# An incredibly dated question. Are laptops "there" yet for audio recording?



## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

To put things in perspective, my current laptop runs Windows ME and was purchased in Sept 2001. My audio recording desktop runs Windows 98 and Cakewalk Pro Audio (not Sonar!). Yeah, it's been awhile 

I am going to buy a new Windows 7 laptop and want to get back into recording. When I was up on this stuff, laptops simply were not good enough to do lots of tracks etc. I've been looking at new laptops and despite the astronomical specs I was blown away to see that even new machines are still using 5400 rpm hard drives kksjur

When I was recording, you simply needed to upgrade to a 7200 rpm hard drive if you wanted lots of audio tracks. Is this no longer the case? Is there so much system ram available that you no longer record/stream from your hard drive? 

I know these questions may sound silly, but I haven't looked into this stuff in 10 years. My knowledge ends at overclocking Celeron processors on an Abit motherboard :wave:

TG


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Bought an older laptop that clock's in around 1.7 gigs for a processor. It was bumped to the max of 2 gig ram and 160 gig harddrive. I use a 16 channel Tascam interface. I have had no problems recording mulitiple tracks for a long time ... i.e. 10 mins or more. 

Adding the VST's ( digital effects) is what chugs the ram. That's usually in the editing phase.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I'll be following this as well, as I have been waiting for Windows 7 to get a new computer, before this one dies--and a laptop would be convenient for a variety of reasons.


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## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

I'm currently running Reaper on Windows XP with quite a few VST instruments and effects on my Eee PC 1000HE. The only thing with a netbook like mine though is you have to tweak it a bit to optimize it for audio. With a typical laptop that's not necessary. I'll be putting Windows 7 on it later this week and I'm going to try a comparison between it and XP to see which one is better in efficiency and RAM use. Yes, laptops are "there". :smile:


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

Kenmac said:


> I The only thing with a netbook like mine though is you have to tweak it a bit to optimize it for audio. With a typical laptop that's not necessary. Yes, laptops are "there". :smile:


Good to know! Should I not bother upgrading the harddrive and (perhaps) add more ram instead? How many audio tracks can you play back while recording a stereo track?

TG


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


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## ronmac (Sep 22, 2006)

Using an external drive, dirt cheap these days, for your audio files helps. I use a Lacie external (7200rpm) on several laptops (1~3 years old all 5400rpm internal drives) delegated for audio work and never have any trouble. Let your internal drive look after the system and the external only needs to read and write tracks.

Be aware that the selection of a laptop should be made after you determine what audio interface you are going to use. Some interfaces, especially fire wire ones, require specific chip sets to work worry free. Check the manufacturer recommendations before you buy.


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## kw_guitarguy (Apr 29, 2008)

While 5400 is still the laptop standard, you can get then with 7200 rpm drives, or SSD (solid state disk - quite pricey...Dell has some)

Having never recorded, but working in IT with lots of disk intensive stuff, I would think that as long as the processor and RAM can handle what you are sending in, even a 5400 rpm should be able to write it fast enough.

An external drive could help by giving you a dedicated drive and bandwidth to write your tracks.

~Andrew


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## PEImatrix (Jan 27, 2007)

Even though I have a nice computer based project studio, the only time I even think about computer tech, is when I have to buy another one. Here are a few things that I've learned over the years (I was overclocking the old Celeron 366's too )...

Keep you recording computer off the internet!
Only install what you absolutely need to. I have my Audio app, burning software, and my plugin suite. That's it.
Use what's stable, not what's new and cool. I'm still using XP. 
Don't use cracked software. (More often then not, it's quite buggy)

If you run a decent Laptop with lots of ram, and if you get rid of the garbage software that's always bundled with it, you'd probably be fine. I'd stay away from Windows 7, until it's proven with audio apps, and hardware.

Good luck!


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

PEImatrix said:


> ...
> 
> Keep you recording computer off the internet!
> Only install what you absolutely need to. I have my Audio app, burning software, and my plugin suite. That's it.
> ...


Though my laptop is on the internet I did basically leave it stripped down and turn off all apps that connect when I am recording.

No need to go with the cracked software. Reaper is very good program for most I think. Free to try and only about $30 to buy.


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## ThePass (Aug 10, 2007)

I just ordered a Dell Studio 15 yesterday........I never thought about recording with it. Thats something I should get into. It's coming with Windows 7 (which I have no idea about) Core 2 duo processor, 4G memory....I'm hoping it will be super fast, lol.....


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

Thanks for all the replies!

I run a fairly "clean machine" and ALWAYS turn off automatic updates etc. While I cannot dedicate my new laptop solely to audio recording, it won't be used for much more than Word, Excel, and surfing.

Windows 7 is a must for me. Having struggled with an obsolete and unsupported OS for years (ME!) I want the greatest longevity. There may be a few bumps, but I'm prepared to deal with them.

For those with external hard drives, how do you hook them up? Firewire, USB?

Looks like I would be better off going with a standard 5400 internal hard drive and spending more on a processor and "extra" ram.

Finally, regarding audio interfaces, is USB fast enough or should I go firewire? I know USB has been around for awhile and don't want to buy into a dated/dieing technology.

Thanks again, keep them coming!

TG


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

traynor_garnet said:


> Thanks for all the replies!
> 
> I run a fairly "clean machine" and ALWAYS turn off automatic updates etc. While I cannot dedicate my new laptop solely to audio recording, it won't be used for much more than Word, Excel, and surfing.
> 
> ...


USB seems fine and has caught up to firewire. I use Firefox for surfing. I started with a clean machine when I set it up. Firefox can be set so it empties all the cache when it closes. That saves tons of headaches right there. With a firewall and antivirus your good to go. Realistically how much will you be recording at once? I have gotten good sound out of the bar we jam in with three mikes and line out of the board. At home it tends to be two or three mikes for drums etc. at the most.


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

shoretyus said:


> USB seems fine and has caught up to firewire. Realistically how much will you be recording at once?


I will probably only recording one track at a time (one man band here). My bigger concern comes with playing back numerous audio tracks while laying down a new track (and running midi drums in the background).

USB is as fast as Firewire!? I thought Firewire smoked it, but again most of my computer knowledge is a decade old.

TG


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## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

traynor_garnet said:


> Good to know! Should I not bother upgrading the harddrive and (perhaps) add more ram instead? How many audio tracks can you play back while recording a stereo track?
> 
> TG


 
Two things you can never go wrong with are a faster and larger hard drive and more RAM. One thing I neglected to mention about my netbook is that I upgraded the RAM to 2 gigs and the old 160 gig 5400 RPM hard drive is now used for backups because I replaced it with a 500 gig 7200 RPM drive. As far as audio tracks, I haven't really tested it yet but a person over on the Eeeuser.com forum mentioned he was able to have 12 tracks playing back smoothly on his machine, and that was with 1 gig of RAM and a 5400 RPM hard drive so I imagine I could probably get 14 to 16 tracks running fairly smoothly on mine. BTW I also agree with PEIMatrix, only use the Internet for updates to your audio software or drivers, or better yet, use another computer to download the files and move them onto a USB stick or memory card and then install them from there.


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## kat_ (Jan 11, 2007)

traynor_garnet said:


> USB is as fast as Firewire!? I thought Firewire smoked it, but again most of my computer knowledge is a decade old.


http://www.lyberty.com/tech/terms/usb.html
USB 1.0 = 12 mbps
Firewire 400 = 400 mbps
USB 2.0 = 480 mbps
Firewire 800 = 800 mbps.

USB 2.0 is generally plenty for most uses. Are you going to be buying a new interface too? Is the interface you want available in Firewire 800 or in USB 2.0?


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I'm interested too - tried recording via USB thru a Zoom H4 into Cubase, live off the floor, and simply could not sync tracks - too much lag time tho I couldn't tell you what the specific issue causing item was. This was on a Vista PC with lots of horsepower and RAM.

TG, we should get together and put our heads together on this one of these days!


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## ne1roc (Mar 4, 2006)

A couple things that work for me.

#1-Upgrade your Ram. I went from 1gb to 4 gb and the cpu usage dropped significantly, particularly when using VST's

If the midi drums are running off VST software, convert the drum tracks to 
audio. VST's use a ton of CPU.

Playback as few tracks as possible while recording a new track, Archive any tracks that you don't need to hear.


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## Guest (Oct 21, 2009)

ne1roc said:


> If the midi drums are running off VST software, convert the drum tracks to
> audio. VST's use a ton of CPU.


That is an awesome tip. The freeze button is your friend. Most modern DAW software will let you click a button a track to "freeze" all the VST stuff on it. It'll bounce the track to an audio file automatically for you. When you want to tweak things you unfreeze it, modify, freeze again.

I made my old Athlon XP system last many years as a DAW using the Cubase SX 3 freeze feature. Without it I couldn't have layered all the soft synth and drum VSTi stuff that I put in my tracks.


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

kat_ said:


> http://www.lyberty.com/tech/terms/usb.html
> USB 1.0 = 12 mbps
> Firewire 400 = 400 mbps
> USB 2.0 = 480 mbps
> ...


I'm thinking my current laptop only has USB 1.0. Is Firewire 800 becoming a standard or is it still the new kid on the block?

I haven't actually looked at interfaces yet, I'll probably start a new post about them once I get the actual computer figured out.

TG


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

traynor_garnet said:


> I'm thinking my current laptop only has USB 1.0. Is Firewire 800 becoming a standard or is it still the new kid on the block?
> 
> I haven't actually looked at interfaces yet, I'll probably start a new post about them once I get the actual computer figured out.
> 
> TG


Even with USB 2.0's high max bandwidth, it still isn't as good as Firewire in the aggregate. I'd stay away from USB interfaces and drives.

Even if you're only recording one track at a time, if you're also playing back other tracks while recording, that can quite easily tax an external USB drive. What's better is to record on your internal drive using its faster bus, and then just move everything over once you're done recording.


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


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## seanmj (May 9, 2009)

I don't know if I would sign up for Windows 7 just yet. It will take some time for software companies issue the drivers for it.... and who knows if it is stable or not.

There are lots of people who do a lot of mobile recording work with laptops. The main thing is to know exactly what you're going to do with it.... and make sure your computer has the appropriate specs. 

Do some research on some of the company forums and see if there are other people running hardware/software you're going to use on laptops with any success.

Sean Meredith-Jones
http://www.seanmeredithjones.com


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

seanmj said:


> I don't know if I would sign up for Windows 7 just yet. It will take some time for software companies issue the drivers for it.... and who knows if it is stable or not.
> 
> There are lots of people who do a lot of mobile recording work with laptops. The main thing is to know exactly what you're going to do with it.... and make sure your computer has the appropriate specs.
> 
> ...


I think you give good advice, so don't take this the wrong way....but 7 is a MAJOR release and so far a MAJOR home run. I've been using it (64 bit version) since about June. For anything I've need drivers for, Vista drivers work fine in 7. I don't know if this is universally true (probably not) but for printers, cameras, thumb drives, networking gear, my Zoom recorder, and other items I can't think of off the top of my head, again Vista drivers have worked fine. And given the importance of the 7 release, software and hardware vendors are going to be very motivated to be compatible so if there aren't drivers yet there will be very very shortly, unless you are talking about old legacy hardware/software where the developer no longer exists. And, in some of those cases, the online community will develop drivers themselves.

I have no fear of an immediate upgrade.


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## seanmj (May 9, 2009)

keto said:


> I think you give good advice, so don't take this the wrong way....but 7 is a MAJOR release and so far a MAJOR home run. I've been using it (64 bit version) since about June. For anything I've need drivers for, Vista drivers work fine in 7. I don't know if this is universally true (probably not) but for printers, cameras, thumb drives, networking gear, my Zoom recorder, and other items I can't think of off the top of my head, again Vista drivers have worked fine. And given the importance of the 7 release, software and hardware vendors are going to be very motivated to be compatible so if there aren't drivers yet there will be very very shortly, unless you are talking about old legacy hardware/software where the developer no longer exists. And, in some of those cases, the online community will develop drivers themselves.
> 
> I have no fear of an immediate upgrade.


That's great that you've had positive experiences with 7. I've been using Vista 64.... which hasn't been too bad... though I had an issue trying to run Nuendo 64bit in conjunction with UAD-2 stuff.... very glitchy. I never figured out whether Vista was causing the glitches or what. I installed Nuendo 32bit after... and everything seems to be fine.

I'm curious to hear other accounts of people in the audio world using 7.

Sean Meredith-Jones
http://www.seanmeredithjones.com


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