Hello Laptops & PDAs sub-forum! Not ventured in here before but I would like some advice please!
My friend needs a laptop for work as his last one has died a death so he needs one ASAP.
He creates music via cubase and uses all sorts of stuff like that which I have no clue about if I'm honest, he asked me for help on purchasing a laptop that will let him do that, so obviously I come here for advise
At the moment he uses a desktop rig to do the musicy shizz but wants to be able to do it on the move now.
He seems to think that he needs to get a mac book pro as "that is what all musicians use because it doesn't crash". Now, since I know nothing about macs or music I have to accept what he says on that.
He was looking at a mac book pro on the apple site but it was quite expensive even for the lowest model (not sure if I can link to it or say the price) which was these specs:
13-inch: 2.3 GHz
2.3GHz dual-core
Intel Core i5
4GB 1333MHz
320GB 5400-rpm1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
Built-in battery (7 hours)2
MagSafe power port
Gigabit Ethernet port
FireWire 800 port (up to 800Mbps)
Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480Mbps)
Thunderbolt port (up to 10Gbps)
Audio line in
Audio line out
SDXC card slot
Kensington lock slot
He can afford the price of it but it will leave him "skint and stressed" for the next 3 months.
He asked me if I could find an alternative so I went straight to OcUK and had a look there!
I found this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-029-MS&groupid=959&catid=1828&subcat=
- Screen: 17.3" HD+ (1600x900)
- CPU: Intel Core I5 460m (2.53Ghz)
- Memory 2x2Gb DDR3 1066
- HDD: 320Gb
- Optical: DVD Super Multi
- VGA: Intel HD Graphics
- O/S: Free DOS
- Warranty: 1 Year Collect & Return
- Web Camera:1.3m
But it has no O/S !!!
So the cost of win 7 would have to be added to it which would make it £632.
Then I saw http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-038-MS&groupid=959&catid=1828&subcat=
Specification:-
- Screen:15.6"(1366 x 768) HD Ready
- CPU:Intel Core i5 460m (2.53ghz)
- Memory 2x2Gb DDR3 1066
- HDD: 500Gb
- Optical: Blu Ray Combo
- VGA:Nvidia GeForce G310M Optimus
- O/S:Windows 7 HP
- Interface - 2x USB,1x USB/eSATA, 1x HDMI, 1 X VGA
- Warranty: 1 Year Collect & Return
- Web Camera:1.3m
This does have an O/S, it has a bigger HDD, better GFX and BluRay but it has a smaller screen.
I assume the "Interface" of the 2nd set of specs is the same for the first one as there isn't an "Interface" for the 1st set.
The smaller screen is putting him off because he would like the room for wave files and such. But it is obvious that the 2nd laptop is the better one of the two.
He also likes the fact that the Mac has the firewire port because transferring massive music files slowly is a pain and costs him precious time.
What are your thoughts on this?
Should he get a mac because they are brilliant for music like he seems to think and be out of pocket for a few months?
Will all this software work just the same on Win7 as it does the mac and "never crash, because macs never crash"?
Are there any alternatives to the laptops I have suggested?
TL;DR
Mate needs a new laptop to create music on with cubase, wants a mac but they are too expensive, should he starve himself to get it or should he just get a windows laptop for almost half the price, will it works just as well as the Mac would or not?
Thanks for reading and any suggestions you might have.
My friend needs a laptop for work as his last one has died a death so he needs one ASAP.
He creates music via cubase and uses all sorts of stuff like that which I have no clue about if I'm honest, he asked me for help on purchasing a laptop that will let him do that, so obviously I come here for advise
At the moment he uses a desktop rig to do the musicy shizz but wants to be able to do it on the move now.
He seems to think that he needs to get a mac book pro as "that is what all musicians use because it doesn't crash". Now, since I know nothing about macs or music I have to accept what he says on that.
He was looking at a mac book pro on the apple site but it was quite expensive even for the lowest model (not sure if I can link to it or say the price) which was these specs:
13-inch: 2.3 GHz
2.3GHz dual-core
Intel Core i5
4GB 1333MHz
320GB 5400-rpm1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
Built-in battery (7 hours)2
MagSafe power port
Gigabit Ethernet port
FireWire 800 port (up to 800Mbps)
Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480Mbps)
Thunderbolt port (up to 10Gbps)
Audio line in
Audio line out
SDXC card slot
Kensington lock slot
He can afford the price of it but it will leave him "skint and stressed" for the next 3 months.
He asked me if I could find an alternative so I went straight to OcUK and had a look there!
I found this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-029-MS&groupid=959&catid=1828&subcat=
- Screen: 17.3" HD+ (1600x900)
- CPU: Intel Core I5 460m (2.53Ghz)
- Memory 2x2Gb DDR3 1066
- HDD: 320Gb
- Optical: DVD Super Multi
- VGA: Intel HD Graphics
- O/S: Free DOS
- Warranty: 1 Year Collect & Return
- Web Camera:1.3m
But it has no O/S !!!
So the cost of win 7 would have to be added to it which would make it £632.
Then I saw http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-038-MS&groupid=959&catid=1828&subcat=
Specification:-
- Screen:15.6"(1366 x 768) HD Ready
- CPU:Intel Core i5 460m (2.53ghz)
- Memory 2x2Gb DDR3 1066
- HDD: 500Gb
- Optical: Blu Ray Combo
- VGA:Nvidia GeForce G310M Optimus
- O/S:Windows 7 HP
- Interface - 2x USB,1x USB/eSATA, 1x HDMI, 1 X VGA
- Warranty: 1 Year Collect & Return
- Web Camera:1.3m
This does have an O/S, it has a bigger HDD, better GFX and BluRay but it has a smaller screen.
I assume the "Interface" of the 2nd set of specs is the same for the first one as there isn't an "Interface" for the 1st set.
The smaller screen is putting him off because he would like the room for wave files and such. But it is obvious that the 2nd laptop is the better one of the two.
He also likes the fact that the Mac has the firewire port because transferring massive music files slowly is a pain and costs him precious time.
What are your thoughts on this?
Should he get a mac because they are brilliant for music like he seems to think and be out of pocket for a few months?
Will all this software work just the same on Win7 as it does the mac and "never crash, because macs never crash"?
Are there any alternatives to the laptops I have suggested?
TL;DR
Mate needs a new laptop to create music on with cubase, wants a mac but they are too expensive, should he starve himself to get it or should he just get a windows laptop for almost half the price, will it works just as well as the Mac would or not?
Thanks for reading and any suggestions you might have.
