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Customized PC laptop for production?

I certainly don't want to build my own and I am always looking for a good deal. Should I just go pick up a laptop at Wal-Mart and order a wicked sound card OR is there a company(s) that does good customized laptops at a competitive price geared towards sound production. I don't think I need anything out of the ordinary. Maybe 4 or 6 gigs of RAM.

I'm just wanting to run Live 7 and VST's. I don't need a work horse but I want a nice sound card (Good DAC's - I only use a USB midi controller)

You wont need 6gb if your only looking to run live and a few vsts. Waste of money imo

Re: Customized PC laptop for production?

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Originally posted by Stephen Wiley I certainly don't want to build my own

Well, that's not really an option if you are looking for a laptop.

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Originally posted by Stephen Wiley Should I just go pick up a laptop at Wal-Mart

Cheap computers use cheap components, which is why they are cheap. You will want to stay away from your typical $399 laptop fair. There is a reason why they can sell them so low. IGP's which steal system RAM, slow FSB, cheap RAM, limited expandability, etc. Production is a resource intensive task, so you'll want to make sure you pick up a laptop that uses quality components, which means spending a little bit more.

Pay attention to the specs and if you don't know a lot about computers, have a friend who is more knowledgeable help you out in finding the best bang for your buck that will suit your needs.

quote:

Originally posted by Stephen Wiley Maybe 4 or 6 gigs of RAM.

You wont be able to access more than 3.2 GB if you are using a 32 bit OS like Windows XP or Vista. 3GB should be plenty.

64 bit OS is pretty much out of the question for Windows at this moment, because a lot of the good hardware manufacturers out there do not provide 64 bit drivers quite yet on the Windows side.

quote:

Originally posted by Stephen Wiley I don't need a work horse but I want a nice sound card (Good DAC's - I only use a USB midi controller)

MOTU has good bang for the buck on their portable audio interfaces. Fair quality DAC, good features for the money. Their Windows drivers work well enough to not be problematic, even though they focus more on the Mac side. If you are on the Apple side and don't need more than 2in/2out, then the Apogee Duet is the best interface for the price. It is Apple only, however.

Honestly, this is why I went with an Apple MacBook Pro for my laptop. I can run both Windows and Mac on the same machine, the components are top notch and Leopard (OS X 10.5) is a 64 bit OS. The catch is that the laptop is not cheap. That's OK with me, because I'm a believer in "you get what you pay for", especially with electronics.

What about DAC converters. The interface hardly means anything to me. I juse use a USB Midi controller and it's going to stay that way.

High quality sound is what I want, not multiple ins and outs

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Originally posted by Stephen Wiley What about DAC converters. The interface hardly means anything to me.

I'm not sure what you mean by this???

ADC/DAC converters are in generally IN the audio interface, that's what the audio interface does.

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Originally posted by Stephen Wiley I juse use a USB Midi controller and it's going to stay that way.

I don't think I have ever seen a laptop these days that doesn't have multiple USB ports.

You'll also need to make sure you the laptop you select has at least a FireWire 400 port, as most decent quality interfaces are going to be Firewire.

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Originally posted by Stephen Wiley High quality sound is what I want, not multiple ins and outs

Most "prosumer" level audio interfaces on the market these days are going to have multiple ins and outs. That's just the market. You'll get better quality DAC converters in an audio interface with multiple in/out, even if you don't actually need the in/out. As I stated before the MOTU products are going to give you the best bang for your buck on portable interfaces. The Traveller and Ultralite are good options.

The Apogee Duet is the only interface I have seen that has decent quality ADC/DAC with only 2in/2out (which is the minimum of what you can have in an audio interface). The only problem is that it is a Mac-only interface, so if you don't have a Mac, then you can't use it.

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Originally posted by Eric J I'm not sure what you mean by this??? ADC/DAC converters are in generally IN the audio interface, that's what the audio interface does. I don't think I have ever seen a laptop these days that doesn't have multiple USB ports. You'll also need to make sure you the laptop you select has at least a FireWire 400 port, as most decent quality interfaces are going to be Firewire. Most "prosumer" level audio interfaces on the market these days are going to have multiple ins and outs. That's just the market. You'll get better quality DAC converters in an audio interface with multiple in/out, even if you don't actually need the in/out. As I stated before the MOTU products are going to give you the best bang for your buck on portable interfaces. The Traveller and Ultralite are good options. The Apogee Duet is the only interface I have seen that has decent quality ADC/DAC with only 2in/2out (which is the minimum of what you can have in an audio interface). The only problem is that it is a Mac-only interface, so if you don't have a Mac, then you can't use it.

Thanks for the advice but I want the laptop I have now has 3 USB, so routing is of no secure as the laptop I buy will have at least that many. I don't want a ton of in & outs and routing BS, I just want screaming good DAC's - My last yard I bought my desktop has the ESI JULI@ in it.

Here is a final nice summary of the JULIA and its what I'd like to have, plus I'm going to be taking a very, very indeph look into Largo. If it's worth it when we'll remix it

But back to the question
What can $300 (shipped and taxed_ get me as far as sound cards go. AGAIN, I do NOT care if it has 154 inputs,

Thanks guys

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Originally posted by Stephen Wiley I don't want a ton of in & outs and routing BS

What routing? You plug your monitors into the main outs and hit play. There is no routing involved.

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Originally posted by Stephen Wiley , I just want screaming good DAC's - My last yard I bought my desktop has the ESI JULI@ in it. ... Here is a final nice summary of the JULIA and its what I'd like to have

This is probably not going to be your best option for a high or even mid-level quality audio interface.

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Originally posted by Stephen Wiley plus I'm going to be taking a very, very indeph look into Largo. If it's worth it when we'll remix it

Are you referring to the Waldorf Largo software instrument?

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Originally posted by Stephen Wiley But back to the question What can $300 (shipped and taxed_ get me as far as sound cards go. AGAIN, I do NOT care if it has 154 inputs, Thanks guys

OK, you missed my point there, but anyway...

You need to be looking at interfaces that have breakout boxes if you want even DECENT DAC. Period. The only interfaces that I have seen that are of decent quality that do NOT have breakout boxes are the RME Hammerfall interfaces, which cost more than $300, and are all PCI cards (which wont work in a laptop).

That being said, there are not going to be really any interfaces in the $300 price range that are going to provide you with "screaming good DAC's". At the $300 level, you are looking at cheap OP amps and barely "prosumer" level DAC. If you want "screaming good DAC's" you need to be looking at spending well into 4 figures. You probably dont need this, so this is why I suggested MOTU, because their interfaces are reasonably priced and have fairly good DAC for the money, regardless of the number of in/out. "screaming good DAC's" come at the level of a Lynx Audio Aurora or an Apogee DA16, both of which are upwards of $4,000.

If you budget is $300, and you are looking for a decent audio interface for a laptop, you need to be looking at Firewire Audio Interfaces. The ESI JULIA that came with your desktop is not going to provide you with any kind of quality, no matter what the manufacturer tells you. Its consumer level.

Here is a link to zzounds list of firewire interfaces. You can expect to find similar prices at any local music shop. You can also look into USB audio interface, but I find those to be of substandard quality for the most part.

http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?q...ter&form=search

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Customized PC laptop for production

Buy a Mac

WWW.IBUYPOWER.COM

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Originally posted by Stef WWW.IBUYPOWER.COM

Good one. A high performance gaming computer should be well suited to music production from a component quality standpoint. The only thing to add at that point is a good audio interface.

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Originally posted by Eric J Good one. A high performance gaming computer should be well suited to music production from a component quality standpoint. The only thing to add at that point is a good audio interface.

Yeah i can vouch for that site, already bought 3 machines there over the past 4 years(not all for me haha).

These will be quite cheap in comparison to any mac, and spec wise will blow any mac out of the water.

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Originally posted by Stef spec wise will blow any mac out of the water.

I wouldn't go that far, but it certainly a high performance PC.

quote:

Originally posted by Eric J What routing? You plug your monitors into the main outs and hit play. There is no routing involved. This is probably not going to be your best option for a high or even mid-level quality audio interface. Are you referring to the Waldorf Largo software instrument? OK, you missed my point there, but anyway... You need to be looking at interfaces that have breakout boxes if you want even DECENT DAC. Period. The only interfaces that I have seen that are of decent quality that do NOT have breakout boxes are the RME Hammerfall interfaces, which cost more than $300, and are all PCI cards (which wont work in a laptop). That being said, there are not going to be really any interfaces in the $300 price range that are going to provide you with "screaming good DAC's". At the $300 level, you are looking at cheap OP amps and barely "prosumer" level DAC. If you want "screaming good DAC's" you need to be looking at spending well into 4 figures. You probably dont need this, so this is why I suggested MOTU, because their interfaces are reasonably priced and have fairly good DAC for the money, regardless of the number of in/out. "screaming good DAC's" come at the level of a Lynx Audio Aurora or an Apogee DA16, both of which are upwards of $4,000. If you budget is $300, and you are looking for a decent audio interface for a laptop, you need to be looking at Firewire Audio Interfaces. The ESI JULIA that came with your desktop is not going to provide you with any kind of quality, no matter what the manufacturer tells you. Its consumer level. Here is a link to zzounds list of firewire interfaces. You can expect to find similar prices at any local music shop. You can also look into USB audio interface, but I find those to be of substandard quality for the most part. http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?q...ter&form=search

Sorry for the confusing messages. You'll have to overlook those (Darn sleeping meds lol)

As I have said before (and you've responded, but I just want to make sure we're clear) my ONLY interest is the sound quality. DACS, processors, whatever the fancy names are. I don't care if it has 2 I/O or 10.

I looked at the list you posted, and most were floating around 399. Looks like I may have to spend a little more.

Could you tell me the best card available for under $400 with regards to sound quality. Completely ignore the I/O stuff if you don't mind. I think we've established at this point that I don't give a hoot about it.

Also, you mentioned you didn't like the USB cards as much. I was wondering if you could elaborate why. My only concern when it comes to buying this soundcard is how well it's going to perform when I'm rendering in Ableton or tweaking sounds on TrackS, etc. I couple of milisecond delays is not going to get my pantys in a wad. I want the best sound quality I can get for that price range, period.

Thank you for your help!

Here is a comparison of USB 2.0 vs Firewire that explains it much better than I can:

http://www.usb-ware.com/firewire-vs-usb.htm

Basically its all about the architecture. High throughput is what you want in an audio interface.

As for good cards, I would recommend MOTU as the absolute minimum as far as quality is concerned. Their ADC/DAC is not high end by any means, but they have very good quality for the prices that they charge. I use a MOTU interface myself and it does a fine job. the next level of quality is an order of magnitude more expensive.

For me, the quality chain goes like this, from absolute minimum, to high end

MOTU, MOTU w/ BLA mods, RME, Metric Halo, Apogee, Lynx, Prism, and so on...

SO to answer you question about good quality cards for $399, my answer is this:

Wait. Do yourself a favor and don't settle for something of lesser quality just because you can get it now instead of in a few weeks or months. It'll be worth the wait. Surely it wont take much longer to save up another couple of hundred bucks.

Based on that advice, the cheapest MOTU sound card is the MOTU Ultralite at $549. While it has more inputs and outputs than you need, it uses the same quality components that other, more expensive MOTU products use. This means that it is your cheapest option to get into a ADC/DAC converter at this level, despite the fact that you may not need all of the features. If quality is your primary concern, then you need to be getting in at this level.

Trust me, If there was any kind of interface with only 2in/2out that was at this level of quality, I would recommend it. For PC, the MOTU interface is the cheapest option at this quality level. Thats all that is available for Windows that meets your criteria. I have already mentioned that the Apogee Duet is great (better than the MOTU), but it is Mac only.

Understand that a lot of interfaces out there contain features that not everybody needs, but the level of quality necessitates spending a little more money.

I'll give you my example: I have a MOTU 24 in/out. I dont need all that in/out, but at the time, this was my cheapest option to get an interface of that quality level. Now I have a quality interface that will suffice until I decide to go the next level up, which is RME or higher. There is a significant price jump at the next level of quality, but for the time being the DAC of the MOTU interface is sufficient.

Also, do not forget that you can have a good quality interface, but if you have crappy monitors, then it wont make much of a difference. Make sure you are not buying a good interface and hooking it up to a pair of $200 crap monitors, or you wont get the same value out of it. If you need to upgrade your monitors as well, wait and get both at the same time.

Re: Re: Customized PC laptop for production?

quote:

Originally posted by Eric J 64 bit OS is pretty much out of the question for Windows at this moment, because a lot of the good hardware manufacturers out there do not provide 64 bit drivers quite yet on the Windows side.

I've had no issues using Vista x64. The only company that refuses to get its act together and write proper Vista drivers is TC (i.e. PowerCore); they've had 5 years to do it, and for that reason I'll never buy another PC component from them again.

But you definitely do not need 6 GB of RAM for production, unless you plan to use some of the enormous sample libraries.

Re: Re: Re: Customized PC laptop for production?

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Originally posted by DigiNut I've had no issues using Vista x64. The only company that refuses to get its act together and write proper Vista drivers is TC (i.e. PowerCore); they've had 5 years to do it, and for that reason I'll never buy another PC component from them again. But you definitely do not need 6 GB of RAM for production, unless you plan to use some of the enormous sample libraries.

Thats great! I'm glad to see companies getting their act together finally. I dont keep up with PC driver development too much since I'm on Mac.

Thanks for your reply. I have the YamahaHS80 along with a pair of AKG 701' so i think im ok for now

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