Hi All,
I have been using Cantabile for many years and utilize performer edition.
My laptop is old, although I have upgraded it to run windows 10 two years ago along with C4, it has issues with being underpowered and with ongoing internal issues it really needs to be replaced sooner than later. (Yes, my data is backed up as it should)
So, I am sure you can agree I’m at the point where I must get a new laptop/system controller going forward.
In the recent past, there have been discussions on laptops, but for the life of me, I am just unable to locate them; I have tried. We all know there is no one perfect make/model, but there are optimal, CPU and memory requirements. So, my present quest is to purchase a new laptop, with touchscreen and ‘2 in 1’ capabilities. I’m a keyboard player and primarily use hardware synths via midi-din & USB. And with this Integrated into Cantabile are VST’s and all the additional suites of extensive extras.
I’m sorry for restarting a topic I know has been visited but I truly have attempted to locate the information that I need. Without saying I have always used the bible ‘Glitch Free’ graciously handed down by Brad to optimize my system.
Thank you in advance for your understanding!
Hi there.
Just interested to know what you’re running right now and which plugins are generally in use.
It’s all about demand.
Here is a thread started in 2020 but updated until recently that you could find interesting (though not exclusively about laptops):
Some info also here:
As per @Ade’s question, the optimal laptop configuration also depends on what plugins you generally use, as you probably know quite well already, being a long time Cantabile user.
Gabriel
I went through something very similar not too long ago, with an old underpowered laptop that needed replacing. I picked up a refurbished Lenovo Yoga X1 which has been doing great - in fact, when my original old laptop finally became non-usable this year, i got a second refurbished Yoga X1 to use as a backup. I don’t run a real heavy vst load - my biggest CPU hog is B-3X, which my old laptop struggled with, but is no problem on the X1’s.
P.S. I recommend buying refurbished, because not only do you save a bit of coin, but (most important) you get a clean Windows install without all the manufacturer’s bloatware (Lenovo’s is particularly offensive).
Just one person’s experience,
– Jim
Hi Jim,
Thanks for your suggestions! It just so happens that the laptop I need to replace is a Lenovo Yoga12.
I didn’t realize the value of a refurbished system – w/o BLOATWARE. I will be looking into this for sure. Any suggestions on CPU and minimum memory? Thanks again!
Thank you Ade!
I guess that I have not been taxing my system as much as most, not that I wouldn’t like to be more demanding but with the issues I have I won’t introduce any new VST’s until I have a more capable system.
Midi Hardware:
-MOTU Midi Express 128
- -Roland D50
- -Roland XP80
- -Hammond XK-5
- -Roland PK5 Pedal Board
- -Moog Subsequent 25
- -Behringer Virtualizer
- -Behringer U-Phoria UMC 1820
- -Alesis Microverb III
Cantabile:
-Multiple; Media Players
-BlueARP.x64.vst2
-BassMidiVsti.vst2
-mda (various).vst2
-MT-PowerDrumKit.vst3
-Perfect Drums Player.vst3
-Subsequent 25 Editor(x64).vst3
-Valhalla Supermassive.vst3
Cakewalk
Thank you Ade!!!
Gabriel, thank you so much, those are the exact threads that I have been looking for! They definitely have the information I remember. Now, I need to start checking out the options.
Hi
I recently doubled the RAM in my PC, even if DELL said it was impossible, and I was sure to have no more crashes with 32 GB
I have fewer crashes indeed, but I found that my Intel i7 3rd generation is still weak with sample-based plugins
And, not all sample-based plugins give me this problems: UJAMs guitars v2 and UJAM virtual pianist are the worse CPU/RAM suckers in my arsenal
cheers
Hi Claudio,
Thanks! That’s what I am looking for, are these kind of suggestions. 32GB is where I was thinking and that does eliminate a number of laptops that have soldered ram that can’t be upgraded. I have been looking into the Lenovo X1 and although there is a 2 in 1, convertible version it is not available with 32GB as an option. I don’t have room for the standard laptop with the exposed keyboard. I have used both Dell & Lenovo laptops in the past and they were all very good with XP & Win7. But with Win10 or Win11 and more processing required with realtime I/O and now VSTs it can be a challenge. I understand that some compromises are necessary but some attributes cannot be. Thanks again!!!
Actually, I am using Windows 10 on a machine that started with Windows 7 
Moreover, check in forums if you really cannot put more RAM on some of your machines
The manual says my Optiflex 7010 cannot use more than 16 GB, but I found that many tried and were able to double it, so I followed the path
BTW, after having followed all Cantabile anti-glitches tricks, I found today that my crashes (both Cantabile and Ableton) were due to a scheduled check by my antivirus 
During those checks there were CPU spikes, the drive was very busy, and there was a lot of network traffic
I changed the time, all issues are gone, and I had zero crashes
I changed the time for those checks and the glitches disappeared
Just for reference (to continue my story from above), my Lenovo X1 that i bought to replace my aging 10S has 8GB. The X1 i bought this year as a backup has 16GB. No problems with either.
Just for fun, here’s my heaviest load (output from Cantabile’s Verify command):
Blue Cat’s Gain 3 (Stereo) (x64, VST3) x3
Blue3 (x64, VST2) x1
BlueARP.x64 (x64, VST2) x1
DCO-106 (x64, VST3) x1
Hammond B-3X (x64, VST3) x1
Head Crusher v2 (x64, VST3) x2
Kontakt (x64, VST2) x2
Lowdown (x64, VST3) x2
M-Tron Pro IV (x64, VST3) x2
M1 (x64, VST2) x1
midiChords (x64, VST2) x2
midiDelay (x64, VST2) x1
OrilRiver (x64, VST2) x1
String Machine (x64, VST2) x1
TAL-NoiseMaker-64 (x64, VST2) x5
TRITON (x64, VST2) x1
ValhallaSupermassive_x64 (x64, VST2) x1
Wavestation (x64, VST2) x2
Xpand!2_x64 (x64, VST2) x3
Bottom line, in my experience you likely won’t need 32GB unless you are trying to run several large sample-based plugins.
– Jimbo
That’s fantastic. It’s easy to change the scheduled times!
OK, so 32GB is not a game breaker, and that makes sense. May I ask which processor did you end up with? What about the generation?
X1#1 - i7-6600U (i.e. 6th gen)
X1#2 - i7-8665U (i.e. 8th gen)
And i was mistaken in my previous reply - they both have 16GB RAM
Thanks Jimbo, I now know where to focus!
You are perfectly right Jimbo
When I started making music, I had zero sample-based plugins and my old PC was a lot weaker (an Intel-duo dino, LOL)
But now that I use many of those pests, plus their embedded effects, I had to increase the RAM to the max available
Yes, but you can check for another possible tool
My antivirus, Bit Defender, has an option called “Profiles”
if I activate it and select the Game profile, and then I add my DAW and Cantabile in the exceptions, the antivirus will be very quiet while I’m playing, so reducing further the stress on the system
I don’t know if all antivirus have that option, but if your tool has it, it can be useful
I imagine you’re using SSDs?
Have you tried reducing the preload on those plugins? Will load marginally quicker and use less ram. Very often the defaults are set for spinning drives, which are pretty much a thing of the past.
Yes, I have a fast SSD
But as I explained, the reason was the antivirus system check that happened at the same time of my play hours, stressing the CPU, the drive, and the network, so I am sure that the culprit is mostly (or only) the check itself
reducing the preload on those plugins
How doing that?
Here’s a couple of examples - Kontakt and Omnisphere:
With many hundreds, or thousands of samples, a reduction can make a RAM saving.