Building a Budget Laptop DAW

[tony10000]

I bought a very inexpensive notebook computer and transformed it into a DAW that I use every day to make music. I forgot to mention that I also added a few external drives for data and also have an external monitor to use as a second screen. Have you tried to use a budget laptop as a DAW?

[leeleema]

When you say 'build' and 'transform', what exactly have you done? I ask because many laptops are not upgradeable in an obvious way. And things like the way a laptop handles audio and latency are not immediately obvious, even by looking at tech specs etc. For example, Dell XPSs seem a great fit for running DAWs but apparently they are not good at all, judging by user experience. I think that's one of the reasons a lot of people use Macbook Pros.

[chk071]

He said in the video that he upgrade the system memory (from 8 to 12 GB), and built in a SSD. Which is definitely the way to go, lower tier laptops always suffered from very slow HDD's. Even though those also more and more come with (at least) small SSD's.

The CPU is quite alright in most cases. Of course you can't expect the performance of higher tier laptops, or desktops, but, even the lower tier models come with reasonable capable CPU's these days, which will allow you to run a couple of instances of even a bit more expensive plugins.

[leeleema]

He said in the video that he upgrade the system memory (from 8 to 12 GB), and built in a SSD. Which is definitely the way to go, lower tier laptops always suffered from very slow HDD's. Even though those also more and more come with (at least) small SSD's.

The CPU is quite alright in most cases. Of course you can't expect the performance of higher tier laptops, or desktops, but, even the lower tier models come with reasonable capable CPU's these days, which will allow you to run a couple of instances of even a bit more expensive plugins.

Cool. The first time I looked at it, the video didn't load so I thought it was just the text. Aye, SSD is key

[tony10000]

OP here. I did not originally buy it for a DAW, but it is really working well for that purpose. I have created and released 30+ songs with it thusfar and some of my projects contained 16+ tracks. I use a wide range of VSTs and most work just fine. The only ones that really challenge the CPU is Repro 5 and Bazille. Everything else is pretty manageable as long as you keep an eye on the number of voices and long envelopes. I use it with Diva, Serum, VPS Avenger, Falcon, ANA2, Dune3, Hive, Rapid, Icarus, etc. The extra RAM and SSD have sped things up. It is a very workable computer.

[leeleema]

Nice mate! I always think back to the 90s when the Prodigy, Mouse on Mars, Orbital, Aphex Twin et al were making tracks on a computer. Admittedly they had a lot of outboard but in terms of arrangement, multiple effects, automation, mixing eq and compression, they were, on paper at least, severely restricted compared to what we have now. But most of the stuff from that era stands up really well now and some of it just hasn't been surpassed - think of a few classic albums by the above artists. I read an interview with Fatboy Slim and he was still using S950s for all of his sampling. As far as I can tell, he pretty much stopped producing when things moved more ITB. So your comp will be more than powerful enough to produce some tunes, as you've proved

[tony10000]

Nice mate! I always think back to the 90s when the Prodigy, Mouse on Mars, Orbital, Aphex Twin et al were making tracks on a computer. Admittedly they had a lot of outboard but in terms of arrangement, multiple effects, automation, mixing eq and compression, they were, on paper at least, severely restricted compared to what we have now. But most of the stuff from that era stands up really well now and some of it just hasn't been surpassed - think of a few classic albums by the above artists. I read an interview with Fatboy Slim and he was still using S950s for all of his sampling. As far as I can tell, he pretty much stopped producing when things moved more ITB. So your comp will be more than powerful enough to produce some tunes, as you've proved

I have been doing music on computers for decades. I had a Yamaha CX5M back in the 80s as well as early Atari STs. When I switched to Windows in the 90s, I started with a Intel 386s. In fact, my first DAW circa 1993-94 had 8MB of memory, a few hundred MB HD and three audio cards--two Turtle Beach cards and a Roland RAP-10. I think I could only do 3-4 audio tracks. Computers have come a long way since then. My notebook is way more powerful than a 1980s Synclavier D-2-D system that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. And the RAM for it back then was about $4K per megabyte!!!!!!!!

[leeleema]

Ha, 8MB! Aye, memory was crazy expensive back in the day. the other thing I've noticed is that with more options these days, the older electronic music legends produce a lot less quality stuff, like they're too busy noodling away on their bespoke Modular systems to bother making a decent track these days. Fair play to them, people change and peak at different times. The only one of the above still producing anything of quality IMHO is Aphex, but then he is a genius. Although I havn't checked out MOMs recent output, to be fair. For me, the Prodigy peaked at the second album but I know I'm in a minority where the Fat of the Land is concerned.

I think you're doing the right thing stripping the laptop back, although saying that, you have some top of the line synths there!

[tony10000]

Yeah, I see no reason to pay more $$$ when what I have works. And to get a similarly configured system with a faster CPU, it would cost well over $1K. I would buy a desktop computer first for less!

[leeleema]

Yeah, I see no reason to pay more $$$ when what I have works. And to get a similarly configured system with a faster CPU, it would cost well over $1K. I would buy a desktop computer first for less!

What I like as well is the recycling element. Nothing new has been produced, no extra emissions, no extra waste, no extra mining etc. And as with any form of recycling/ buying second hand, what is good for the planet is good for the pocket too. Good work!