I'm migrating! OSX -> Windows, Traktor
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  1. #1
    Tech Wizard
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    Default I'm migrating! OSX -> Windows, Traktor

    Hi!

    As my (not so) trusty old Macbook is showing more and more trouble keeping a stable USB connection i am now looking for a new computer.

    As the Macbook line is not so compelling i am seriously thinking about choosing a Lenovo Thinkpad instead.

    It is delivered with Windows 7 Pro. Should i upgrade to Windows 8?

    All my DJ fellas are joking that i'm going to have a lot of trouble. I never DJ'ed on Windows and have had OSX the last 10 years. The Windows computer is going to be dedicated to DJ'ing as my Macbook works fine for daily use.

    Any Inputs?

  2. #2
    Tech Mentor frankle's Avatar
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    Pick up a 13" MacBook Air ... plenty of us use them and they work great! Best thing is you get more resolution (1440x900) than the 13" MacBook.
    Main Gig Comp - MacBook Air 11" 1.3GHz i5, 4GB, 512GB, OS X 10.12.6
    Gig Gear - TSP 2.6.8 & 2.11.2, Kontrol X1mk2 (x2), D2 (x2), S5, Xone:92, Xone:PX5, CDJ-2000 (x2), DDJ-XP1 ... Rekordbox DJ 5 with a few packs ...
    Plenty of studio gear and not enough time ... and a few Nexo PA systems

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by frankle View Post
    Pick up a 13" MacBook Air ... plenty of us use them and they work great! Best thing is you get more resolution (1440x900) than the 13" MacBook.
    I have already bought a Thinkpad. I have the same resolution as the Air you mention for 30% of the price
    1TB & 8GB

  4. #4
    Tech Mentor Irrational Fear's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zster View Post
    Hi!

    It is delivered with Windows 7 Pro. Should i upgrade to Windows 8?
    I can't comment on the actual laptop choice itself, but as for upgrading to Windows 8 I would say it is well worth it- or even finding a laptop that comes loaded with it from the outset.

    I brought a windows 8 Acer laptop last year for Traktor Scratch use and not had a single issue in 6 months of hard use.

    For me though the best thing about windows 8 is the boot-up speed. On my laptop you press the power button and the login screen appears in a couple of seconds, I type the password in and the Win8 home screen is there in another couple of seconds.

    If there are no updates to configure it will go from pressing the power button to having Traktor open in around 10-15 seconds. Obviously this will also be dependent on system specs (mine's an i5 with 6gb Ram) but this boot-up time still amazes me every time ( but then I'm easily pleased... ).

    I would take Win8 over 7 though for that reason alone!
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    2 Denon SC2900, Denon Dn-x1600, 2 Vestax PDX2000mk2, 2 Technics 1210, Stanton SK6, Gemini SA600mk2, Pio HDJ1500, 2 Synergy CD2000 (antiques)

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Irrational Fear View Post
    I brought a windows 8 Acer laptop last year for Traktor Scratch use and not had a single issue in 6 months of hard use.
    Mine is an i5 with 8gig. I will check if there is any issues with Win8 with my computers hardware before a upgrade. But i don't suspect it. The thinkpads is as far as i can read very strong built machines with good hardware specs/manufacturers so there are probably drivers for win8.
    Have you upgraded to win 8.1?

  6. #6
    Tech Mentor Irrational Fear's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zster View Post
    Have you upgraded to win 8.1?
    Yeah I should have pointed that out- I upgraded to 8.1 shortly after I got the laptop (mainly to get the 'start menu' button back but in reality I've hardly used it), but can't say I've noticed any other differences between 8 & 8.1!
    https://www.facebook.com/ekmobile.entertainment / http://soundcloud.com/dave-eden
    2 Denon SC2900, Denon Dn-x1600, 2 Vestax PDX2000mk2, 2 Technics 1210, Stanton SK6, Gemini SA600mk2, Pio HDJ1500, 2 Synergy CD2000 (antiques)

  7. #7
    Tech Mentor djmetalgear's Avatar
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    I went from Mac to Windows 8 and wanted to kill myself. Windows 8 follows the Microsoft pattern of OS's

    98- good
    200/ME- bad
    XP- good
    Vista- bad
    7- good
    8- worst thing ever to happen to microsoft.

    I went back to macs
    I'm a fan of all things art. Music, film, photography, acting, dancing. Expression is powerful.
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  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by djmetalgear View Post
    I went from Mac to Windows 8 and wanted to kill myself. Windows 8 follows the Microsoft pattern of OS's

    98- good
    200/ME- bad
    XP- good
    Vista- bad
    7- good
    8- worst thing ever to happen to microsoft.

    I went back to macs
    Wasn't there someone that said that is why they made Windows 8.1 ? To make it good?

    Besides the religion. Can you give me som constructive feedback for why?
    Were the PC dedicated to DJ?

  9. #9
    Tech Mentor djmetalgear's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zster View Post
    Wasn't there someone that said that is why they made Windows 8.1 ? To make it good?

    Besides the religion. Can you give me som constructive feedback for why?
    Were the PC dedicated to DJ?
    i had audio problems with crackling while using traktor. also USB 2.0/3.0 drivers sometimes act weird with 8. maybe 8.1 fixed some of these issues, but i still hated Windows 8. Windows 7 is great though. I woulda recommended a Laptop with win7 anyday, but i woulda stayed away from 8.

    Even without just DJing, I hated 8 and I hated my laptop. it was an Asus n56VJ. it was dedicated to DJing, but i would surf/digital crate dig for tracks on it and the wifi would cut out every hour. it was a known issue with windows 8 and the asus drivers.

    all in all, i hated windows 8. but would recommend 7 any day.

    Also the trackpads on a macbook pro are by far the best trackpads in the biz... and when Im DJing and selecting tracks in traktor, the last thing i wanna do is fumble around with a BullshXt trackpad.

    ALSO.... Windows allows you to postpone a restart sometimes after some updates have installed.... well sometimes you'll get a pop up saying 'windows is restarting in 15 min' and you have no choice to postpone. my heart dropped when that happened during a gig. thank god i had my ipod as back up for the 15 minutes it took for windows 8 to reboot back again.

    In life... you get what you pay for. Yes i know Windows PCs are a third of the price of a brand new MBP, but in the end.... you get what you pay for. trust me.
    I'm a fan of all things art. Music, film, photography, acting, dancing. Expression is powerful.
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    www.soundcloud.com/mtlgrrr
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by djmetalgear View Post
    i had audio problems with crackling while using traktor. also USB 2.0/3.0 drivers sometimes act weird with 8. maybe 8.1 fixed some of these issues, but i still hated Windows 8. Windows 7 is great though. I woulda recommended a Laptop with win7 anyday, but i woulda stayed away from 8.
    That is some very good advice. I will try and contact NI and hear if they have any issues with the Sound drivers on Windows 8.1. I use three different soundcards: NI Audio10, DJM900 og CDJ2000 so it is fairly easy to pin point if i would have any problems. For now i stick to Win7.

    Quote Originally Posted by djmetalgear View Post
    Even without just DJing, I hated 8 and I hated my laptop. it was an Asus n56VJ. it was dedicated to DJing, but i would surf/digital crate dig for tracks on it and the wifi would cut out every hour. it was a known issue with windows 8 and the asus drivers.
    Acutally by now i have played around with the Thinkpad and it seems as a very nice piece of gear. There is no cut outs and it seems rockstable.

    Quote Originally Posted by djmetalgear View Post
    Also the trackpads on a macbook pro are by far the best trackpads in the biz... and when Im DJing and selecting tracks in traktor, the last thing i wanna do is fumble around with a BullshXt trackpad.
    Yes the Macbook Trackpad is great. I find the Thinkpad Trackpad good also. There is an extra "trackbutton" (i don't know if you are familiar with thinkpads). I Configured that for scrolling only. Lenovos drivers include the "two finger gestures" known from OSX. So i can scroll and zoom with two fingers on the normal trackpad.

    Quote Originally Posted by djmetalgear View Post
    ALSO.... Windows allows you to postpone a restart sometimes after some updates have installed.... well sometimes you'll get a pop up saying 'windows is restarting in 15 min' and you have no choice to postpone. my heart dropped when that happened during a gig. thank god i had my ipod as back up for the 15 minutes it took for windows 8 to reboot back again.
    Actually that specific function you can disable. That is one of the points i want to test before a first gig. And that is why i am playing around with the thinkpad. Browsing and cratedigging a bit Now the box says: You need to reboot. Do you want to do it now? In xx minutes or do you do it manually yourself. That's about the same as my Macbook says.

    Quote Originally Posted by djmetalgear View Post
    In life... you get what you pay for. Yes i know Windows PCs are a third of the price of a brand new MBP, but in the end.... you get what you pay for. trust me.
    Actually this Thinkpad is more expensive out-of-store than a Macbook 13" here in DK. I recieved a very good offer from a company that bought several hundreds for their staff and that is why i only paid a small piece of the price.


    For stability: I found out that Lenovo actually made an original kit to remove the optical drive and put in an hdd instead. Also they made it possible to make a Raid.
    That means that i have to identical harddrives in my computer. If one should fail the computer automatically shifts to the other drive - without any interruptions. That seems to be a very good feature for DJ use where the bass is know to fuck up harddrives.

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