From the original SynthMaker forum (2004–2014), with its members’ names and dates.
GaryG ·
I've been looking at a couple of laptop options recently, not for live use or anything, just convenience; was wondering how many people here used one for their music/sound work?
The really cheap ones seem based on celeron-m's which I'd normally dismiss *but* I've also read very favourable comparisons with centrino pentium Ms (powerwise, obviously they miss the powersaving features).
Anyone any thoughts? My MO is generally processing audio with various plugs, audiomulch etc. and then assembling tracks rather than traditional recording. I guess I'm saying cpu power is more important to me than disk performance.
Hi GaryG.... An issue or two ago in computer music magazine they reviewed the Area 51 by alienware and it got great reviews.. If youve got money to spend One of their laptops might be worth getting.. Alienwares desktops are always overpriced but with laptops , there really arent that many good or great laptop cpu's out there... On the website they now have an AMD 64 bit laptop option... I love AMD... I think they are better for music and gaming than intel... intel has more clock cycles always and is better for doing server related tasks... so if I were you i'd shoot for AMd but there really aren't that many good laptops out right now especially AMD 64bit ones... You should try to get a laptop with 533mhz RAM as opposed to the regular 400mhz.. This will help you squeeze more performance out of less space... If I had just won a million dollars I might get a laptop custom built buy someone so, for quality over price you might want to look into custom design or 1 of the 2 top alienware laptops..... If its a desktop solution you're possibly after......
http://www.lionsdeninc.com/LCC
My best friend just created a computer design business and they're Elijah Pro is used in our studio all day everytime i'm in there.. It performs flawlessly.. It's lightning fast with no problems EVER! I haven't been able to run into track count issues yet... And i've actually tried to crash the thing when we were doing beta testing a year ago and I couldn't crash it! I still think that AMD dual core is the best bet but nowadays performance seems to be based slightly upon opinion... Theres just too many cpu dealers to choose from Stick with this: get the 533mhz RAM(its way faster), get two hard drives one @ 10,000 RPM,and get an EMU laptop breakout sound card.... I hope I could help you.. I feel like I'm rambling on now.....soooo...... Peace and Science
infuzion ·
I found my notebook deal on DealNews:
http://dealnews.com/categories/Computer ... ks/49.html
It's a AMD64 Presariao R3000, which is decent; but I bought it low on RAM & HD expecting to upgrade which I can't afford to do right now :/ But it's still a good plan of attack; because it's nearly impossible to upgrade your bus speed, video (get offboard vid ram), screen after you buy it. So IMHO, here's what you need to get:
* 400/533 bus
* USB2 & Firewire
* seperate gfx chip & memory (most video uses system mem)
* fastest CPU you can afford
* biggest screen & highest res you can afford & carry (bigger usually = heavier)
* WiFi "g" (not just "b"; I find my internal WiFi better than most external USB dongles)
* 1 free RAM slot (lots of 512Gb configs use the 2nd slot)
Optional:
* lots of USB ports (since most laptops now don't come with other ports & 1 PC Card slot)
* better keyboard: more keys
* TV & video out
* if you're worried about Linux, see if the laptop (video, WiFi, etc) are fully supported, esp in 64bit mode if you're going for that
Put off:
* better HD (get the cheapest unless a good upgrade is like only
0 more; you can either upgrade internally & have the old as a spare, or use FW/USB2 drive)
* DVD/CD burner (external is better, unless you're worried about total weight)
* memory (usually cheaper at http://dealram.com/prices/28/512MB.html than manufacture-installed)
Brands:
* Toshiba & Dell has a good rep, Sonys I heard are OK but are expsive to fix, HP/Compaq have issues
I just kept a spreadsheet of the best I found on DealNews, & jumped when one stood out. Becarefull; a low price usually means they'll try to rope you into adding more expensive stuff on it.
infuzion ·
oops, I guess you want my feedback, heh
Yea, my AMD64 pretty much will take anything you throw at it, though 3d stuff you'll stagger abit, & my low (256Gb) memory will hit the HD for vitural memory if I keep anything more than SM & Firefox. Most software are still designed for 1Mhz CPUs, so no worries there.
Keep in mind if you load lots of VST(i)s, it will still hit the HD.
skOre ·
256 MEGABYTES OF RAM???
You're insane.
GaryG ·
thanks for all that guys.
@Sound Scientist: Yeah, the Alienware ones are gorgeous but I can't really justify the outlay (apparently kids need stuff too 🙂) I jumped to AMD a couple of PCs back (build my own) and wouldn't go back.
@infuzion: thanks, that's a neat checklist with a fair few points I hadn't considered... I'd never heard bad things about HP till now...
.g
fritzman ·
Hey Gary,
check repair costs on models you're interested in. Dell is REALLY expensive with their repairs. I once read they take a fixed amount of money for repairing, no matter how small the problem is. And this amount was quite high. Generally service can be an important thing. My brother in law has a subnotebook and had some problems with it and it took them several times to get it repaired and each time it was away for some weeks. Not good. I don't remember the brand right now but I suggest that you get some info to avoid the bad ones.
Best wishes, FRitz
GaryG ·
Good point FRitz, we only use Dell stuff at work and, I must admit, we don't don't have too many problems with the gear or their service. That's obviously on a corporate contract though so I don't know how expensive individual repairs would be... And for the price of a decent Dell there are a lot of other contenders out there too.
.g
infuzion ·
skOre wrote: 256 MEGABYTES OF RAM???
You're insane.
no, broke 😕
It's not so bad if you turn off all the junk services XP turns on by default. I have links in the WiKi that help out w/that.
I've seen great things on a 1.4 GHz Pentium Mobile, Banias family (it's the first processor to be marked as Centrino, but not all such laptops had the mark in those days - about 20 months ago). If you can, look for a Centrino or, if you want a cheaper one with very close performance, search for an older one, Pentium-M non-CentrinoWhen you want to use it live it's awfully nice to have 1MB cache (I know, because I used it live yesterday night with NI's B4). I would really warn you from AMD-64, a friend of mine has it on the laptop but it heats a lot, costs a lot, batteries don't last and a proper Centrino has slightly better performance.
(BTW, remember that "Centrino" is the trademark for a notebook with a Pentium-M processor, integrated Wi-Fi AND 855 chipset family. So if you stumble upon a notebook, with Pentium-M, Wi-Fi, and no Centrino label, then it's probably missing the 855 chipsets, but as long as it has 1-2MB cache it's just as good.)
oddson ·
Sorry to go 'off topic' in the off topic forum, but nice to see you back here Sk. Hope you haven't given up on SM.
infuzion ·
Sk wrote: I would really warn you from AMD-64, a friend of mine has it on the laptop but it heats a lot, costs a lot, batteries don't last and a proper Centrino has slightly better performance.
With my particualr AMD64 3000MHz (Compac R3000), it does heat up, but mostly due to hitting the HD alot (esp since I have only 256Mb Ram). I was the cheapest equivalent for the type at that time, but it was a 1.5+ closeout rebates thing. My cheap batteries do only last about 1hr usage, but how often am I away from an outlet?
Centrinos are good; I just wanted the lower price, 64 bit for Linux, & try to stay away from Intel. But if Centrinos fit your needs, go for it!
Sk ·
Thanks very much oddson! Sadly I can't keep up-to-date with SM's releases, and I won't buy it, because I just bought an amplifier and a MIDI interface, so I'm done for now with expenses 🙂 Anyway, I'm still trying to make something out of the version I have 🙂 (FM synthesis in these days)
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