Laptop for Recording: Seeking Advice

[Bassist4Eris]

I've decided I'd like a mobile recording solution, and that means a laptop. I did a quick search, but recent threads on the subject have been based on somewhat tighter budgets than mine. I can spend about $1,000 US, maybe a bit more if necessary (let's cap it around $1,200). I plan on running Reaper, and I have a Tascam US 2x2 USB interface. I'd prefer SSD, and minimum 16GB RAM. So far the only one I've found that ticks all the boxes is the Dell Inspiron 15 7000.

I do wonder if 16GB is strictly necessary. I have 8GB on my desktop computer and it runs Reaper just fine, but I haven't really done any major projects on it.

Any thoughts? Recommendations? Thanks.

 

[pfschim]

with the price of memory what it is these days (pretty cheap) .. I'd say mo memory is mo betta overall. Do you absolutely NEED 16GB, probably not, but if you get into recording and start loading up the tracks and plugins you may discover it was better to have it than not.

good luck

 

[MonetBass]

^ I agree with the above. When it comes to digital recording, you can never have too much RAM or hard drive space.

 

[pfschim]

I've decided I'd like a mobile recording solution, and that means a laptop. I did a quick search, but recent threads on the subject have been based on somewhat tighter budgets than mine. I can spend about $1,000 US, maybe a bit more if necessary (let's cap it around $1,200). I plan on running Reaper, and I have a Tascam US 2x2 USB interface. I'd prefer SSD, and minimum 16GB RAM. So far the only one I've found that ticks all the boxes is the Dell Inspiron 15 7000.

I do wonder if 16GB is strictly necessary. I have 8GB on my desktop computer and it runs Reaper just fine, but I haven't really done any major projects on it.

Any thoughts? Recommendations? Thanks.

aside from memory and CPU, I feel like its worth checking on the web for laptops with the lowest DPC Latency specs.
I got a Dell XPS 15 7590 back in Dec to replace an older (and strangely failing) ASUS Zenbook machine. The Dell has meaningfully updated specs vs the 3 year old ASUS, but it turns out that the top line Dell XPS 15 is also known to have pretty poor DPC Latency, which can definitely impact audio recording (and gaming I'm told).

There are web sites that talk about Laptops with better vs worse DPC latency measurements. In retrospect, I wish I had done that homework before grabbing my new laptop back in Dec.

good luck

 

[DigitalMan]

A couple of thoughts.

First is that the SSD versus a hard drive is the biggest difference maker. There is no reason for anyone to have a laptop with a spinning disk again. Ever.

Second is that 8GB doesn’t seem like enough for me just for regular apps these days. I would consider 16GB a pretty good idea. (I just had a work laptop refreshed from 8GB to a newer one with 32GB and it is night and day in terms of opening apps and large files/multiple files)

 

[And I]

Always save money on the computer and invest in more and better mics, preamps, compressors and/or plugins.

Assuming you have a large backup drive, this thing will rage for recording...

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS/dp/B07Y5PK8SC

 

[Aloe]

1. 16GB is nice to have so you can disable swap. some modern laptops don't have possibility to upgrade RAM, so if you're looking for future get either 16, or the laptop you can put 16G later. it's not really necessary if the only thing you plan to run is Reaper with several plugins, but nice to have if you'll be using computer for something else, like casual Web browsing.

2. google for DPC Latency on the exact model you're eyeing. some Windows laptops are just not suitable for real-time audio.

3. I can recommend a ThinkPad x390 with a Whiskey Lake CPU. out of my three Windows machines it's the least problematic. I believe, T490s uses the same motherboard, but with a bigger screen.

 

[Bassist4Eris]

Thank you to everybody who's chimed in so far. You've all given me good things to think about, and I've been on Google a whole lot thanks to your various suggestions. If nothing else, I know a whole lot more about laptops than I did 24 hours ago.

My original choice, the Dell Inspiron, remains a contender. It's come up in a couple of articles as a good entry-level laptops for audio production. I have seen some articles about the poor DPC latency of the XPS, which gives me pause, but the Inspiron seems mostly OK. I found one person on a forum who was having trouble, but got it sorted via better configuration of the laptop. I do see a lot of reviews stating that it runs hot.

The ASUS VivoBook 15 suggested above is tempting because of its low price, but I'm not convinced a two-core processor is sufficient. A lot of what I'm reading suggests a four-core (or more) processor is better for this application.

The ThinkPad X390 suggested above definitely has my attention.