Please Post Your Live DJing Laptop PC Specs here!

keeko · Post by **keeko** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:17 pm

Hi all,

I've been a studio user of Live for some months now and after 15 years DJing with vinyl and laterly cds, I'm about to move to (professional) DJing with Live. (After I've warped all these damn tracks on my Desktop PC that is!

)

For those of you whose footsteps I am humbly following in, I'd really like to hear about the Laptop you are using - PC only sadly, let's not start THAT debate again here.

If possible, supply details of:

Make,
Model,
CPU,
Memory
HDD
Display
OS (I still use Win2K in the studio)
Price (if you don't mind)

I'm planning on using an Echo DJ card. I'm not planning on doing anything too fancy. Just mix tracks and maybe drop the odd accapella or sample in here and there (for now!) so maybe I won't need as high a spec as some of you "TRUE" Live Performers

Feel free to share any of your experiences of reliabilty in sweaty club environments!

Thank you for helping me make this difficult decision!

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:29 pm

Make = M-Tech
Model = D900T
CPU = Intel Pentium 4 650 (3.4 GHz)
RAM = 2048 MB DDR2 (533 MHz)
HDD = 2 x 80 = 160 GB SATA drives (5400 rpm) RAID 0
Display = 17" 1680 x 1050 WSXGA+ GlassView LCD
OS = Windows XP Pro SP2

drush · Post by **drush** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 9:27 pm

save yourself a lot of time and go check out the L4 and L5 PERFORMANCE TEST threads

keeko · Post by **keeko** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:46 pm

Thanks for posts so far. subterFUSE - your laptop sounds EXPENSIVE.

The Performance tests are well and good and I have been checking those but they don't quite go far enough to tell me what kind of spec I will need for DJing with Live. I'm guessing that I don't need an ultra-top spec laptop to do this as I'll not be using tonnes of plugins and tracks etc (see my original post).

So what I really need to know (with reference to the Live Performance specs) is what "score" should my future laptop get in the Performance tests?

Many thanks.

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 1:51 pm

You should base your laptop decision on a number of factors, only one of which is the performance scores on that test.

More important than the peformance score is:

Are you a PC or Mac guy? Which system do you prefer, which do you know best, which runs the software you desire? For example, if you are a Logic user... then it hardly makes sense to buy a PC laptop, now does it?

Personally, I like both PC and Mac.... although I have never actually owned a Mac of my own. But I have used them since most of my music producing friends are all Mac junkies.

I am only using Ableton for DJing at this time, and I don't have plans to be using any other production software anytime soon. So, for me, I wanted a laptop that performed well with Ableton. After going to the Apple store and looking at the PowerBooks, and comparing their specs against PC competitors.... I decided to stick with PC.

If you decide the same, then you will notice that the best performance vs. $$ is with the Intel Pentium M laptops. You can get an excellent computer for about $1,500 (maybe less) that will run Ableton as well as any DJ could ever really need. If you want more, there are certainly more options out there.... for a price.

I went with a larger laptop, with a lot of powerful features. I did this because I already have a Pentium M laptop which is only 3 years old. It is smaller, and if I were to need a portable computer for a trip to check e-mail... that's what I would use. I wanted my Ableton rig to be completely dedicated to Ableton. So I chose a large, powerful laptop that might be overkill. But I should be well suited to run the program for many years, and ready for new programs that come out. For example, my laptop is 64 bit ready.

My system was expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as an Apple PowerBook G4 17" with 2 GB RAM. I simply could not justify spending nearly $1000 more to get an Apple PowerBook, when I look at the specs on my PC. If I wanted to use Logic, then it would be a different story.... but I don't.

keeko · Post by **keeko** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 2:36 pm

Thank you for a very informative post subterFUSE. I'm probably going to stick with PC format for the exact reason you give, $! (I made the change from Mac to Custom Built Desktop PC a couple of years ago for the exact same reason).

I'm definately moving towards a Pentium M processor and probably something around the £800 ($1500) mark.

I'd also be interested in hearing from users with a Laptop less well spec'd than subterFUSE's. How do you get on live, does your laptop fit the bill?

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 2:42 pm

Again. Check the Performance Test thread.

You will find that my performance was actually worse than many people with Pentium M laptops. (I had about 35%) So $$$ doesn't necessarily buy you better performance results.

But those numbers are not the end-all argument. Just a guide for comparison on one area specific to our needs.

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 3:50 pm

HP ZT3010US
1.5gHz Centrino
512MB RAM
60GB 5400 RPM HD
Echo Indigo DJ Soundcard
15.4" display
$ - About $1100-1200 after rebates at CompUsa.com

Sloth_uk · Post by **Sloth_uk** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 6:28 pm

Keeko, I see you're in the UK. If you check out this months Future Music (The one thats out now) Its got a feature on what specs you should go for when looking for a Music laptop. Its also got a group test of about 6-7 laptops. I can tell you now the best on test was the Dell inspiron 6000, beating the powerbook and a whole host of others.

Michael-SW · Post by **Michael-SW** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 7:45 pm

If you want to save some bucks, go for a lower end Pentium M, 512 MB memory, 60 GB harddrive. The decide for youself iw you want to be ultra portable with a 12" screen, go for the standard 15" or splash out on a 15.4" wide screen.

Even if you decide on another brand, benchmark the price against Dell. They are always the cheapest. Agree with the poster above, go buy this month's Future Music. Besides the tests, there are a lot of good laptop advice.

klarky · Post by **klarky** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 8:58 pm

i use a dell inspiron 9100 - its a desktop replacement laptop so has a p4 3 gig cpu, 786MB ram, 40 gig hdd, echo dj card, windows xp pro, 15"WSXGA screen price £600 from dell outlet. its actually more powerful than my desktop except i have a gig of ram in that, and the dell has been more than enough for djing duties, it not the smalles/lightest laptop but cost and cooling were my main issues and this thing has some big fans, but then the cpu needs it, still it doesnt get as hot as my old dell laptop from a few years back

xuoham · Post by **xuoham** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 12:54 am

Make: Toshiba
Model: M30 (export model- english OS- available in Tokyo, other name overseas?)
CPU: Centrino 1,7 MgHz
Memory: 768M
HDD: 80Gb at 5400 rpm
Display: 15.4" wide-screen XGA
OS: XP1 Home Edition
Price: 180 000 yens (= 1600 $?)

Works rock solid with Live 4 or 5 for dj sets (up to 7 hours straight, no problem),
but also live sets and guitar looping impros. Soundcard: VX Pocket v2 with 160 buffer size = 6 ms latency altogether. With X-session controller, i'm very happy when djing. It's fast so i use many plugins and be it house or ambient, sets are always a very enjoyable time, with no background fear of crashing (just use "complex" warping mode only when strictly necessary!) This lappie is very thin, doesn't heat up too much (no P4), though the (silent) fan is almost always on. Looks a bit plastic-y, you wouldn't wanna drop it on the floor, but i take good care of it (especially at beach parties here in Okinawa= very humid!) and after a year, i didn't get any single problem. Seems to me that Toshiba is a very reliable maker. Using Live exclusively, i'm very glad i switched from Mac to PC last year!
Really a happy laptop user here... but when i see the power headroom i have, i guess i would be happy as well with a less fast Centrino (around 800- 1500$), the only indispensable things would be: 5400 rpm HDD, separate video RAM.

keeko · Post by **keeko** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 7:21 pm

Thank you to everyone who has posted. Some very useful advice so far.

I'll definately be checking FM this month. It's good to hear about your actual djing experiences with a laptop - I'm particulary concerned about how the laptop will cope with moisture, the clubs I play at often get rather sweaty for some reason!

Interesting to hear how positive responses have been for Dell, posts in some other threads I have read recently have been less positive so I had started to discount Dell from my search. Size and weight aren't too much of an issue -anything has to be lighter than 2 bags of 12"s, a CD player and a couple of wallets of CDs(!)

So far I've heard only good stories. Has anyone found themselves with a real "lemon" of a laptop and embarrasing crashes/glitches on stage?

drush · Post by **drush** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 7:30 pm

you might want to look @ the panasonic toughbooks if you are really concerned about durability.

but otherwise i think you may be (understandably) trying to be a bit too specific when there really isn't all that much differentiation to be had. look around and you'll be able to find ppl who tell you that HP, toshiba, dell, sony, acer, sager, alien, etc are all the best thing. "ever". it's just a matter of preference. fwiw i had an HP/AMD laptop and it was fookin wonderful.

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 10:25 pm

Well.... laptop computers are a commodity item.

All laptops are pretty much made by 1 of 4 case manufacturers in Taiwan. There are a few rare exceptions, like IBM and Sony... but for the most part this is true.