I’m sure this has probably been asked before but I know things change pretty quickly in the hardware world so I figured I’d ask now. I want to take the plunge and get the best possible laptop I can for live performance with Cantabile. I keep reading about the Ryzen chips, not sure if they are the answer or not. And I know I’ll need a bunch of RAM. Does anyone have any recommendations for any particular brands or just specs if money is sort of no object (I’ve been saving for a while now to invest in something good). Here are some plugins I use a lot that I’d like to use live:
Kontakt
Massive X
Tal Uno-Lx
Tal J-8
Arturia V-Collection
Omnisphere
Reaktor
You are correct…this has been discussed before. There are several threads here on the subject. IMHO, It is always best to use the search engine first.
Here is the most recent discussion:
Corky
PS…Using Omnisphere live will need plenty of RAM, a quick processor, and a large SSD drive. Just my 2 cents.
Thank you, I did see that thread. The only thing is the person is referring to an old 2015 laptop. As I mentioned I’m looking to invest in the latest technology since hardware is always rapidly improving I was hoping to get some recommendations for the latest and greatest laptop for audio as of late 2021. Maybe this is the wrong forum to ask this kind of question, I might need to visit a gaming forum or some place that focuses on the hardware side of things. Thanks anyway for the reply.
Hey, this thread is fine, I just know there has been several threads concerning your topic, which I thought might better answer your questions than I. I am sure someone will respond to you soon.
The only advice I would have for you is to be careful when using large libraries like Kontakt and Omnisphere, as they tend to eat up resources really fast…and honestly, the modeled plugs sound just as good as the big libraries when playing live, unless you are playing in a well-mixed 6000 seater, or if you are recording.
I run with 16GB Ram and a Terabyte SSD. I also use as many “modeled” plugins as possible to run lean. I choose Pianoteq over Keyscape. My i3 chip handles everything very well.
Hopefully, someone will chime in soon that can give you better info than myself.
I should also tell you that I bought a refurb laptop in 2020 (the one mentioned above). It was 3 yrs old, and was upgraded to Win 10 Pro. Several of us are using refurbs. They are cheaper and are many times used for a year, before upgrading to the newest thing. There are many companies that refurbish computers, but make sure they are Windows Certified.
I bought mine from Newegg. It is an HP and, when I received it, I was surprised. It looked and felt like it was brand new. Quite an upgrade from my Win 7. I also purchased a slimline desktop with similar specs. It runs circles around the new laptop. But, many more USB ports and empty slots for cards. The laptop ran at $320 at the time. I think the desktop was about $300. They both are still running great.
Thought I would share that with you. I saved enough $$ to spend on more plugins.
They both run Omnisphere and Keyscape without hesitation.
Just my 2 cents. 16 gigs ram is a minimum, separate graphic card, I7 CPU. I have always preferred business class laptops. They are usually more hardy, have more USB ports and better specs overall without the premium GAMER price tag. If you can find a laptop with 2 drives that will be a plus. There are models out there that allow for an M.2 and SSD. Put the OS/Software on the M.2 and everything else on the SSD. I have had good luck with Lenovo and HP. The audio interface is an important factor and you didn’t mention that.
I can add that I have purchased a laptop and several desktops from Amazon. If you stick to their refurbished store or some of the other top sellers, you can get some really good deals. I have that laptop and 2 refurb desktops that are running great. With my laptop, I removed the DVD from the optic bay and threw a 500GB SSD in there. I ended up spending less that $300 for everything. That is my current backup laptop. I am currently running a refurb HP desktop in my rig. It is 16GB RAM, 2TB HD, i7 quad core, 3.7gHZ, and it ran me $287.00. It came with 10 Pro on it. I chose this because it has 10 USB ports. It has run pretty flawlessly for the last year and a half. Certainly check out all, as NewEgg has good deals as well, but you should check out Amazon. If you are a prime member (and who isn’t these days) shipping is free and returns are super easy. One vendor accidently sent me the wrong unit, and Amazon immediately sent me a return label to send it back and shipped me the correct one as soon as it was picked by UPS. The whole process took less than 3 days from pickup to UPS dropped off a new one.
Welcome to forum. A business class laptop is very good, a workstation class is even better. The last I bought (HP Zbook 15 G7) has two m.2 SSDs (seven times faster than the SATA SSDs).
Unfortnately, it’s quite expensive, but solid rock with mil specs.
