laptops for producing

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leecurtiss
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Post by leecurtiss »

i just bought a sony viao and i absolutely love it. 3.2 gig pentium 4 processor 512 ram and it flies. if you're looking for performance do not get a centrino, look for a pentium 4. the centrinos are good but they are set up to conserve battery life not all out speed and performance. i use ableton and almost every other program you can think of and my laptop runs smoother than i imagined it would no matter what i have open.
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fredrik_h
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Post by fredrik_h »

sort of off-topic, but I feel it's important to know:

Just want to point out once for all that mac isn't a "problem-free" computer which many people seem to think. and it's not some easy computer that does everything automaticlly when it comes to configure them for audio use etc.. I'd say it's pretty much the same as a pc these days. Sure, core audio has its advantages in some ways, but it isn't 'all that'. A good computer though, I love mine - but don't think switching to mac will solve your audio-config problems - take my word for it. :)

Just wanted to point that out, and yeah - sony vaio is a good choice.
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daemon
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Post by daemon »

Minimiser wrote: By ableton they recommed a MAC?

Yeah ok but if you take a look here http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12375

you can see that

a pentium M 2ghz outperforms a G5 2*2.ghz working with ableton
Image

So i dunno, i never worked with mac myself just see it in the studio of my friend but if this is true then why would i pay more for a mac powerbook as an pentium M does the job equally or even better


To LeeCurtiss :This also shows that the new Pentium M (sonoma) is faster then P4. I would love to have one of them sony's though with their perfect screens 8)

One question about the powerbook : what ghz should it have to produce working with ableton and logic

Cause if i buy a new laptop i dont want it to be outdated after a few months

Grtz
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fredrik_h
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Post by fredrik_h »

I got an 1ghz powerbook 768mb ram, works nice with logic for sure, never tried ableton on it.

I pretty much just record/playback audiotracks though, using hardware synths/effects...
Torque
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Post by Torque »

i actually recommend a pc over a mac by far
i havn't come across a mac vet that can handle the beating i put on my pc running Reaktor 4, Sonar 4, and reason at the same time
all the studio computers i use for mixdowns are pc and they work without problems
i'v had 70 channel studio mixdowns using waves plugins without having to bounce the audio with effects on a pc before
LetsGoOutside
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Post by LetsGoOutside »

definitely go with a fast p4m-based system (not centrino). my two-year old, 5lb gateway still screams. i run fl studio with multiple instances of kontakt, battery, absynth, and korg legacy as vsts, and live on top of that for vocals, and guitar -- all at the same time.

don't sweat battery issues. chances are, you will always be able to plug in when working on music or at shows (except when on the bus and what not). also, a new battery will give you a good three hours of life at first, and get crappy after twelve to eighteen months. just replace it. $70 a year is a small investment.

my dual g5 glitches when i have even three "bigger" apps running inside of live. there's no way a powerbook could keep up. if you just want to produce music without worrying about eating cpu or memory, and you don't care about the apple brand or "aesthetic", then there is no reason to ever buy a mac. as a bonus, you save money for a faster machine. except -- it is nice to have both, as the plug research boys are always making cool mac software.
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cyhl
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Post by cyhl »

yes, and all this (the fact that, to summarize abruptly, pcs are more powerful) is being confirmed by apple's decision to switch to intel processors!
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cyhl
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Post by cyhl »

daemon wrote:i dont wanna start a mac vs pc thread, its just smth i noticed
sorry...
daemon wrote:Does everyone on here working with a laptop or doing lives use mac ???
well, I'm an all pc guy... but my partner (someone else) is an all mac guy; and yes, he uses a mac for his liveset, and he's never had any problem (except once, when the computer just died in the middle of his set; but well, that can happen to any computer)
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