Just looking for some advice.....
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  1. #1
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    Default Just looking for some advice.....

    Hello all, I'm just looking for some advice about my situation. I bought an alienware laptop a while back thinking I was going to use it primarily for gaming and schoolwork but now I've gotten into producing music and have been primarily doing that now rather than gaming. My predicament is that all I have is USB 3.0 ports and it seems that NOTHING likes 3.0 ports especially on windows 7. I really want to get an s2 or s4 but they are not compatible with my rig.

    I guess my question is that if I am only going to be using my laptop for music production should I try and make the switch to IOS or look for alternatives as far as getting a compatible controller(among other things)?
    I've only been producing music for about a year but its become a passion of mine and I don't want to be waisting money on a setup that is going to be giving me problems all the time. On the other hand I'll be taking a serious loss on a very expensive laptop if I do make the switch.

    Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated.
    Sorry for the novel of a thread.....

  2. #2

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    hey man that situation sucks lol but honestly i would sell ur laptop and go for a cheaper windows one or a mac but mac is expensive (but it is worth it in the long run) if u can get someone willing to buy ur laptop for a little less then sell it and get a new cheaper laptop and get the s4 but u said production
    if u want production get a soundcard and a keyboard

  3. #3
    DJTT Moderator bloke Karlos Santos's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PHREAKBASS View Post
    hey man that situation sucks lol but honestly i would sell ur laptop and go for a cheaper windows one or a mac but mac is expensive (but it is worth it in the long run) if u can get someone willing to buy ur laptop for a little less then sell it and get a new cheaper laptop and get the s4 but u said production
    if u want production get a soundcard and a keyboard
    You might want to use full stops and or commas to fragment your paragraphs into sentences.

  4. #4
    Tech Convert Rednight's Avatar
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    Hi,

    One workaround could be using a selfpowered usb hub using 2.0 spec, I'm not enterley sure but maybe its a speed issue with the backward compatibility of the drivers setting bad speed as reported by some users on the web.
    Make sure to use a hub who've been testified working on usb 3.0 port to not add another sand grain in the gear.

    Hope it'll help you out,

    Peace

  5. #5
    Tech Guru Patch's Avatar
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    Try uninstalling the USB 3.0 drivers...

    Scaper7 mentioned it here:

    http://forum.djtechtools.com/showthr...l=1#post677927

    Quote Originally Posted by Scaper7
    Best Windows laptop i've used so far; DELL Vostro 3560. i7 quad core, 8gb RAM.
    Has 1920x1080 screen resolution and flies along effortlessly under heavy loads.
    Check out these awesome DPC specs ...
    Attachment 21843
    best i've seen after testings dozens of different laptops over the years.
    Not too expensive ...

    All USB3 ports but reverts to USB2 by simply uninstalling USB3 drivers. Work great ...
    Probably worth a try on the Alienware.
    DJ'ing: 2x1200MK2, DJM 850, Dicers, F1, Zomo MC-1000, Sony MDR-v700, i7 Win 10 HP Envy
    Production: Ableton Live 8 and a mouse, Sennheiser HD400, Sony VAIO

    Click HERE to D/L Free Tracks from Soundcloud!!!
    https://www.facebook.com/Patchdj

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by PHREAKBASS View Post
    hey man that situation sucks lol but honestly i would sell ur laptop and go for a cheaper windows one or a mac but mac is expensive (but it is worth it in the long run) if u can get someone willing to buy ur laptop for a little less then sell it and get a new cheaper laptop and get the s4 but u said production
    if u want production get a soundcard and a keyboard
    Thanks for your thoughts man. I do actually have a little axiom air 32 key and a Scarlett 2i2 which both work well with the alienware. I initially bought a komplete audio 6 but had BSOD right off the bat and that's when I found out that NI interfaces don't play nice with the USB 3.0 on windows 7.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patch View Post
    Try uninstalling the USB 3.0 drivers...


    Probably worth a try on the Alienware.
    I will probably try that, the only thing is that I won't know if it will work until I have an NI product to test it haha. That would be ideal though as the alienware is a very powerful rig other than the stupid USB 3.0 ports.

    Thanks man

  8. #8

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    Forgive my ignorance, but what is the problem with using an S2 or S4 with USB 3.0 ports?

    I use a Z1 and X1 MK2 on Windows 8 with 3.0 ports. The X1 is connected to a 3.0 hub as well.

    I haven't had any problems at all. Or perhaps I'm not noticing something?

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Glitchwerks View Post
    Forgive my ignorance, but what is the problem with using an S2 or S4 with USB 3.0 ports?

    I use a Z1 and X1 MK2 on Windows 8 with 3.0 ports. The X1 is connected to a 3.0 hub as well.

    I haven't had any problems at all. Or perhaps I'm not noticing something?
    Sorry I should have been more specific. The problem isn't with 3.0 on general it's 3.0 on windows 7 specifically on dell motherboards(from what I've read). I bought a komplete audio 6 and it would BSOD my laptop. Come to find out that this happens with controllers and the like from NI products. I've heard they work fine on most Win 8 systems tho. Maybe an OS upgrade could solve my problem?

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