Need help on which laptop to choose…Lenovo 13.3" or Acer 15.6"?
I’m in possession of these two laptops below (have not opened them yet) and can’t decide on which one I should pick as far as using it with Traktor Pro and possibly with VDJ as well:
I know the screen size is one big difference between the two (I’m currently using a 14.1" Toshiba that is quite a few years old and very underpowered), but I can’t decide if going with the Acer (which has backlit keyboard, bigger screen, DVD drive, touchscreen, but weights alot more and has a lower processor) is better than going with the Lenovo which is an ultrabook (very lightweight, much better processor, but no DVD drive, no backlit keyboard).
I do like the backlity keyboard feature of the Acer and larger screen, but does those things outweigh it being alot heavier and having ain i3 vs an i5 in the Lenovo? Would I really have an issue with the smaller 13.3" screen of the Lenovo, no backlit keyboard, no optical drive?
Any opinions or recommendations on which way I should be leaning here and which feature is more important and critical to djing?
So other than having a acklit keyboard and larger screen the Lenovo should be the better option here due to being more powerfull overall? The difference in screen size is made up by the much powerful i5 vs i3 on the Acer?
So you guys think there is no issue with 13.3" screen for djiing? I do see many posting of using a MBP 13" in their setup so assume many are OK with using that screen size for gigs.
So a combination of i5/4GB ram is better than say an i3/8GB (upgrade from installed 4GB) of RAM?
I ask this because it seems like with the Lenovo if you open the back cover and try to upgrade RAM you void the warranty. There is not a user replaceable area to just upgrade RAM so really need to take the full back off and watching some videos it is very friendly task. Also if I did it there is only one slot so I would be throwing away the 4GB RAM that I have already paid for with the price of the laptop.
The Acer is upgradeable to 8GB and has 2 slots so I can just pop in another 4GB and have 8GB max running with an i3 processor. So
So now wondering which combo would make more sense here…i5/4GB (not to void warranty) vs i3/8GB?
Personally, I would take the larger screen - I run on a 15.6" and find it just about adequate, anything smaller would most definitely be difficult. Lack of a CD drive would also be an issue for me, but I understand they may be completely obsolete for some people.
The processor is probably the smallest of the issues, both processors will run Traktor and VDJ no problem, as would many lesser processors (you’d be surprised at what you can run these things on), assuming you’re running with fairly standard settings in terms of sampling and latency I doubt you’d see a huge difference.
I disagree i think the processor is one of the main differences.
I have a 13" Macbook 2009, screen size is fine for djing the bigger the screen the more tempted you are to ‘Serato Face’ you dont want to rely looking at a screen anyway, and i have played in some clubs were the booth is so small finding a place to put my 13" macbook is sumtimes a nightmare…
in regards to proccessor, if your wanting this laptop to last longer you want the best processor you want… if u decide to start producing using a DAW like Abelton and running VSTS you will want the most power you can get. As these get quite cpu hungry, so does traktor at points when i midi sync maschine at the same time…
i am a Mac fanboy and i admit it, but if i was ever to get a windows laptop it would be a Lenovo
I just went from an 18.4" laptop to a 13" laptop. I was worried about the screen size, beecause I have bad eyesight, but I couldn’t be happier with it.
So if then an i3 with 4gb (or upgraded to 8gb of ram is plenty powerful) for just basic djing and would handle TP or VDJ then the deciding factor here is more about screen size and weight/portability (5.3lb for Acer vs 3.7lb for Lenovo), backlit keyboard, and optical drive.
I know Lenovo are suppose to be better quality and should have very few issues down the road, but it seems like at least for that particular model there has always been a wifi issue (if I want to use the web on occasion). But I think from reading some recent reviews that it might have been fixed now with touch version.
One thing I do like about the Lenovo ultrabook is the form factor and size for carrying it around. A 15.6" size can’t really compare to in that regard.
Another thing I have noticed is from reading reviews on these laptops is the luminosity/screen brightness. Both of these seem to register at the low end of the scale like around 150-160lux whereas others tested are in 220-250 range. I know these are suppose to be budget laptops but with MSRPs close to $600-$700 you would think those numbers would be much higher.
Do you guys think that is an issue that can be a problem down the road? I know that a Macbook Air is like around 260ish lux so these two are really at the other end. But then again a MBA is a lot more expensive compared to these two.
That’s true - I stand by what I said about the processor in terms of Traktor; if you’re just running Traktor with a controller, don’t worry about the differences in the processor. But if, as the poster earlier said, you want to start producing with DAWs (though Im not sure of their exact power requirements myself), or are hooking up millions of controllers and mashing cue points, it might strain some things.
although with new updates and stuff and if you want to go into production youll want that extra processor power…
backlight keyboards are pretty useless (in my opinion) i dont look at the keys when i type so its not a issue to me…
the only thing it comes down to is the screen size and processor… its up to u man.
13" as people have stated and as you have stated seen many djs with the 13" macbook is fine for traktor… my laptop is only really used when i dj for the music and fx etc, but i dont even look at the screen unless im choosing a song because i use my x1 for fx/loops
its down to how dependant you are to the laptop when your playin. if you ‘serato face’ the whole night then go for the bigger screen and save your eyes, if you mix mostly without looking at the screen then go for the processor power and the 13" will do you fine
So if I go with the Lenovo is 4gb plenty with the i5 in case I want to add a externsl hard drive or a fx controller?
With the Acer I can up it to 8gb even though the processor is a i3. I keep reading of folks upping their ram to 10, 12 or 16GB on their MBPs. Is that even necessary to increase the ram that high and is there a saturation point?
I guess what I’d like to know is 4GB enough for what I want to do whether it is an i3 or i5? I just don’t want to get to a point where Lenovo’s lack of ram upgrade will affect what I can add or run.
Well the issue with the 13.3" Lenovo is that it is an ultrabook and thus really have no easy access to get to the ram compartments like other standard laptops. You need to take the full back panel off (and that is a task in itself and something not very easy to do without causing damage to unit) plus Lenovo mentions that opening the back panel will void the warranty. So if I go with the Lenovo it would be stuck at the 4GB RAM if I don’t want to void the warranty or have the hassle of doing the upgrade (though there are videos there that show how to up it to like 8GB).
So I’m thinking that if everything will work fine with 4GB/i5 then there is no need to up the RAM and the Lenovo would be the choice. If those specs are not good enough for saying running a portable hard drive or fx controller as well as a midi controller then the Acer with the i3/4GB might work better since the ram on that one can be easily upped to 8GB with very little effort.
4gb is more then enough for traktor, mine only has 2gb and works fine (now that i have optimised it)
you need to understand the difference between RAM and CPU… you can juice up the i3 with as much RAM as you want but it will not run as efficiently and well as the i5 when you stress the system!
I think having read all the posts here I will go with the Lenovo with it’s i5/4GB and 13.3" screen. I think that should do me well for a bit even if I can’t upgrade the RAM. I think that is plenty powerful to run TP, VDJ, etc. and a few other things I connect from it.