Laptop vs PC

[Arsta Far-I]

Right

i'm needing to upgrade my pc at the minute, but i've been thinking i'd rather get a laptop - mainly to save a bit of space in me flat, and to make me a little more portable

problem is i don't know much about laptops, and i've noticed from trawling through the web that they tend to be less powerful generally than pc's and am wondering if this will cause a problem

i need to keep this as cheap as possible so please don't suggest gettin a powerbook (which i would love but just cannot afford unless anyone knows where i can get a dodge one cheepstyle)

would it be a viable option to get a cheapo laptop and upgrade it myself - would this work out cheaper?

let us know your thoughts/suggestions

chiz

:conf:

[Arsta Far-I]

and you could also advise on

cheapest low powered mac (imac or something) vs higher powered pc?

[TaPh]

Laptop's are good but they aren't easy to upgrade. If you don't need to take it anywhere get a desktop PC always IMO. Another thing with laptops is that the screens cost more than the laptop itself to fix or replace - madness!!!

Don't know much about mac's so I wont lie to you by telling you which is the best .

[yomama]

laptops have got shite sound quality too. ok, you can plug-in something better when at home, but when your on a train (business class obviously lukey boy!!) going on your executive courses to ipswich - you won't be able to hear your beats properly!!

i recommend an etch-a-sketch :nene:

[Arsta Far-I]

Originally posted by yomama
i recommend an etch-a-sketch :nene:

i make most of my beats on the old "etch-a" (as other top sound engineers like myself call it), and its pretty good, but every time someone shakes it i lose all my work - any suggestions?

can't wait for the colour screen version to come out though


(mumbled under breath 'sarcy bastards on this site ...........')

chiz

:finger: :finger: :finger: :finger: :finger:

[woody]

Originally posted by Arsta Far-I
would it be a viable option to get a cheapo laptop and upgrade it myself - would this work out cheaper?


you might find it a bit hard to upgrade a laptop though...they are always gonna be less powerful than a desktop pc

i'd say get a laptop, you can be much more productive with it, not having to slouch over a desk and all that.

you can just chill with it, lying on the sofa or whatever and make tunes when and where you like
:slayer:

[Distsci]

The old laptop over standalone debate.

My advice is as long as you know what you want to do with the computer, the choice is always easier. Speak to other producers and see what they use and why.

What kind of sounds do you like and do you know how do you think they are made? Do you want to use the computer as your principle sound source or are you gonna buy a desk and a few bits of outboard to make those noises? Most importantly whats your budget......?

My guess is that you want something to just make music on; something to learn with. My personal (NOT professinal) suggestion therefore is that you get as powerful a stand alone pc (and never forget a good soundcard) as you can afford. With that, you will always have a good computer, it will expand with you as you get better at working and it will be of instant use to you.... you won't have to be buying any other bits just to get the basics working.

Speak to xample and sol about it, and if what I've said makes sense to you, then get them to point me out and I'll happily rant at you for hours on the subject :agree: :beer:

[poi]

My opinion is, unless you really need it, get a full PC setup. You generally get less (memory, processor, harddisk) for your money in a laptop, and they're usually harder to upgrade and/or repair.

[Djxample]

I would have to argree, un less you go for a G4 500 laptop, my mate has one an it is absolutely wicked (although it did cost alot).

[Arsta Far-I]

i will be using Reason 2 and Cubase sx , with an external controller keyboard, and thats it - cant afford a desk and hardware bits yet (but will do in the future)

i've already got a pc (intel celeron 500mhz, 320mb, small hard drive, sounblaster audigy) but as i'm getting a bit better with reason/cubase it gets slower and slower the more detail i put in my tracks - hence the decision to upgrade

ideally id just like to get a new processor and hard drive, but i'm just not sure whether my pc (as its 5 years old now) will allow me to do this, or whether i will also need to get a new motherboard as well, in which case it might be easier to just get a cheapish new tower

my budget is gonna be £500 ish max, and i've seen some pretty powerful towers for about 499, but wondered if i could save a bit of cash and upgrade myself

its a pain in the arse!!!!!!!!!!

:conf:

[mrwilson]

And if you get say a Pentuim111 laptop it will most likley be slower than a desktop pentium 111

[ad_rewind]

Desktop ... no doubt about it.

Lappy's are cool n handy to have; but not as yer main puter ...

As TaPh said -- they're a bugger when they break -- and they do break more easily than a desktop (I'm on my third lappy in 2yrs cos they've busted and it's been cheaper to just replace em! At least my work pays for them, and not me!)
Plus, when it comes to serious upgrade time -- it's easier (n cheaper) just to buy a new one ...

But mainly, unless ygo for something like a top-end powerbook, a lappy is never gonna come close to a desktop p.c's processing power and performance -- especially when you're running big progs n apps like Reason n Cubase with all the associated plug-ins etc etc.

If you're limited budget-wise, I'm sure techies Sol n Poi could help u / point u in the right direction with building your own desktop, as this option always gives ya more for your money!

[Arsta Far-I]

Originally posted by Ådam
If you're limited budget-wise, I'm sure techies Sol n Poi could help u / point u in the right direction with building your own desktop, as this option always gives ya more for your money!

well sol and poi - you've both been fingered!

let me know what you think

[woody]

Originally posted by Arsta Far-I
but i'm just not sure whether my pc (as its 5 years old now) will allow me to do this, or whether i will also need to get a new motherboard as well, in which case it might be easier to just get a cheapish new tower



to be honest mate, i wouldnt even try to upgrade the chip on a 5 year old mobo...

you could get a new board, chip and hdd for probably about £350-£400...

it would probably be about a 1.4gig max for that sort of cash, but it might be cheaper than buying a whole set-up...

btw, im still using a PIII 550 with 128meg of ram, and im happy with it :D

[S Man]

Laptop

Still mourning the death of my Atari Ste. Now have a Laptop running Cubase VST 32 V5.0. Laptop has 64mb ram and 4.5gig hardrive.

Seems to be working ok so far with straight Midi. I'll leave the audio and plug - ins for other people to deal with. ;)

[loz]

jsut upgrade your pc. you can get a decent motherboard and cpu pretty cheap these days. you wont really need anything above a 1.4ghz cpu if that - about £150-£250 if you shop around. make sure its at least a p111 cos celerons just arent cut out for heavy audio processing.
one of the most important things is ram. id say at leats 512mb to be safe. its really cheap at the mo. £35 for 512mb pc133.
hard drive, 40gig should be fine at 7200rpm.
last but not least a soundcard. very well priced is the m audio audiophile. at around £150 or less you cant go wrong.

hope that helps you out mate,

loz (in association with PC World)

[sas]

so what are athlons like for processing audio? and anyone know what sound blaster live sound card are any good ?

[loz]

ive not got much experience with athlons but my cousin is a computer genius and he swears by them. i used a sblive for 2 years and it was cool up until my tunes started to get more and more complex. the audiophile is well good and i recommend it to anyone on a budget. i still run my sblive with it in case im running two progams that wont wont run using one card.

the audiophile is about the same price as the new soundblasters (or cheaper) but it is a professional card and the sb is aimed for gamers and music making hobbyists.

[poi]

If you're gonna be upgrading most of the parts in the system (which you probably will do on a 5 year old pc) - i reckon its a good idea to go for whole new base unit, you can probably use the monitor etc from your old machine.

Someone i know bought one of these systems from microdirect recently and was well pleased: http://www.microdirect.co.uk/companypages/products/mdsystems/gamma.htm
Theres a few different ones in the range if you're not bothered about the 3D card you get with that one (for games). Go on www.microdirect.co.uk - Systems --> MD Set Builds

I think theres little difference between AMD and Intel Pentium, but AMD does seem to come in cheaper..

As for soundcards - haven't got a clue!

[loz]

you can get a 32mb graphics card for about £30 i think. something like a riva tnt2 is more than adequate and this will help when using glossy programs and plugins like virtual electric etc.