Help me buy a new laptop!
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  1. #1
    Tech Wizard
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    Default Help me buy a new laptop!

    Hey I'm looking for a new laptop for DJing, as my old Macbook is beginning to feel a bit long in the tooth, and isn't really handling Traktor or Torq real well. Here's a form I filled out on another (non-DJ) forum, and I'm hoping that it helps you guys guide me in the right direction.

    PS I'm not looking for a Mac. They're simply overpriced, imho, and I can't afford it.

    1. What is your budget? Between $600 and $800.

    2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? ~15.6" I'm willing to go up or down if the price is right and the features really fit.

    3. What screen resolution do you want? Higher is of course better, but I'm not a stickler.

    4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Somewhere between the two. I do need to be mobile (DJ gigs) but most of the time the laptop will be at home. I need power for audio applications.

    5. How much battery life do you need? The longer the better. My old Macbook only gives me 90-120 minutes and that feels really wack, especially for long trips. I'd love to get at least 4-6 hours, or longer.

    6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? Some FPS would be nice, but it's definitely not my primary priority with this purchase.

    7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.) Audio is the primary goal. I need something fast and powerful, with low DPC latency. This is my main concern. I'll be using Traktor Pro, Ableton, and Torq, primarily.

    8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? The more the better. At least 500GB would be nice, or, barring that, the ability to upgrade the HD myself, by hand.

    9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. I generally get stuff from Newegg, but I'm open to branching out.

    10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? I'd like to hold onto it for at least 4-5 years. That's about the lifespan for me.

    11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? DVD writer at the bare minimum. I don't really need Blu-Ray.

    12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

    Toshiba has some known issues with Traktor and DPC latency in general, so I'll be avoiding that brand. Other than that, I'm open to almost anything.

    13. What country do you live in? USA

    14. Please tell us any additional information if needed. While it's not a deal breaker, I really, really would like a firewire port with a TI chipset, as this is the best, most compatible firewire chipset / port.

  2. #2
    Tech Mentor
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    I had the same requirements as you! I just bought an hp dv6t Select edition. It has an i5 with 6gb of ram. I ordered it today. Comes with a backlight key board and 4 usb ports. If ur serious about looking into one i can give u a good link to some a good prices. just pm me.

  3. #3
    Tech Wizard
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    Quote Originally Posted by mycathasrabies View Post
    If your budget is 800... and the cheapest MBP is around 1,000... I would just save up for it.

    I'm (kind of) in the same boat. Got a PC built and rebuilt by myself later and looking to switch to Mac. You can find some good condition MBP's for $800-$1K on Amazon, Craigslist, and Yardsales sites. As long as the hardware is sound (and you can get a killer 60-80gig SSD drive off Newegg for around $150ish) things should be good.

  4. #4
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    Cheapest macbook Pro is 1,100. And thats 13' 4gb of ram and an OK processor.

  5. #5
    Tech Guru Coldfuzion's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BennyJ View Post
    Cheapest macbook Pro is 1,100. And thats 13' 4gb of ram and an OK processor.
    Well if you know any students, you can pick it up for $1000. They give a $100 student and teacher discount.

  6. #6
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    Still tho. 1000? For a core 2 duo and a 13 in screen? 1000 in the pc world is a very fast laptop. Fast enough to counter any lag problems u may have,

  7. #7
    DJTT Infectious Moderator photojojo's Avatar
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    There's no Macbooks now, but when they do have them I've seen them go in the $800 range.

    http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...mco=OTY2ODY3Nw
    Chris Jennings FHP

    Podcast - Soundcloud - Mixcloud - Beatport Charts - x

  8. #8
    Tech Wizard shogg's Avatar
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    I am currently looking for a laptop too.Heard Lenovo's ThinkPads are a good bang for the buck.Can you guys reccomend me some specific models?

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Punky View Post
    Hey I'm looking for a new laptop for DJing, as my old Macbook is beginning to feel a bit long in the tooth, and isn't really handling Traktor or Torq real well. Here's a form I filled out on another (non-DJ) forum, and I'm hoping that it helps you guys guide me in the right direction.

    PS I'm not looking for a Mac. They're simply overpriced, imho, and I can't afford it.
    I just got the Acer 1803T at frys for 599 + 159 for 2 year in store warrenty which is a must as i have dealt with dell on 2 laptops of my own in the past that took months to get worked out.

    11.6 inch screen, i 5 chipset w 4 gbs ram & 500 gb HD. Dosnt run hot at all when running 4 audio channels in abelton. with FL & acid running. Great little machine been realy really happy with it. i was gonna go macbook but the lower end which start at 999 come with core 2 and the mbp at 1100 comes with only a core 2 duo.

    I looked at a # of differnt machines before buying this model. Going in i knew a few companys i wanted to stay away from. I work in IT so iv bought 100s of laptops for customers and myself included. Brands to stay away from are toshiba, samsung, dell(except xps & alienware but these are there high end models and i hear since dell took over alienware the quilty isnt 100% up to par with there former reputatian.), Low end HPs & espically Sony i have returned to many sony laptops.

    brands to look at are:
    Acer
    apple (obviously if u got the money)
    Fujitsu (Every system i have bought from the is still working today 7+ years later, there systems are rock solid and the only repair i have done on them are HD replacements usally after 3-5 years),

    Alien-ware(i still love the specs on there systems even though they are aimed at gamers, Digital DJs should consider alien-ware as there systems are built with heavy power use in mind)

    Highend Dells, (u might get lucky and get a good one)

    Highend HP, (the specs on there tablet touch screen 12' are very very nice. and the price point was like 899 i believe.)

    Just my 2 cents, I hope this helps.

    Quote Originally Posted by BennyJ View Post
    Still tho. 1000? For a core 2 duo and a 13 in screen? 1000 in the pc world is a very fast laptop. Fast enough to counter any lag problems u may have,
    exactly what i thought to. thats why i went with the I5 acer for 599 why by a new laptop with an older chipset makes no sense. the only advantage to buying the mac in this situation is the resale value, they resell much higher and faster then older pc laptops.
    Last edited by Djtom420; 12-13-2010 at 05:37 PM.
    Acer 1803T - Abelton Live 8 - Audio 2 DJ - Korg Micro X - M-Audio USB - KRK Rockit Monitors - Dell Xeon Desktop - Sony MDR headphones - Fruity loops - Acid Pro - Sound Forge

  10. #10
    Tech Guru Coldfuzion's Avatar
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    Personally i'll never buy another PC again, i'll always buy Apple even though they are over priced, but we'll leave that discussion to previous threads on the forums (If you wanna look em up, you can search for them ).

    As far as PCs go, if you're set on buying a PC for sure this is what i'd pick up.
    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+...&skuId=1307061

    I browsed through a few custom laptop companies for you (Two of which I have used in the past, but they are gaming laptop companies) and couldn't really find anything interesting in your price range, simply because they all have high end video cards in them which hike up the price.

    The laptop I linked above was what I chose because it has a larger screen size - 17.3", and a larger hard drive. Although personally I have a 2TB external hard drive which I store my library of songs on just because I don't want it slowing down my computer at all.

    Hope this helps slightly!

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