netbooks and ableton
I was wondering if ableton would work with a netbook such as this one:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9251392&type=product&id=1218068507709
its 1.6ghz but its a atom processor. I currently use a hp 15.4" 2.0ghz amd x2 laptop with xp pro.i want to get something small but my budget is around $300
so, what are opinions about this?
i run live7 and live8 demo on an acer aspire one (1.7ghz atom processor and 1.5 gig of ram) with no issue of course you cant run hundreds of effects and synths at once but if i ever get to that point i just freeze some of the tracks) the main issue is managing everything you need on the small display. I can happily run traktor with 4 decks on the tiny screen aslong as i know my controler layout well =)
I would definitely upgrade the RAM if you plan on running that machine
if you’re planning on doing more complex stuff in ableton like producing, a netbook won’t serve you well. also you will always have a worse latency than with faster notebooks.
i really like my asus 1.06ghz, 1,5gb ram netbook for anything else, but it sucks for producing in ableton. 
I ran Ableton on a Msi wind yes it works but the 10" Display makes it very painful to use IMO .
It’s doable now but you’re really limited. From experience, the atom processor isn’t really meant for djing. It should be a lot better when they start selling netbooks with the z550 processors
I’ll be testing out a Dell Vostro a90 with Ableton this weekend. It’s upgraded to 2GB ram and a 32GB SSD, and running Mac OS X… I think it will work great for mixing 4 tracks w/ one basic effect each. I’m trying to come up with a mini, portable remix station (i.e. netbook + korg micro) Hell, I might even throw Logic on there just to see if it works! I’ll post my results sometime in the next week.
I am running an MSI Wind U100, 1.6ghrz Atom with the upgrade to 2gb RAM.
I have also upgraded the bios and have done a 24% overclock to 1.98ghrz
This far I am only using the onboard sound card (will be using a gigaport soon) with the Asio4All Drivers, an Xsessions Pro, and a Trigger finger.
Much of what has been said above are the trials of the netbook. I am running Ableton6 and can run 4 channels with the Bavario Smart Mixer Template, as well the PrePackaged DJ Master Channel Rack with Reverb and Saturation removed. I have not had any trouble this far.
I also run FlStudio8, Acid7, Synthmaker, and Reaktor5 with ease.
Obviously watching what I put into the project and bouncing to audio quite a bit.
Cannot kick on 300$(Canadian) either so if you f__k it up, you wont be as upset if the case were it being a macbook.
[quote=“jasonj, post:8, topic:3791, username:jasonj”]
Cannot kick on 300$(Canadian) either so if you f__k it up, you wont be as upset if the case were it being a macbook.
[/quote] Exactly! I also have an iMac running Logic, and Ableton 7 LE. I don’t dare bring it with me anywhere, becuase I don’t want to risk it in that environment. A Netbook going for <$300 (US) and a small controller with battery or bus power would do me really well in those places where things get hairy… Question; what screen resolution do you keep Ableton set at? I’m gonna try 800x600 to make things bigger, and with a 4 track setup, I think it would fit OK…
I run my resolution at 1024x600 (I have really good eyesight) and take everything out of ableton. all that is one screen is the Clips and the File navigation on the left side. sometimes I will turn the navigation off and run a dummy channel with all my tracks I would like available for the night.
Since I can just look at my controller to see what chans I have running, where my eq is at etc… I do not really need the onscreen stuff to be up.
I run a limiter on each channel so that keeps levels in check. when I get my gigaport soundcard back I will probably run multi channels out to a mixer and use a combination of external and internal mixing.
Ok, so I’ve been running Ableton Live 8 on my netbook for a few months now. The netbook is a Dell Mini 9, 32GB RunCore and 2GB RAM, running OSX 10.5.8. I’m using a Korg NanoKontrol as my mixer. I’m running 4 channels of Clips in Ableton, with a SuperLuper on each channel, no other efx running. I am VERY pleased with the performance, but there is still a hiccup every once in a while.., which is making me a bit hesitant to use the netbook at a gig. It seems that when my clip loops are starting over (Every 16 Bars or so) I get a hiccup in the audio. It’s a slight cut-out sound, nothing serious, but it is noticeable and undesirable. I don’t get the hiccup when running the same Live Set on my higher-spec iMac, so I’m pretty sure it’s a performance issue. I’m going to look into giving the CPU a slight overclock, update the BIOS, and un-install or disable EVERYthing except for Ableton to see if I can get this problem to go away. I’m also constantly tweaking the settings in Ableton too, to see if I can find the perfect balance and make this little netbook run even better, so far I’m just going in circles, but this is definitely a worthwhile venture!
Oh, guys. If you plan to use ableton - DO Not buy a Atom-based laptop. A couple of effects on two-three tracks playing - and the sound becomes corrupted. I am distressed - I have bought a tiny nice atom ASUS. It looks fine, but does not work good with ableton. Many-many nights freaking with settings - and still no result- thinking of upgrading for a normal laptop.