Laptop Specs

[rv_bass]

I’d like to buy a new laptop computer to use specifically for recording.  I’ll use either Audacity or Ableton Live.  I’ll look at the system requirements for these software packages, but are there any specific things I should look for in a computer to be used for recording? Thanks!

[David Houck]

In January 2017 I purchased a laptop specifically for recording.  At the time, I did a lot of research, and ultimately went with a Dell Inspiron i5559.  Whatever criteria I was considering at that time, it met; and it was reasonably priced.  I've been very happy with it.

I only record myself.  For an interface, I have a Focusrite Scarlett 6i6.  My DAW is Reaper.  For studio monitors, I have Yamaha HS8's.

I haven't been loading up my DAW with lots of plug-ins, as all my effects and tone come before the interface, and only a few mastering tools are loaded into the DAW.  The Dell and Reaper have been working together well.

Hope you don't mind my lack of specificity, but I no long remember what criteria I was using when I was looking for a laptop back then.  You can probably find the specs for that model on the net.  But I imagine new machines now are much more capable.

[rv_bass]

Thank you, David, for that feedback.  I don’t plan on doing anything too complicated, so the information you provided gives me a good starting point.  I have a Scarlett 2i2, so I will look into 6i6 to see if I need the upgrade, Reaper and the Dell Model you mentioned.  Thanks!

[cozmik_cowboy]

Despite the esteemed Mr. Houck's endorsement, I would advise staying far away from Dell - but is a matter of their ethics and customer "service", not the suitability of their products for your needs.  As most of my recording was done when a Studer 24-track was top-notch stuff (to my mind it still is....) and editing was done with a razor blade (yeah - not so top-notch), I cannot speak to the last criterion.  On the two former criteria, well, think of them as sort of the Anti-Alembic.

Peter

[David Houck]

Peter; I previously owned HP laptops and a printer, and my reaction to their quality and service was the same as yours to Dell.  In addition to the music laptop, my main everyday laptop is also a Dell, which I've owned even longer, and they have been a blessing after my experiences with HP.

A few years back when I was researching laptops, I read some stats that suggested a significant number of people have complaints about the quality and service of all brands of laptops.  I also noticed that the ratings of laptop quality and service can change significantly year to year as well.

When I started my search I thought I would be buying a Lenova; they were top ranked and known for innovative machines.  But then their software scandal broke and their ratings went down; and the Dell specs were, for my needs, simply better.

All of which suggests to me that it may be a matter of luck; that none of the major brands are necessarily significantly better than the others; that we tend to stick with those with which we've had good experiences, and avoid those that we're bad.

[gearhed289]

All of which suggests to me that it may be a matter of luck; that none of the major brands are necessarily significantly better than the others; that we tend to stick with those with which we've had good experiences, and avoid those that we're bad.

I think you're absolutely right. I have a Dell laptop at work and at home, and they've both caused me a lot of frustration. I had a HP tower prior, and that was a great machine. And I'm sure there are people out there who don't like Dell OR HP. 

[cozmik_cowboy]

I have always heard bad things about HP's quality, Dave.  My desktop is a Dell, and I have no complaints about it - but I bought it refurbished, and so didn't/don't have to deal with Dell.  I won't bore you with the whole story, but I will say that every time I reached a person at Dell, I was told "You'll have to talk to Matt about that" and given a phone number.  Every time I called it, "Matt's" voicemail said leave my e-mail address and he'd get back to me with a day or two.  The sum toal of times "Matt" got back to me was zero.  And the whole experience could have cost me a great deal financially if I didn't patronize a locally-owned bank who covered me for Dell's malfeasance.
I'm glad your experience with them has been better - but I will continue to warn any- and everyone away from them.

Peter

[hammer]

Our University has been primarily Dell for ages and I’ve used their laptops and desktops at home for many years. I’ve never had problems with either reliability or service. As far as the service goes, using their live chat option has worked a lot better than the old fashion telephone call.


For me Apple has been the firm where service is worst. And I would wholeheartedly agree about staying away fro Lenovo. I purchased 10 of their basic laptops for data collection purposing and in less than a year 6 were dead. Lenovo agreed to replace them but it has now been well over 9 months since they were sent back under warranty and they refuse to respond to phone messages or answer my emails.

[paulman]

I'm an IT guy for the last 20 years and I can weigh in on this.


There is no base line for quality at this day in age, most all customer service suck.  Any issue at all means 1 thing, you do not have a computer to use. I have had HP laptops and lenovo laptops run for 5 or 6 years with no issue.


At my company it's usually HP or Lenovo.   Depends on the application.


My suggestion would be to know the requirements for the software, stick with a main brand, set your budget (I look at $500 cost to start cos in 6 months it'll be worth 2\3 that anyway), and then if possible to go a store (I know, Covid!) and touch some.  Tactile feel is important.  That's for laptops, Desktops not so much just the specs matter.


Then online look for reviews for the model you like, and then shop for that laptop with the highest numbers possible Ram, Hard Storage and processor, in your budget.


If you're a gearhead you'll do the upgrades yourself and know all this stuff 


My $.05.  Good luck, and post your selection and some recordings we love that!

[mario_farufyno]

I'm a Mac user, so my only usefull advice is getting as most RAM as you can to keep things going smooth and stable (16Gb will do the trick).

[hammer]

Roger makes some excellent points especially about feel. I've had some laptops in the past that had keyboards that I found quite difficult to use.

If portability isn't a factor, my experience has been that you can get a lot more spec for your dollar today with a desktop than a laptop. The other thing of which to be wary is the options laptops have to connect you with peripherals. I much prefer a direct connection given that I have two external hard drives connected to my computer one of which is devoted solely to music. Unfortunately it seems that in order to provide the lightest laptops available manufacturers are reducing external ports. My wife just purchased an HP and it's fine if it docked but when it isn't she needs to fry all sorts of cords with her to connect to projection equipment, have USB capability, etc.

[edwin]

I'm a Mac user, too. My main home machine is a Mac Pro made in 2009 with upgrades (it's now a 12 core 3.33Ghz machine with 24GB of RAM, although it can go up to 64GB. I put in a PCI SSD boot drive (not via SATA, it's insanely fast). I also added a new video card to run Mojave and a USB3 card). I run Pro Tools on it and have worked on 24 track 192khz projects with no issues. And much higher track counts with lower sample rates. Best of all, it was cheap, under $1500 including all the mods. It also has lots of expansion slots and can do 4 internal drives, including SSDs with adapters.

Until recently, my laptop was a 2012 MacBook Pro i7 quad core with 16 GB of RAM and it came with a 1TB spinning drive for $450. I added a 1TB SSD and then replaced the optical drive with another 1TB SSD. But, I had to give it to my son for his remote learning due to COVID. So, I splurged and replaced it with a 2015 MBP (i7 quad core), so I could continue with OS upgrades. I mostly do remote recording with my laptops. 56 inputs via Metric Halo interfaces didn't make the 2012 MBP break a sweat.

I don't use VIs, so I have no experience with that.

[mario_farufyno]

I'm a Mac user, too. My main home machine is a Mac Pro made in 2009 with upgrades (it's now a 12 core 3.33Ghz machine with 24GB of RAM, although it can go up to 64GB. I put in a PCI SSD boot drive (not via SATA, it's insanely fast). I also added a new video card to run Mojave and a USB3 card). I run Pro Tools on it and have worked on 24 track 192khz projects with no issues. And much higher track counts with lower sample rates. Best of all, it was cheap, under $1500 including all the mods. It also has lots of expansion slots and can do 4 internal drives, including SSDs with adapters.

Until recently, my laptop was a 2012 MacBook Pro i7 quad core with 16 GB of RAM and it came with a 1TB spinning drive for $450. I added a 1TB SSD and then replaced the optical drive with another 1TB SSD. But, I had to give it to my son for his remote learning due to COVID. So, I splurged and replaced it with a 2015 MBP (i7 quad core), so I could continue with OS upgrades. I mostly do remote recording with my laptops. 56 inputs via Metric Halo interfaces didn't make the 2012 MBP break a sweat.

I don't use VIs, so I have no experience with that.

Great tip about SSD

[keith_h]

Knowing your budget would help a lot and if you intend to use the device for other things. Without that info Mac is still considered the best of the machines for recording. Of course you are stuck in the Apple biosphere which is more limited than the Windows one if you wish to use the computer for much more than recording.

Latency is the biggest issue when recording which means bigger and faster is generally better since it tends to reduce latency. With that in mind in the Windows world I would look at a computer with a minimum of a quad core at 3 G Hz or more, 16G of RAM, 500G SSD and an external 2T hard drive. Music can take up a  lot of space so you would use the SSD for recording and post processing then use the external drive for storage of the finished product. If it were me I would look at laptops with an AMD Ryzen 7 or Intel i7 chipset in them and a 1T SSD. With the Ryzen 9 and i9 processors out now the prices for the 7 series have dropped quite a bit but the 7 series should keep you going for many years to come.

While I haven't thought about this much I would suspect a laptop built for gaming would also be good for recording since both have similar requirements for time critical function to complete.

[rv_bass]

Thanks, Keith, that’s solid information, very helpful!