Which PC notebook to buy.

doki_pen · Post by **doki_pen** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 6:35 am

I'm considering buying a new laptop, are there any manufacturers out there building PC laptops geared towards music production?

Julian · Post by **Julian** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 7:27 am

Check out ASUS, they manufacture some of the better quality laptops.
The new Z62F laptop looks awesome for music prodcution:

Intel Yonah Processor with 2MB DUAL CORE 1.83Mhz
14” WXGA (1280x800) TFT display
Dimensions:
13.15” x 9.9” x 1.00”~1.4” inches (WXDXH)- 5.5lbs w/ 6-cell battery

minimal · Post by **minimal** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 8:14 am

IBM/lenovo

eyeknow · Post by **eyeknow** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 8:40 am

Hard drive speed and graphic support...........they can't be changed. You really need 5400rpm and a separate video processor instead of the intel "accelerated" graphics...........

It's bad idea because then it's suckin' on cpu and such instead of having it's own deal ..and your clicks and pop's could be more freaquent.

FaX-01 · Post by **FaX-01** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 12:17 pm

Personally I'd only go with TBM or Toshiba at the moment myself.
Or the Acer Ferari AMD 64 3200+ Model which is extremely well built and works well as a DAW also (well a mate has it with Sonar and it's the proverbial shit when fired up and running).
That said as I stated I have great success with both IBM and Toshiba notebooks.

doki_pen · Post by **doki_pen** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 6:49 pm

I really like the IBM Lenovos but the price is kinda high.

The Asus looks really good and the price is more reasonable. One of the nice features of the IBM notepads is the port replicator with the pcmcia slot in it. This would allow me to use my 8 channel sound card when at home, and use the 4 channel one on the road.

One thing's for sure, this isn't going to be cheap.

One of the nice thing's I've noticed about computers lately is that they are so fast now, that they appear to go "out of date" much slower. Do you guys find this also?

ILTK · Post by **ILTK** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 7:10 pm

doki_pen wrote:One of the nice thing's I've noticed about computers lately is that they are so fast now, that they appear to go "out of date" much slower. Do you guys find this also?

Definately, I have a 3.8 amd that I had for a while now and most of the time it's not even breakin a sweat, I can't see what I'm going to run in the near future that would change that, I remember when an 800mhz was the hottest and I only had it for a few months untill I started tapping my fingers while waiting for it to do something.

Whatever notebook you get, stay away from Fujitsu notebooks, I have a 3.2 amillo and the damn thing shuts down after 15 minutes from overheating if the cpu is over 30%, had it checked and nothing is wrong with it so now it sits in a closet with a large oscillating fan on it and is used as a vst host

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 8:19 pm

doki_pen wrote:I really like the IBM Lenovos but the price is kinda high.

well then what's your budget? Are there any features you *must* have on your new pc? What sizes are you leaning towards? 12,14,15,15.4,17?

doki_pen wrote: One of the nice thing's I've noticed about computers lately is that they are so fast now, that they appear to go "out of date" much slower. Do you guys find this also?

Computers are still pretty much following Moore's Law really, so the main thing that has changed is probably our awareness of new technology and the *social* pressures to update, buy new mp3-players, laptops etc.
The way I see it my thinkpad still does what I wanted it to do - handle x amount of computations per second. I can't ask it to take a personal development class or anything. Sure, I want to upgrade as well, but that doesn't detract from the qualities of the laptop under my palms right now.

Andy (lusting after Acer TravelMates)

doki_pen · Post by **doki_pen** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:05 pm

I gotta say that for the sake of using Live all the time, screen resolution is important to me. One of the reasons I'm really leaning towards the levonos is because on some of the models the vertical resolution is 1050, which is 26 dpi more that my 19" monitor... that would be sweet!

I was thinking I could put the laptop on my credit card and pay it off as I get the money. I figure to get the laptop I want, I'll need to spend in the 1600 to 2000 range. I believe I could get a lenovo with 1gb ram and a port replicator for about that much.

Spacerboy · Post by **Spacerboy** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 7:53 pm

Dell 9400!!!

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 8:58 pm

doki_pen wrote:I gotta say that for the sake of using Live all the time, screen resolution is important to me. One of the reasons I'm really leaning towards the levonos is because on some of the models the vertical resolution is 1050, which is 26 dpi more that my 19" monitor... that would be sweet!

I have a Thinkpad as well - 1400x1050 and it's sooo good.

doki_pen wrote:I figure to get the laptop I want, I'll need to spend in the 1600 to 2000 range.

You're in international waters here: euros, pounds, dollars, rand, rubles?

doki_pen · Post by **doki_pen** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 7:44 am

dollars, but if a shark told me I couldn't say dollars, then I'd be forced to say rubles...

leonard · Post by **leonard** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:52 am

I'm inn the processing of sourcing a decent PC laptop myself. in terms of quality (that is chassis durability), i see sony or ibm to be the most sturdy. toshiba comes next. in terms of performance, specs are specs, you'll get what you want from any manufacturer. Qualty internal components like HD/MB, i guess, would be next to consider. Also, something someone mentioned to me, is perhaps a laptop will introduce line noise (if its uninsulated). I've never ownedd a plaptop, so I cant say, but maybe powerbooks (and new macbooks) are insulated. i have no idea what goes on in the PC world, because I've never owned one.

If anyone can offer me, and the starter of this thread (can't remember back that far, sorry), some advice on the above points, then I'm sure we'd both be more than willing to, er, show our appreciation.....

doki_pen · Post by **doki_pen** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:51 pm

Maybe some of you laptop owners can report on the sturdyness and durability of your laptop's chassis.

Specs are specs, but not all manufacturers are the same. Pay attention to details like processor type, chipset, Level 2 cache, bus speed, ram speed, max ram size, screen size/resolution, video card, video card memory, is it shared? hard drive rpms, does the laptop have firewire ports? usb? pcmcia? how many?

The quality of the manufacturer's internal components link directly with their warranty plans. These plans makeup where manufacturers cut corners to save money. I've seen many of my friends buy laptops, certain components go out, and they end up being relieved they decided to spring for the extra warranty/service plans.

I'm not sure about that insulated thing, do you mean shielding? maybe someone here knows. Are you referring to radio waves leaving the laptop? or entering the laptop?

amo · Post by **amo** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:54 pm

Machinate wrote: Andy (lusting after Acer TravelMates)

not x60 levono ?