Ableton Forum

My Budget is around 1200 Euros (around 1,559 USD)

So I need something stable and durable.

Ive made 2 choices:

Hewlett-Packard nx7400: costs around 1100 Euro

CPU: Core 2 Duo T7200 2x 2.00GHZ
RAM: 1 Gig
HDD: 120 Gigs

and

Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pi1556: costs around 1300 Euro

CPU: Core 2 Duo T7200 2x 2.00GHZ
RAM: 2 Gigs
HDD: 120 gigs

Which one is better? Also is there any alternatives?

Look at ASUS F3JV with extra memory thrown in if u need

Isn't the nx a business notebook?

If you're looking at the nx7400, you might as well look at dv6000 or dv6000z - it's solidly built, looks good (with the imprint finish) and has SPDIF built-in. Customize it and add more RAM. Got this last month - my Live has come aLive...

The main difference given the info is the ram. I'd ask these questions:


What is the HD speed of both?
What video is available?
What is the price of the HP machine with 2 GB ram?
Do they both have Texas Instruments fw cards?

The last thing is because it seems that non-TI cards cause some FW hardware problems, so you want to avoid.

mikemc wrote:The main difference given the info is the ram. I'd ask these questions:


What is the HD speed of both?
What video is available?
What is the price of the HP machine with 2 GB ram?
Do they both have Texas Instruments fw cards?

The last thing is because it seems that non-TI cards cause some FW hardware problems, so you want to avoid.

1) Both 5600 Rpm
2) HP - Intel GMA950 onboard Graphic max.224MB shared memory, Fujitsu - NVidia GeForce Go 7600 256MB
3) Theres only 1 GB model
4) Im not sure

Shoma wrote:

mikemc wrote:The main difference given the info is the ram. I'd ask these questions:


What is the HD speed of both?
What video is available?
What is the price of the HP machine with 2 GB ram?
Do they both have Texas Instruments fw cards?

The last thing is because it seems that non-TI cards cause some FW hardware problems, so you want to avoid.

1) Both 5600 Rpm
2) HP - Intel GMA950 onboard Graphic max.224MB shared memory, Fujitsu - NVidia GeForce Go 7600 256MB
3) Theres only 1 GB model
4) Im not sure

What I've been told on Laptops is to stay away from those which used shared memory for video. I went with the DV9000 HP Pavilion 2Ghz Core 2 Duo, 2Gb memory, 100Gb SATA HD (recently updated to 2 120Gb SATA's). But it ran me ~$1600 before state taxes. Got a better *instant off* by searching for HP Laptop Coupons* via Google. Last time I checked I wasn't able to use a coupon and they upped the install rebate from $150 to $200. I got $282 up from $150 initial instant rebate. Get best you can for the money. Also look for PCMCIA slots as I believe the new DV6k/9k's don't have them, mine has the new ExpressBus Cardslot which sucks as nothing is made for it for Audio that is available TODAY. So my Echo Indigo will be going up for sale for around $85 shipped in the US. PM me if interested in the card btw!

Mike

Shoma wrote:

mikemc wrote:The main difference given the info is the ram. I'd ask these questions:


What is the HD speed of both?
What video is available?
What is the price of the HP machine with 2 GB ram?
Do they both have Texas Instruments fw cards?

The last thing is because it seems that non-TI cards cause some FW hardware problems, so you want to avoid.

1) Both 5600 Rpm
2) HP - Intel GMA950 onboard Graphic max.224MB shared memory, Fujitsu - NVidia GeForce Go 7600 256MB
3) Theres only 1 GB model
4) Im not sure

Based on familiarity with the brand, I'd see if the HP comes in a very similar variant with 2GB ram and dedicated video for about the same price as the fujitsu. Based on the specs the Fujitsu seems like a better choice (that is, see if you can find an HP with similar specs/price). In either case when you choose, verify the firewire card type, this can be important down the road.

HP is currently offering some cash if you trade-in your old laptop, don't know if that applies to you. I have an HP Compaq nx7010 and it's always been fairly finicky under Ableton Live, I don't think I'll be getting another for music purposes - HP laptop, that is.