What is the best laptop for music production?

[ceyhun242]

Fast (preferably with H instead of U for better performance), as lightweight as possible with screen 14-15 inch

Preferably 2 SSD internal drives and long battery hours. (you think 2 internal sad is needed or 1 is just fine, likes it better practice to keep sound libraries in the 2nd ssd as we record in real time with DAW installed on 1st main SSD?)

Do you think U processor could also be fine? U laptops are lightweight and H laptops generally come with good GPUs, but since lightweight laptops have also great battery lives this 2 category of lapopts generally are similarly priced. So Im thinking whether I should pay for greatest performance or lightweight, long battery way. I mean it feels silly to pay as much and just dont have a superior CPU you could get with H. But I also think if a laptop is light and have a good battery, you can just carry it around with you anywhere and keep using it also for other tasks than music so it becomes an all rounder. What do you think? I'm thinking MSI gaming laptops or Lenovo X1 Carbon. Or there is Asus proart studio laptops but I just dont see them in my country for sales.. I guess proart studio feels like it's the designed just for what I need right? Do you know how I can get it in Turkey?

Thank you

[BertKoor]

https://www.scan.co.uk/sitemap
Ctrl-F Audio

Avoid light weight. Lighter usually means less battery, thus lower performance.

[MMaarrkk]

It really depends on your budget. The higher the price, the better the expected performance, of course, but on the budget, just going for a gaming laptop is usually a good call.

[cleverr1]

It really depends on your budget. The higher the price, the better the expected performance, of course, but on the budget, just going for a gaming laptop is usually a good call.

Sorry but this is terrible advice. You could spend a fortune on a laptop and end up with something useless for music because of DPC latency issues, (e.g. the Dell XPS). Also the laptop has to have enough capacity to cool the CPU to prevent thermal throttling spikes.

I would also recommend Scan. They provide custom builds based on Clevo machines which they have tested and selected as suitable for audio. They sell many more types of gaming laptops than audio laptops so clearly not all gaming laptops are suitable. If they'll ship to Turkey it's got to be the best option.
I have last year's offering from Scan with a 512GB O/S SSD, a 2TB M2 NVMe and a 2TB HDD, 32GB RAM and a 9750H CPU.

If you have to buy a machine from one of the big brands I'd strongly suggest that you research the DPC latency and throttling characteristics before committing.

[MMaarrkk]

Sorry but this is terrible advice. You could spend a fortune on a laptop and end up with something useless for music because of DPC latency issues, (e.g. the Dell XPS). Also the laptop has to have enough capacity to cool the CPU to prevent thermal throttling spikes.

That's definitely on my end, my bad. What I meant is that budget will affect what options are available. It was less of "pay more get more" because that's just not true. I was just more curious about what the scale of the budget is to get a better grasp of what would be the best approach.

[cleverr1]

I've been looking around and choosing a big name laptop to use as a DAW seems incredibly difficult. So far I've only identified the Thinkpad P53 as having acceptable DPC latency, and I haven't found any review of its thermal throttling characteristics for the CPU options on offer.

I was just more curious about what the scale of the budget is to get a better grasp of what would be the best approach.

Definitely - budget and use case needed. It seems there was more choice for DAW laptops with some older machines so it may be better to buy used for something that fits the bill. Before I bought the Scan 3xs system last year I was using a Dell E6430 with a 3rd gen i7 quad core CPU. This has acceptable DPC, reasonable performance and is built like a tank. The ones with quad core CPUs and 8GB RAM go for around the £300 mark. Swap out the O/S drive for an SSD and pick up a USB drive for audio and it's good to go for around £500.

[MMaarrkk]

Swap out the O/S drive for an SSD and pick up a USB drive for audio and it's good to go for around £500.

Going second hand or at least an older model is definitely a good call. New electronics have a decently steep price point that drops quite fast, so there's no need to focus too much on the brand new offerings.

Bang for the buck is always "old" or used.

[Schmidi]

Yes! I've had excellent luck with old HP Elitebooks. I own an 8460p (14" 2nd gen i7) and an 8770w (17" F'ing monster tank 3rd gen i7). Excellent DPC latency, pretty cheap, built like tanks, dedicated gpus, heavy as hell, poor screens, and some of the most user customizable laptops ever constructed.

I recently tried a newer i7 8650U + Mx250 GPU laptop. Nice build, but concerning enough DPC spikes that I'm opting to return it.

[drdriller]

no need for 2 ssd if you have a nvme ssd

i'm really happy with my xps13, xps15 should be a good choice for you but it's pricy..

[PhillipsLJ]

I have a Dell G7 meant for gaming, and let me tell you, that processor gets toasty without undervolting. I believe it is an i7-8750H. That H may as well stand for heat. BUT, good news is, it works very well for music production. Bad news is the laptop was like $1,300 for parts you can build a PC with for WAYYY cheaper.

I suggest looking into building a PC if you don't need portability. What i'll tell you next is just an idea, not a requirement. Invest in an SSD that will contain your OS, DAW, and plugins. Another SSD that will contain your samples and recordings, or add another SSD for recordings to keep samples seperate. Use an HDD for all of your applications and personal data.

[ceyhun242]

I'd like to keep using my X230 until it dies but now it's stuttering and system is using 100 CPU when daw is open. It has the i5 version with 8GB ram. Are there any settings I can implement to boost CPU so that I can get by for another year? Ive never overclocked or undervolted before. Are they to boost CPU? how can I do that, is it easy?

If I need to buy a new laptop, should I always go for H instead of U? I love to buy X1 Carbon or HP Elitebook 840 but for similar price I can get MSI gs 66 stealth with H cpu and a gaming GPU. even tough I dont play game it feels dumb to pay same price and get U processor even if you also great lightweight long battery and great keyboard. I looked int oasis studiobook but I didnt see them being sold in turkey. do you know how I can buy one?

Do you think 2 internal SSD always better than 1? why? I can install all the plugins, dawi programs, windows as well as sound libraries on main SSD right? What is the 2nd SSD for? Does it enhance performance and reduce latency? How?

What is DSP? I've never looked into it when buying a laptop or computer. Isn't DSP sth related to windows, not laptop? I thought getting an audio interface is sufficient for the best latency? So how can I check a laptop's DSP before buying it? Also, does it matter if it heats too much or not?

Scan doesn't send to Turkey now I ve checked. What is scan? never heard of that brand.. Can they ship it to Turkey if I send them an email and ask? Or what could be a workaround? What is this brand Scan good for? How is it different than msi gs66 stealth ?

Id like to buy a laptop that is 14-15 inch, as lightweight and thin as x1 carbon, have Thinkpad or hp EliteBook keyboard, have long term battery like x1 carbon and hp EliteBook and have as fast cpu as H series CPU. dont care about GPU as I dont render much or play game, so any mid range gpu or built in gpu would be fine.. What laptop is this?

My intention was to keep using what I have for as long as ı can. If there is a way to squeeze the most of X230, please let me know how..

an affordable 2nd hand laptop as temporary solution could also be fine.. what is a good recent laptop that is powerful for music production that is commonly sold I can buy as 2nd hand at an affordable price?

so x1 carbon can be a good audio production laptop or not? after x230 can it be sufficient with all the recent plugins regardless of how many plugins and tracks I ll run on my daw? are new vets ever getting more up hungry? because if not, maybe x1 carbon can do the job for 5-10 years?

I just want to finish this recent song, and technical crash, slow down, stuttering hits creativity and production heavily. Im looking for an immediate solution.. At my workplace they gave me hp EliteBook 840 g6 i5, its quiet fast and I think it can be sufficient for my daw but I just cant install any program due to internal block. do you know any way to bypass that block and install applications?

Is MSI gs 66 stelath good one? does it have good DSP? 2 SSD?

Thank you

[ceyhun242]

I've been looking around and choosing a big name laptop to use as a DAW seems incredibly difficult. So far I've only identified the Thinkpad P53 as having acceptable DPC latency, and I haven't found any review of its thermal throttling characteristics for the CPU options on offer.

I was just more curious about what the scale of the budget is to get a better grasp of what would be the best approach.

Definitely - budget and use case needed. It seems there was more choice for DAW laptops with some older machines so it may be better to buy used for something that fits the bill. Before I bought the Scan 3xs system last year I was using a Dell E6430 with a 3rd gen i7 quad core CPU. This has acceptable DPC, reasonable performance and is built like a tank. The ones with quad core CPUs and 8GB RAM go for around the £300 mark. Swap out the O/S drive for an SSD and pick up a USB drive for audio and it's good to go for around £500.

What do you mean by "picking up USB drive" here? Dont all laptops have USB drive?

[thecontrolcentre]

SCAN 3XS here too ... built to my own spec as far as possible. 17" screen, i7 quad core, 24GB RAM, 3 x 1 TB SSDs. Fast and reliable.

[Schmidi]

Avoid U series CPUs. I just tried two different models with U that failed DPC latency testing.

[ceyhun242]

Hello,

I'd like to buy a new laptop best fit for music production and would like to have your opinion. I would have preferred to keep using my Thinkpad X230. But it is constantly stuttering even when playing back with wave and crashes. System shows %100 CPU use. I have a work laptop HP EliteBook 840 G6, I love its keyboard too like I do that of tihnkpad. 840 is way faster but I cant install applications to it as it prompts admin password. So I guess there is not much use in resisting purchasing a new machine.. Otherwise I would have loved to keep using X230 until it dies. If you know any way to overclock/boost x230 to squeeze the maximum juice out of its CPU please let me know so I can try, maybe that would be sufficient to keep using it...

1- Would the U processor do the job well or is H processor definitely to be preferred? Are VSTs and plugins getting ever more CPU demanding? So U processor may cause stuttering and lag in projects with many tracks, plug-ins, and VSTs running? (Because I like lightweight laptops for portability with long battery life such as X1 Carbon)

2- Does DSP matter? How can I know which laptop has DSP level fit for music production?

3- Is it a must criteria to choose a laptop with more than 1 internal SSD drive? 1 to install Windows, DAW, plugins, VSTs and the other for sound libraries and project files? Is it deal-breaker that a laptop has one SSD where I ll place sound library and project files too?

4 - Does having both a laptop having a thunderbolt port and a thunderbolt interface better than my current setup where I have laptop with USB 3 to which I plug my USB Roland Octa-Capture.. Is it better to upgrade this system to thunderbolt devices? What are the advantages?

So far my options are:

1- Lenovo X1 Carbon 6 Intel Core i7 8550U 16GB 1TB SSD 14"
(1 SSD, great battery, so light like around 1kg, great portability, great Thinkpad keyboard, U is probably slower compared to H and therefore is not future proof investment, it might be dumb to pay high price with which one can buy a heavier, thicker but one with H processor and a solid GPU card)
2018
323.5mm x 217.1mm x 15.95mm
1 x USB Type-A port, 2 x Thunderbolt 3
1.13kg
2250 dollars

2- Dell XPS 7590 i7 9750H 16GB 1TB SSD GTX1650 15.6"
(1 SSD, good battery, on forums people say it has DSP issues)
2019
357mm x 235mm x 17mm
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Type A), 1 x Thunderbolt 3 (Type C)
2kg
2300 dollars

3- Asus X571GT-AL136X Intel Core i7 9750H 16GB 512GB SSD GTX1650
(1 SSD + 1 HDD, poor battery, best value for the price, fans blow to the screen, cheap material, great for performance but other than that doesn't offer anything exciting)
2019
359 x 248 x 21.9 mm
1 x Type-C USB 3.0 (USB 3.1 Gen 1)
1 x USB 3.0 port(s) Type A
2 x USB 2.0 port(s)
2kg
1200 dollars

4- MSI GS66 STEALTH 10SF-065TR Intel Core i7 10750H 32GB 512GB SSD RTX2070
(2 SSD slots, great performance with great graphic card, good battery life, future proof for both gaming and rendering video files)
358.3 x 248 x 18.3-19.8 mm
1 x USB-C port with Thunderbolt 3, 3 x USB 3.1 Type-A
2.1 kg
3.200 dollars

5- Scan 3xs optimized audio laptops. Do you know how do they optimize the laptop? How is it any different from any other laptop on the market such as MSI gaming laptop?
1830 dollar without hunderbold with GTX 1660
2700 dollar for thunderbolt version with RTX 2070
https://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/custom/daw-d ... on-laptops

So what would you do? Which one would you purchase? Or if not these then what?