Buying a laptop.

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aukemid
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Buying a laptop.

Post by aukemid » Sun Jun 24, 2007 5:54 pm

For my new education I have to buy a laptop and I'd like to have one that can handle Ableton Live without any problems and of course good sound quality.
I don't know very much about what a good laptop would be, so I could use some help in choosing one. Money isn't a real problem.

Brainstormer
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Post by Brainstormer » Sun Jun 24, 2007 6:53 pm

MacBook Pro
Image

aukemid
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Post by aukemid » Mon Jun 25, 2007 4:15 pm

And what could you recommendate with a price around €1500,-

Airwave
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Post by Airwave » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:08 pm

the macbook (not pro), you'll LOVE that laptop if you can live with the smaller screen.

The fact that you can exchange the internal hard drive on your own without pain might be the arugment of decision.

get 2gb ram from start and you'll be set for months and months.

L.
OOPS

dextroc
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Post by dextroc » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:23 pm

but the pro is a dream, though. I love mine.
Yup...
MacBook Pro 15" 2.33 GHz, Ableton Live Suite 8, Max/MSP/Jitter, TC Konnekt 24d, Remote SL 25, Monome, joysticks, music boxes, harps, guitars, whatever...

aukemid
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Post by aukemid » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:30 pm

I think I go for the PRO just have to negotiate a bit with my parents. (they would pay a part cause it's for my education)

LJN
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Post by LJN » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:32 pm

Get a cheap Acer laptop, replace the stock hard drive with a 7200 rpm and max out the ram. You can get a monster machine for a lot less than you think.

whiterabbit
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www.pcaudiolabs.com

Post by whiterabbit » Sun Jul 01, 2007 4:29 am


yleh8k
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Post by yleh8k » Fri Jul 06, 2007 7:08 pm

do you think the laptop here::
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde ... N#MoreInfo would be able to handle Live??

i want to switch to a laptop cuz my desktop is LOUD (not good for music!!), but my desktop is quite more powerful (2.4ghz).

nate_D
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Post by nate_D » Sun Jul 08, 2007 12:20 am

just went through this 2 months ago. my suggestion is to try them all out then go with the one u feel the most comfortable on or fits your budget. 2gb of ram is a must. and by all means avoid vista.
Macbook 2ghz c2d, 2gb ram, osx 10.5.5, live 8.0.8, fw-1884, ms20, x-session, 2xLP

totalvo
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Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 10:36 pm

NO pro

Post by totalvo » Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:46 pm

I wouldn't go with the pro. the average life span of a lap top is 4 years. The cost of the mac book pro does not warrant the expenditure. I would suggest the Macbook, use the hell out of the machine, load it with RAM, and use it as an instrument you know you will need to upgrade at some point down the road.

yleh8k
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Post by yleh8k » Fri Jul 20, 2007 5:31 pm

why is 2gigs of RAM essential? what will happen with just 1gig? right now i have only around 500mb, and ableton holds up well unless i make a song unnecessarily complex, or if i use something from the EIC.
just wondering since the upgrade costs like 200$.

also a quesion about macbooks: there doesnt seem to be a MIDI port, so how do you all get around that?

nate_D
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Post by nate_D » Fri Jul 20, 2007 8:11 pm

RAM isn't as expensive as you think. it gives you the ability to do more at once i think...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820233050
this is where i got mine from. works perfectly.
for midi get a usb controller or firewire device that has midi outs. a friend of mine just got an akai mpk16 (hooks up through usb and has one midi out) that was only 100$. works great for him as far as i can tell.
Macbook 2ghz c2d, 2gb ram, osx 10.5.5, live 8.0.8, fw-1884, ms20, x-session, 2xLP

NewSc2
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Re: NO pro

Post by NewSc2 » Mon Jul 23, 2007 8:18 am

totalvo wrote:I wouldn't go with the pro. the average life span of a lap top is 4 years. The cost of the mac book pro does not warrant the expenditure. I would suggest the Macbook, use the hell out of the machine, load it with RAM, and use it as an instrument you know you will need to upgrade at some point down the road.
I would spring for the Pro. The screen quality is worth the price difference. The Macbook's screen is pretty mediocre, and kinda small.

yleh8k
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Re: NO pro

Post by yleh8k » Mon Jul 23, 2007 6:55 pm

NewSc2 wrote:
totalvo wrote:I wouldn't go with the pro. the average life span of a lap top is 4 years. The cost of the mac book pro does not warrant the expenditure. I would suggest the Macbook, use the hell out of the machine, load it with RAM, and use it as an instrument you know you will need to upgrade at some point down the road.
I would spring for the Pro. The screen quality is worth the price difference. The Macbook's screen is pretty mediocre, and kinda small.
the price difference is more than what it would cost to buy a separate, 17" or even 19" display (which is what i'm doing:)

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