laptop suggestions

that is more of a myth.. ANY properly running Windows (except vist-suck) (no virus, spyware, etc) will run anything that is written for it perfectly..

saying that a mac can run a native program better than its windows native couterpart is a null point, as they are ported to the system to work... i have NEVER run into problems using any windows program live.. i have played 3 hour live PA sets with a laptop with xp sp3, and it had no issues...

stability issues come from users downloading/bootlegging media from unsafe networks (ie limewire, kazaa) or porn sites and getting virii.. there is NO reason to convert to a mac that is more expensive with the same hardware as a cheaper computer, just to get the "stability" that people desire... if you dont treat your pc like a POS, that it will give you years of service..

if you want the mac osx experience, just get a badass intel based laptop, and run linux... mac osx is based on linux anyway.. lol.. i have my laptop dualbooted, and i loves it..

 

This is not correct. Both are based on a UNIX core; the mother of all current OS'es developed already in the late 60's. Mac OSX and Linux are branches on the same tree (but Mac OSX is not a branch on the Linux branch), so they are relatives, but still with some significant differences.

Amen to that!

 

lets not split hairs.. you know exactly what i meant...

and Windows is not based off of *nix at all, if we break it down..

windows GUI was a bite of earlier gui's, such as mac's version (finder, i believe its called.. dont quote on that)

Windows WHOLE kernel, up until the NT kernels, were based on MS DOS, which was PURCHASED (NOT invented) by Gill Bates (haha) back in the day.. his programers then took it an turned it into DOS as we know it (version 7 i think was the last one).. Windows, much like *nix systems, ran OVER a command-line driven OS.... Windows 3.1 was pretty much KDE for Linux.. just a windows manager...

with the advent of the NTFS hierarchy and the NT kernel, Windows OS from Windows NT and up, benefited, for the most part, of having a fully "point and click" OS... Mac did this, as well, but VERY different from other companies, as they kept everything they did secret and proprietary... (which, in my opinion, cost them ALOT of market share, until the iPod and iMac, of course)...

to say that windows is based off of *nix is kinda odd, considering that they share completely different kernel architectures, file systems, drivers, etc etc etc etc..

Mac OSX WAS built off of a linux based kernel... whether it is more related to UNIX or Linux, is up to debate.. But the kernel architecture, STRONGLY resembles that of recent linux kernels, with a few company secrets written in..

either way.. find what you like, and use it... if you use music software, get a mac or windows pc, but get one that you are comfy with.. that is pretty much the bottom line with anything.. llol

happy shopping...

 

Concidering laptop purchase this is irrelevant for the OP, but clarifying the relationship between Mac OSX and Linux is not 'splitting hairs'. Mac OSX is an OS based on parts from NeXT (Jobs' inbetween company when he wasn't at Apple) and FreeBSD. Since it's a POSIX compliant OS, certain *X apps can be compiled to run on a Mac relatively easily, even if it wasn't written with a Mac in mind at all.
Linux is another POSIX compliant OS. It was devloped originally as a student project by Linus Thorvalds. Linux v1 celebrated its 15th anniversary last year, while it's been in a broader public spotlight and have received wide recognition only the last five years or so. The origins of the current Mac OSX (NeXT and FreeBSD) are older, so Mac OSX can't be built on Linux.
Quite how much they overlap I can't say, and how relevant that would be for a Linux port of GuitarRig I don't know either. It could be easy (lot's of overlap so the best part of the work is already done) or it could be very difficult. Due to the POSIX-ness of each, you can run quite a few compliant apps on both without much hassle, but these are mostly 'ugly' apps without much GUI; mail clients, databases ... not stuff like GuitarRig directly. This is different than doing it with Java; Java apps are surfing on top of whatever OS it's found on, while POSIX goes directly into the very core of the OS.
I for sure never suggested that MS-DOS Windows was based on Unix! NT however was an attampt to 'answer back' to industrial challenges where various UNIX OS'es were used. NT and 'ordinary' Windows (3.1, 95) were very different from the outset, but they merged after ten years or so with WinXP. Quite how much 'MS*X' have made it into current XP / Vista I don't know.
Solaris (from SUN) is the most 'pure' UNIX you are likely to encounter daily although you probably wouldn't notice - but the entire Internet protocol (TCP-IP etc.) is hardcore UNIX. Bank transfers, health care . . . usually some variety of UNIX, since it's so stable. We have computers who have been running it continously since the 70s, without one crash. No wonder both the Mac and Linux bunch decided to start again from there.

 

I have never tried solaris.. always wanted to, though..

how would it compare to, say Fedora, Mandriva, or the Ubuntu flavor of debian?

 

during my first semester at the university of illinois, we used Solaris in our engineering labs and I hated it. the next year, the department switched to Red Hat. It may have been really stable, but the user interface was very unfriendly. Even though there was a mouse, most work was done in a command prompt.

 

I can confirm the GR3 software runs on a Pentium 3 at 800mhz+winxp 512mb 133mhz sdram with GR3 at 48khz 16bit, normal quality with around 8-12ms, using a x-fi extreme audio running ASIO4ALL with some of the less demanding sounds. Some patches can be played in high-quality aswell.

 

well, thats the thing.. it WILL run on a pc with a working version of XP, no matter what the specs (to an extent).. BUT, with more latency... 8ms is ALOT.. its hella noticeable, especially when recording and multitracking with other instruments...

ASIO4ALL is GREAT for what it does.. I actually am planning on getting a cheap USB surround sound card (because it has multiple outputs), and running ASIO4ALL through it to get low latency.. screw getting a 100-200 dollar zero-latency audio card, when I can run this setup almost as well for way less.. although, sound quality and latency, as opposed to actual zero-latency hardware, will be diminished.. I use this for DJing using Traktor Pro, and get latency of about 5-8ms.. which, when djing, doesnt even matter at all.. BUT for using a program such as GR3 for sound modeling, fx, etc., this solution will not really cut the mustard on a lower end machine..

but the uptake of which is actually nice... alomost EVERY SINGLE PC OR LAPTOP now comes with over 1 gig of ram and a dual core CPU.. more than enough to run GR3 with your favorite ASIO driver and hardware solution in high quality with minimal latency.. I get 3ms on HQ on my buddys laptop... 3 gb ddr2, vista home prem 32bit, 2.2 dual core intel... the cpu doesnt pass 20% with ALOT of stuff running... he paid 600, and actually overpaid, as my gf got hers for 450 with 1gb less of ram..

after this thread started, i actually started saving up cash to finally get a nice one because they are so cheap... haha

stormy>>>> hows the live playability of your setup? my friend has an old laptop with around the same specs, but a pent 4 (478 socket), and a m-audio interface... he was curious about doing the same with his..

 

Do not count on ASIO4ALL to get super low latency. It's an amazing piece of software (and so small!) which will help for instance crappy internal sound perform much better than it would with its default driver. With it you can also sometimes route input from one device to the output of another - something you can't with most 'factory' ASIO drivers. It does a cheat to achieve this, in that it's a WDM (Windows OS) driver in disguise. To do this it needs to increase latency however. So: poor hardware gets a definite boost with ASIO4ALL (from useless to useful), but proper audio equipment with good ASIO drivers from the factory, will not.

High sample rate will give lower latency - in theory at least - but increase CPU demands.
A stable audio-focused system is a must for low latency. Quit background tasks like network services etc., and definetly disable any power saving schemes. You want to give the audio stream full attention uninterrupted. Audio isn't heavy work for a modern CPU at all, but on a standard modern computer there is a lot of disturbance. This could give you them crakles.

 

I don't use the p3. That was 1 I built for my band mate.

It's out of commission now and he's upgraded to a socket A Athlon 2Ghz.

I haven't played live in around 2 1/2 years and when I did I always took my zoom8080 out with me.

At home, I always use GR3. At my mates attic studio I use the zoom8080 which I leave there now. Although occasionally I'll fire up GR3, but, his Althlon socket A 2.2Ghz (I also built) isn't quite powerful enough to run Reaper, 4 tracks and GR3 so I rarely do it now.

Smoking ban has killed the scene really. I'm more likely to go busking now than gig.

 

New IBM Levono with 2.14GHz dual and 3GB. This box will not burp! Lord knows I've tried. And i only paid 900 bucks.

 

you overpaid ALOT... my friend got the same thing, with a 300gb hd, lightscribe dvd burner, 16 inch wide screen, AND its an HP (a quality laptop, in my professional opinion.. I have sold alot of them), and he only paid 600 out-the-door... my gf got hers for 450 out the door, with a SLIGHTLY slower cpu (still dual core), and 2 gb of ram... MORE than enough to power guitar rig 3 (i have done it, because my laptop crashed before a show, and I had to use hers).. it worked flawlessly...

 

Where do you work to throw out a comment like that? Unless your friend and your friend's gf have a HP laptop that are the business models then their performance levels are comparable to most low end systems out there. On the other hand Lenovo's tend to be better built laptops that tend to last a lot longer than HPs. A few friends of mine still have their thinkpad t20s and t22s in prestine condition that if used for guitar rig could easily compare to many computers out there running the same thing.

A computer just needs to be well configured. like a car, a beetle can beat a Lamborghini if configured right.

 

ANY laptop of a good brand name, in my experience, will last a long time.. if 2 things dont happen.. 1, they are not dropped, and 2, they dont overheat (like leaving it on your bed or couch while its running)..

I own a shop... lol.. that why I made a comment..

plus, your pc specs are no better than most of the laptops out there that cost 3-400 bucks less... I wasnt trying to be a jerk, but 900 for a laptop with those specs, is just plain expensive.. you could have spent another 200 and got a full on gaming laptop with a quadcore, 4gb of ram, and a nice graphics card..

these are cheaper, and have better specs...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152108

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114625

these are budget laptops, that will be able to use guitar rig 3 to its fullest (as that is what this thread was about in the first place)

(believe it or not, Acer makes killer laptops)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115557

this is pretty much what you were talking about, and its cheaper
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146540


again.. I wasnt trying to be a prick.. the only point I was making, is that, unless you are gaming, you dont need to spend more than 700 AT THE MOST for a brand new laptop, with all the ram, cpu power, and hd space you could need... that Acer for 550, plus a $100 USB Audio Interface (for "zero-latency" input), and guitar rig 3 (200-500 depending on if you get the hardware or not) and BOOM, you have a setup that will make more guitarist drool.. ESPECIALLY if they have never seen gr3 in action..

in closing, dont spend more than 700 in a laptop unless you are gaming, or doing something that requires it, which GR3 doesnt..