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Best laptop for Maschine?

Discussion in 'MASCHINE Area' started by budbrewbeats, May 16, 2011.

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  1. budbrewbeats

    budbrewbeats New Member

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    I'm planning on getting the Maschine & a laptop at the end of this month, but I'm clueless on which type of laptop is best. I was thinking of the Hp Beats. Yay or nay? Also, I'm leaning more towards a Pc. So, sorry all you Mac lovers. haha

    Heeelp
     
  2. ikarys

    ikarys Forum Member

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    I went the mac route. :)

    Why would you want to not go mac... unless its the cost.
     
  3. budbrewbeats

    budbrewbeats New Member

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    Definitely the cost, man.
    I don't think I can spend a G on a laptop. ;P
     
  4. ikarys

    ikarys Forum Member

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    For what it's worth... I worked for MS, and our whole office used Macs :D Super ironic.

    I have no idea about other lappys, suffice to say, my mid 2010 mac is still going strong - you might be able to find a second hand one.

    What I would say is this... if you are serious about music production, you will probably want an external soundcard and some studio monitors. So this makes your laptop come down to pretty much screen, CPU, RAM and HDD.

    I'm not sure I could recommend something that's designed for sound because the important sound parts are generally external to the computer. I wish I could be of help.
     
  5. djboots

    djboots Forum Member

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    There is really only one answer here...........MAC!
     
  6. bryan350

    bryan350 New Member

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    I would suggest looking into Lenovo and Dell "mobile workstations"... which are basically rammed out laptops for engineering software and high cpu ****. Maybe you can find something decent and reliable for under a thousand.
    ---
    Oh yeah, I forgot to read the HP beats part. I wouldnt buy that if I were you. I know from experience, HP and its' other computer brands are disposable laptops with a 2 yr shelf life. HP beats is just a recycled Envy series laptop w/ a rebranded casing which is an inexpensive way for HP to save cost. It has the same features and performance as a regular entry level HP laptop. Its overpriced upgrades are actually unnecessary and will be replaced anyway.

    -Its built in dr. dre soundcard is easily replaced w/ a higher quality external audio soundcard w/ outputs and inputs.

    - its "upgraded" 700gb HDD is actually kind of lame. A 120gb SSD is far better since it is faster and uses less cpu power. It increase performance and reliability of programs . A 700gb Hard drive is like 100 bucks nowadays and can be upgraded very cheap. Most likely people buy external hard drives anyway.

    Besides that, everything else is pretty standard. Theres also the fact that their unibody look is all plastic panels. And also theyre kind of embarrassing looking, theyre like "wannabe dj" laptops. HP's business venture w/ beats audio is obviously a marketing gimmick. It kind of looks like a kid's computer.
     
  7. ceasdamonsta

    ceasdamonsta NI Product Owner

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    def save the money and get a mac
     
  8. pseudowilliam

    pseudowilliam NI Product Owner

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    to remove the reoccurring myth; you can to the exact same thing on a mac and a PC. Hence, to say "Get a Mac", or "Get a PC" are, in my opinions, very poor and ill-found recommendations. At least, we owe it to people to give them an exact explanation, as to why.

    PC/Mac decision is a long term decision. I all, I don't recommend buying into a platform based on one software, per se (unless you want to use Logic, and the likes). (see also comment on Video, below)

    That said, there are loads of crappy pc-laptop. So quality of the hardware requires some research. One recommendation i can give are Lenovo/Thinkpads T-Series (t420-t520) (I think HPs are fine as well). Thinkpads are solidly build, that is the T series. They are build for travel (business, etc.). fyi: keyboards is probably the best on the market, and the general build (hinges, casing, what have you) is definitely worth recommending.


    Note: audio/video
    : if you plan on doing video, then give Mac a serious consideration. In all, my impression is that for Video Mac's continue to have an edge. I don't think that statement equally holds for the audio domain.

    Cost, certainly is one factor to be considered. If cost is no consideration, then mac certainly starts moving on a more plane levels field. All things equal, it is save to say you pay ~ 30-40% premium on the mac (i might be on the low end here). AT last, be aware, that the laptop will not be the end of you investment (obvious, but often forgotten). You'll want a "pro" soundcard. This is despite the bizarre observations of people that "if you get a mac, then the internal sound-card should be fine", really?:(

    hope this helps.
     
  9. Sinosure

    Sinosure Forum Member

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    I like HP & haven't had a problem with them, BUT I wouldn't get the "Dre laptop" either. Just get a regular HP laptop, maxed with what you can afford. More than likely you'll get an external sound card (interface) & external HD too. I want an HP quad core & probably will get one. I agree with Bryon350 that the "Dre thing" is overhyped, lol!
     
  10. EpikureeR

    EpikureeR NI Product Owner

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    this
     
  11. jones_maschine

    jones_maschine Forum Member

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    I would imagine the Dre laptop having all sorts of pre installed eqs to automatically make tunes 'fat'. Stay clear, as youd want your tunes to sound as natural as possilble.

    Invest £1500 (or so) and get a Mac Book Pro with 8gb memory. Job done.
     
  12. jones_maschine

    jones_maschine Forum Member

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    Tbh - if your looking for something around a grand I would get the Mac Mini. I have had a Mini for 6 years now and still feels like new. It runs live and Maschine flawlessly. For £1050 you can get one with 8gb memory! Yes the PC lot will harp on about better specs and cheaper price but I can guarantee within a year or two itll run like a dog compared to the mac.
     
  13. pseudowilliam

    pseudowilliam NI Product Owner

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    upfront, yes the mini definitely moves within the parameters of what budbrewbeats is budgeting.

    on a slightly different note; I seriously don't want to make this an emotional venture. That said, i can't let fragmented factual statements run loose.

    the system will run as good as you manage it. Hence, you're statement is correct, if we acknowledge that his applies to any system.

    here just vignette of what proper system maintenance is bent at.

    http://thenextweb.com/apple/2010/10/08/what-is-slowing-down-your-mac/

    Please let keep this threat sane and at a healthy blood pressure! :)
     
  14. jones_maschine

    jones_maschine Forum Member

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    Yes providing he keeps every single driver disk under lock and key and keeps it away from the internet.

    Dont get me wrong - Im certainly no apple fan boy. Just saying that stuff simply works on Mac and (in my experience) works more flawlessly and longer.
     
  15. budbrewbeats

    budbrewbeats New Member

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    Thanks for the input everyoneee.
    I'm gonna look into Lenevo & maybe a mac on craigslist or some ****. ahah
     
  16. mwill008

    mwill008 New Member

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    I brought a HP w/ Beats by Dre Audio intel* Core™ i5 processor and 640GB hard drive and 6GB DDR3 memory. I pretty much satisfy with it.
     
  17. Scaper7

    Scaper7 NI Product Owner

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    If you're planning on using an NI audio interface, you might be better advised to use a Mac. A lot of PC users have had 'issues' running NI audio hardware, myself included. Hopefully the new generation of NI interfaces have evolved to address these issues.

    Having said that ... I run a DELL Vostro 1520 (Core2 Duo) and have zero problems running Maschine, Traktor & Ableton through a MOTU ultralite Mk3. I like the 15'/1600x900 anti glare screen (not available on a Mac) ... performance is rock solid, stable.
     
  18. ceasdamonsta

    ceasdamonsta NI Product Owner

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    Yo people on here so funny, macs are better point blank. I don't care how fast ur pc is, its still a pc, running windows, which is the real problem when u get down to it. Macs are made for this stuff. if you can save up a thousand, I would hate for anyone to spend that much on a PC, which will be out dated in 3 months.
     
  19. bryan350

    bryan350 New Member

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    You should hit up Apple's outlet section on its site if you want to save money instead of buying a used one on craigslist. Usually theyre brand new items anyway, or at least the internal parts are replaced new and they still have factory warranty.

    I bought my lil bro a 27'' quadcore i5 imac for 1250 bucks in the apple outlet. I saved over 500 bucks and it was brand new. If your still trying to stay under a grand, they usually sell 13'' macbook pros for 800 bucks.

    I woulnt trust ebay or craigslist sellers, you never know what kind of idiots they are. For example, my cousin was selling his less than a yr old macbook for almost retail price. Hes not a dj or into audio/video production or even good w/ computers, he just bought one cus macs are popular. But his mac had some internal error from misuse and he had a spyware virus. My guess is from the torrenting and hardcore porn. He actually tried selling it to me, but i told him to sell that **** on craigslist instead.

    Also Dell and Lenovo have factory outlets. I bought a black Dell Adamo and an Alienware M14x in Dell's store for under 2g's.

    My M14x outperforms a macbook pro in "technical specs", and my Adamo gets a lot of compliments at school(where everyone uses macbooks on campus) and both cost me almost less than what a macbook pro costs.

    ps. yeah if you buy a PC, youll struggle to configure **** out for audio production. But eventually you can get the programs running smoothly if you can figure them out.
     
  20. Scaper7

    Scaper7 NI Product Owner

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    ... typical of the misinformation posted on this site regarding PCs/Windows ...
     
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