VAIO or DELL????

computercontrolled · Post by **computercontrolled** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:22 am

Im about to buy a lap top for live performance...id like to know wich of these brands would u choose. Both have same specs but DELL is 150 usd cheaper. i've heard some issues from DELL but still i have doubts.,wich would u recommend???

I plan to install live only.please dont tell me buy mac.

b0unce · Post by **b0unce** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:32 am

anything but sony.

robleighton22 · Post by **robleighton22** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:38 am

computercontrolled wrote:Im about to buy a lap top for live performance...id like to know wich of these brands would u choose. Both have same specs but DELL is 150 usd cheaper. i've heard some issues from DELL but still i have doubts.,wich would u recommend???

I plan to install live only.please dont tell me buy mac.

definitely dell. if u r not getting a mac, and u havnt used vista before, all i can say is research the drivers for ur soundcard cos there may b probs. ive got a motu 828 mkII usb, and hav had nothing but trouble with vista. often crashes, and audio pops/dropouts happen now and then. on my m8s mac, it works flawlessly. important stuff if u r considering using ableton. seriously im happy with, other than the fact it is clear underperforming for audio stuff. im definitely regretting getting given ive got an expensive sound card that doesnt stop having issues with windows.

adventurepants_ · Post by **adventurepants_** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:42 am

robleighton22 wrote:
computercontrolled wrote:Im about to buy a lap top for live performance...id like to know wich of these brands would u choose. Both have same specs but DELL is 150 usd cheaper. i've heard some issues from DELL but still i have doubts.,wich would u recommend???

I plan to install live only.please dont tell me buy mac.
definitely dell. if u r not getting a mac, and u havnt used vista before, all i can say is research the drivers for ur soundcard cos there may b probs. ive got a motu 828 mkII usb, and hav had nothing but trouble with vista. often crashes, and audio pops/dropouts happen now and then. on my m8s mac, it works flawlessly. important stuff if u r considering using ableton. seriously im happy with, other than the fact it is clear underperforming for audio stuff. im definitely regretting getting given ive got an expensive sound card that doesnt stop having issues with windows.

roll it back to XP and watch your audio problems disappear. Ive had endless audio performance problems under Vista that just vanish under XP on the same hardware. Its more likely a problem on the vendor side with bad audio card drivers, its best to let them mature for another year or so.

also Dell are great with the on site warranty. most laptops will fail in the warranty period with some issue, so its better to have them come to you to fix it rather than send it off to the unknown.

The VAIOs are harder to get XP drivers for than the Dells.

infiniteB · Post by **infiniteB** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:21 am

I know, I know, I'm not answering the question, I know...

Buy a MAC, and be MUCH happier and inspired (or I could be exaggerating, biased, etc, etc...)

adventurepants_ · Post by **adventurepants_** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:53 am

infiniteB wrote:I know, I know, I'm not answering the question, I know...

Buy a MAC, and be MUCH happier and inspired (or I could be exaggerating, biased, etc, etc...)

dont feel so bad. if you werent a fanboy, we wouldnt have stereotypes to make fun of.

infiniteB · Post by **infiniteB** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:01 am

It's funny though, if I am a fanboy, I've become what I myself used to talk SH$# on... because I actually saw for myself what MACs can do... I'll be dat.

J

craftycurate · Post by **craftycurate** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:23 am

computercontrolled wrote:Im about to buy a lap top for live performance...id like to know wich of these brands would u choose. Both have same specs but DELL is 150 usd cheaper. i've heard some issues from DELL but still i have doubts.,wich would u recommend???

I plan to install live only.please dont tell me buy mac.

DELL is pretty good for me - machine itself is very reliable - loads of connectiity options (6 x USB, Firewire, 3 video connectors etc).

computercontrolled · Post by **computercontrolled** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:53 am

infiniteB if i had enough budget id get a make and wouldnt be wasting people's time and mine asking.

I choose this two brands because i can get Xp drivers,all i will use it with ableton live, only for live performance.Both dell and vaio have the same specs, i just wanted to know wich brand has better reputation, im making a big effort to buy this lap top and i wouldnt like to get a machine that in 6 months falls into pieces....ive heear bad rumors about dell, but great support, about vaio almost no support but realiable , but its better to ask for more than 1 or two opinions.

infiniteB · Post by **infiniteB** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:04 am

Al good... that's the best thing about forums, you can get real-life answers quickly...
Others can give you a better idea about Dell vs Sony...
I was just fillin in my 2 cents, coming from a "PC-or-die" world to a "Oh My God look what I was missing, and how much money I saved even though I spent a little more at first, but look at how much fun and inspiration I have now even if some unlucky people label me as a hopping on a bandwagon, but damn it, this bandwagon rocks" world...
I won't take any more of your time... I'm sure you can get some good answers from osome other people

J

leedsquietman · Post by **leedsquietman** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:52 am

I have had 5 Dell machines, including 3 laptops and 4 of them have been great, The warranty covered issues that affected the fifth one, which has been great since it got repaired. They also offer complete care, which could be handy because it covers things like spillages or dropping your computer, both of which could occur at a a gig. I don't know if this is just covered in the home though, so research it but Applecare do not cover beer spilled in your computer or any kind of other klutzy damages. I have no experience with Sony so can't compare.

My next purchase however will be a Mac because I run them at work and like OSX and the stability of the machines. Vista is a big fat spanner in the works of PCs and yes, my current XP machine has been great for the last 4 years, but XP is set to die soon and support will go not too far after. And given that Vista itself is going to be replaced in a couple of years too, I don't want to be an alpha tester for device drivers and bad o/s.

If you shop around, you can often find deals on Mac Book Pros such as opened box or refurbished for quite a bit less than a new one and in th elong run the extra investment might really be worth it.

Be sure to buy a good audio interface, the inbuilt sound card on PC laptops suck ass and are almost unusable, so budget that into your cost too.

NorthernMonkey · Post by **NorthernMonkey** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:12 am

Been using a VAIO for the past two years. No problems with Vista, no problems getting drivers. My previous Dell was bulky and noisy.

night shift · Post by **night shift** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:16 am

Bear in mind that laptops often suffer with 'ground noise' when using the mains power. Using battery power gets rid of this background interference but obviously you are limited for time if you're playing out.

there seems not to be a clear solution to this problem so i'm now going for a desktop.

Also laptop hard drives run at slower speeds, typically 4200rpm whereas desktops normally run at 7200rpm. This is important for ableton as audio files are streamed from the hard drive

leedsquietman · Post by **leedsquietman** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:20 am

The majority of PC laptops run at 5400 these days and my 4 year old Dell laptop has a 7200 HD. But yes, get a 7200 if you can.

Also, running on battery might be OK for very light sets with few tracks and plugins but if you are using the laptop as a home recording machine, that will burn out your battery and cripple your track and plug in count severely. So run it on AC for this - i have had no grounding or AC noise issues with any of my Dell laptops.

ollyb303 · Post by **ollyb303** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:44 am

I run live 7 on a dell vostro 1510 with core 2 duo T8100 and 4gb ram on xp sp3. It rocks basically. can't say anything about the vaio, but I'm very, very happy with my lovely Dell!

VAIO or DELL????

VAIO or DELL????

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Re: VAIO or DELL????

Re: VAIO or DELL????

Dell