Ableton Forum

Hi Guys,,,

i am a laptop DJ (live6) and i am using a Dell Inspiron 6400 2x1,6ghz/2gbRam/80GB.
Works great but i think about to buy a new one with more HD-space !?
Which notebooks are you using with live ? Some suggestions or recommendations ? What is good, what is bad ?

For example: i heard about many problems with Sony Vaio ?!
What about Asus/Samsung/LG and all the others ?
i prefer Dell, but they only deliver whith vista

thx
...

Hi I recomend You a Alienware Laptop www.alienware.com

I'm using Sony Vaio FE-series laptops, for their stability, excellent audio quality, thier VERY bright displays (dual lamp, i can still perfectly read my display when there's a bright spot or sunlight directly reflecting on it, which is really annoying on any other laptop i know)
and above all, their SOLID casing (mine has magnesium casing), since the life of a live perfomer REALLY requires a strong laptop that can resist a few shocks now and then. Furthermore, it just looks great.

i would recommend a macbook or macbook pro,very fast and very stable.

mtec wrote:i would recommend a macbook or macbook pro,very fast and very stable.

I second that, I've been using a macbook for more than a year for my live shows.

As long as you take some things in consideration, you'll have no hassle at all.

First of all, use at least 384 samples latency. It's a perfect compromise between stability and delay when playing keys.

Secondly, connect your usb audio interface to the first usb port on the right and the rest of your stuff (or a hub) to the second one. However, I'd not recommend a usb powered interface or worse, an m-audio firewire one. I have a blackbox and it runs fine.

Yesterday I had a TF, an axiom 25, another axiom 49, and an O2 connected through a hub. The blackbox connected to the other port, and all wav files on the original 120gb internal hd. It's not even a C2D but the first coreduo. Well, no single problem here, still lots of plugins, something like 40. I had 30% cpu charge in the worst case. No clicks and pops.

The only cases I had problems with were with less than 384 samples latency (pops clicks) and the lack of usb power when using improper usb cables (get GOOD ones).

Once you respect that, you'll have no problems at all with your macbook.

I'd go for the macbook instead of the mbp because it's smaller, and you can change the hd on your own.

L.

if your are in the states and lookin for a pc, check out http://www.adkproaudio.com

i've been very happy with the laptop i bought from them last year.

Are all Macbooks equipped with MIDI in? because some laptops don't and is it advisable to use a USB converter for MIDI?

I don't think any computer is equipped with MIDI in are they? That's part of the audio interface you use.

I've noticed some laptops are equipped with it, I'm planning on buying one and connecting it to a MIDI controller, any suggestions?

something like this.

http://www.thomann.de/de/esi_romio_usbmidiinterface.htm

ewy wrote:I've noticed some laptops are equipped with it, I'm planning on buying one and connecting it to a MIDI controller, any suggestions?

really? what is it? any chance of you posting a link? never ever heard of a laptop with a hardware midi in... i'd be happy if there was one though!

rocker101 wrote:Works great but i think about to buy a new one with more HD-space !?

you could buy an external hard drive, or get a larger one installed. if your djing maybe it's worth waiting for the new solid state drives to come down in price and get larger towards the end of the year. they promise to be *MUCH* quicker than regular drives meaning you'd have shorter load times on large mp3/wav files.

i dunno the brand man, but i one saw this guy who brought a laptop and plug it in into his djm800 and start mixing with it, it was dark in clubs though so maybe it was a usb interface like dominik suggested.

rocker101 wrote:Works great but i think about to buy a new one with more HD-space !?

you could buy an external hard drive, or get a larger one installed. if your djing maybe it's worth waiting for the new solid state drives to come down in price and get larger towards the end of the year. they promise to be *MUCH* quicker than regular drives meaning you'd have shorter load times on large mp3/wav files.[/quote]

I would like to install a bigger HD but i think it is more action to do this, than to buy a new Notebook Dell told me that there is no specific HD available for the Inspiron6400, for sure it is possible to get a bigger one, but i think i will sell this 6400 to buy another notebook (2x2,2ghz and 300GB HD). I have got an external HD too, but only for safety !! Don´t like to take it to the clubs !

thx

mtec wrote:i would recommend a macbook or macbook pro,very fast and very stable.

yep. apple ftw.

dru wrote:I don't think any computer is equipped with MIDI in are they? That's part of the audio interface you use.

the last computer i saw with midi out of the box in was an atari st
macbook pro if you can afford it