i have to buy a computer soon for uni and want to get pretty serious with some producing but because i live overseas it would be easier for me to buy a laptop... but are laptops powerful enough to produce on and if so what specifications should i look for in a laptop... im in japan so basically anything goes!!!

cheers

pop this in the production studio forum

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quote:

Originally posted by mongeone i have to buy a computer soon for uni and want to get pretty serious with some producing but because i live overseas it would be easier for me to buy a laptop... but are laptops powerful enough to produce on and if so what specifications should i look for in a laptop... im in japan so basically anything goes!!! cheers

I'm also interested in finding out more about this...

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"I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again."

Yeah, you can definitely go with a laptop.. if you're really serious about producing, though, perhaps you should consider a MIDI keyboard on top of that (esp. with Reason).

Specs-wise? Just think of it as pretty much a gaming computer (lol)... more than a GHz for sure (processor)... LOTS and LOTS of ram! (important), vid card doesn't matter that much, sound card matters!

You should look into a good sound card. I actually don't know much in this regard, but perhaps someone will step up and give some recommendations. Tread carefully here.

Otherwise, go with what you think is needed or not. It doesn't take that much hardware to get up and producing on a computer.

Oh, I recommend getting a real mouse to use with your laptop, if you're at home etc (and producing) - turn it into a desktop as much as you can when you're at home, because using the little tiny trackballs or pads are SO annoying, especially if you have to make accurate movements! (and Reason / Fruity DEMAND accurate movements - how else are you going to click all of those little buttons and sliders?)

The thought of using a laptop trackball/pad for Reason or Fruity sends shivers down my spine... it would decrease your productivity tenfold..

you probably would need a propper mouse (a touchpad is damn annoying), a good soundcard, a big hard drive (samples and vsts ), and a lot of processing power (vsts take up a lot of cpu).

Pretty much a beast

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In other words a mac would be the way to go.

quote:

Originally posted by g-money In other words a mac would be the way to go.

not necessarily

fruity, reason, buzz etc are all on pc...

why would a mac be any better than a pc?

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quote:

Originally posted by g-money In other words a mac would be the way to go.

Agreed.

If for no other reason than for Max OS X. The core is based on FreeBSD (i.e. UNIX). For music production etc., that means faster better and more reliable.

Plus, macs just look so damn cool, so if you're going to be producing music on a laptop, you might as well look damn cool!! Trust me it's hot.

You want a good processor, around 1.5 gHz minimum (in my opinion)..

and alot of ram. I'm talking about 512 minimum, personally I have 1024 and it's good.

In terms of sound card,, you'll most probably need to buy an external one. as in USB or firewire connected. I think M-Audio has a few, you should check them out.

And if your serious about this, you'll need a usb midi interface to hook up a keyboard. Check out the midiman midisport series, also from M-Audio.