that imply that its bulky though... its not. Still, its sturdy. Built well.

Hope this helps... and I hope you enjoy whatever you ultimately decide to go with...
good luck!

Thanks for all of the information, I do like the sturdiness of the Thinkpad because the last thing you want to happen is to accidently drop your laptop and have it break or have the HD break.
Yeah not to keen on a finger print reader, kinda pointless(no pun intended) if someone steals your lappy whether or not they can log on to your computer, its still gone.

[rikhyray]

So you consider buying BMW and asking here if Kia or Huyundai will do? You getting couple of happy Kia users who enthusiastically say I have Kia it is great has 4 wheels and steering wheel, why do you want BMW?
Come on, go for it if you can ADK are professionals for professionals, if you can afford it dont bother about some sissies asking you why BMW. The specs are great so is ADK`s reputation, perhaps you can save on display if you have to otherwise congratulations in advance.
P.S. Regarding GF - she wont believe anyway ( and understand why you need it they never do) that a laptop can cost that much, say it was....whatever, 2k...

Yeah I like the ADK a lot as it was my first choice but its the cost that might prevent me from buying it, but if I go for a 15 inch model, one HD then it will lower the price but not necessarily the performance.
With that being said, what I like about the Thinkpad is that its built like a tank.
So now its a choice between a BMW and a tank :P

Tank? perhaps truck. If you step down from ADK consider MBP. Only MBP will let you have CPU/GPU power and battery life, except for Vaio Z series (horribly expensive and only 13`) no pc can give that, MS is terrible @ managing batteries (Windows on Mac eat batteries as badly as any pc)
Thinkpad is great laptop for office people, not meant for music really. No 6 pin FW, Ricoh chips etc,etc. Non music related, pathetic displays- that was main reason I disposed Thinkpad. Otherwise well build, quietest notebooks( excellent cooling system) of them all, you can replace DVD with second HDD. Check W series as option to T or if you want better battery life X.

[drako]

Asus N61JV-JX007V

*Processor: Intel Core i5 430M (2.26 GHz)
*Memory: 4,096 MB DDR3-1066
*Hard drive: 500 GB (5,400 rpm)
*Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GT 325M (1,024 MB VRAM)
*Display: 16 inch, Glare Type, 1,366 x 768 pixels
*Drive: 8 x DVD Super Multi D / L Double Layer
*Interface: ExpressCard, 8-in-1 card reader, VGA out, 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0, headphone, microphone, eSATA
*Network: 10/100/1000 MBit LAN, WLAN 802.11 b / g / n
*Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium (64bit)
*Battery-dell D5318 ,dell GD761 ,: Li-Ion Battery 6-cell, 4.400mA
*Dimension: 384 x 265 x 27 ~ 39 mm
*Weight: approximately 2.9 kilograms
*Price: 889 Euro