I'm looking for a notebook to record on-location with my Dante soundcard. My priority is great, stable drivers, an option to switch off unnecessary motherboard features to get the system latency to the absolute minimum, and a good ethernet card, preferably Intel ethernet card.

Nothing else really matters, just the system latency and network card. I don't need super-powerful CPU or plenty of RAM.

Could you, please, recommend me specific laptop or point me to specific brand/model range, to help me find the perfect laptop for me?

 

how much channels over Dante? and which DAW?

in general, you can't go wrong with Apple MacBook Pro, because MacOS is better designed operating system than Windows,
latest models with ethernet port are mid-2012 I think only,

of Windows laptops, HP EliteBook 800 series are pretty solid, and since they are enterprise-targeted, they still usually come up with free Windows 7 downgrade nowadays (may vary depending on country),
also the HP ZBook Studio looks good,

if your priority is truly what you wrote, I do highly recommend dedicated audio interface, RME Digiface Dante, period.
http://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/digiface_dante.php

 

Really rock solid, never failing ..remains a gamble. In my former profession, on filmsets,
almost all soundguys work with standalone recorders, like from Sonosax, Sound Devices & Nagra.
And then they have 2 that run in tandem, for if one fails..

 

You will find the laptop of your dream here: http://www.eurocom.com

 

any macbook will do it

 

Except that the ones from 2012-13 are better build quality and more reliable. They also come with ethernet and firewire ports, if you need fw. Best shit Apple have ever produced.

Otherwise, I'd always go with Dell XPS or Lenovo P or T series laptops. Check them out.

 

2011 and 2012 to be exact (major difference being usb 2.0 vs usb 3.0 in newer one),
as soon as they have RETINA in name, they are NOT upgradeable

 

ASUS FX503VD-EH73

https://www.amazon.com/FX503VD-Powe...UTF8&qid=1533306152&sr=1-4&keywords=laptop+i7
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-ASUS-FX503VD-EH73-Laptop-Notebook-PC-Computer-Gaming-i7-128GB-SSD-1TB-GB/372388903554?hash=item56b41bba82:g:OG8AAOSw6lRaczJ3&_sacat=0&_nkw=ASUS+FX503VD&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=m570.l1313


this would be what i would get


ASUS FX503VD 15.6” FHD Powerful Gaming Laptop, Intel Core i7-7700HQ Quad-Core 2.8GHz (Turbo up to 3.8GHz) Processor, 4GB GTX 1050, 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD, 8GB DDR4, Windows 10 Home


7th-generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ quad-core 2.8GHz (Turbo to 3.8GHz) with discrete NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 4GB graphics
Slim 0.9" profile and lightweight 5.7 lbs body with 15.6" Full HD Matte Panel
128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD for ideal balance of OS drive speeds and storage space, 8GB DDR4 DRAM
Red-backlit gaming keyboard with anti-ghosting technology, 1.8mm key travel distance, and N-Key Rollover
802.11ac 2x2 Dual Antenna WiFi (up to 6x faster than traditional BGN); Bluetooth 4.1, 2x USB 3.1 (Type A), 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x Mini DisplayPort, 1x headphone/Mic jack, 1x RJ45 LAN port, 1x card reader


Screen Size 15.6 inches
Max Screen Resolution 1920x1080 pixels
Processor 2.8 GHz 8032
RAM 8 GB DDR4
Hard Drive 1000 GB Hybrid Drive
Graphics Coprocessor GTX 1050
Chipset Brand nvidia
Card Description Dedicated
Graphics Card Ram Size 4 GB
Wireless Type 802.11 A/C
Number of USB 2.0 Ports 1
Number of USB 3.0 Ports 2
Other Technical Details
Brand Name Asus
Series FX503VD-EH73
Item model number FX503VD-EH73
Operating System Windows 10
Item Weight 5.1 pounds
Product Dimensions 15.1 x 10.3 x 1 inches
Item Dimensions L x W x H 15.1 x 10.3 x 1 inches
Processor Brand Intel
Processor Count 4
Flash Memory Size 128.0
Hard Drive Interface Serial ATA
Hard Drive Rotational Speed 5400 RPM
Optical Drive Type None
Batteries 1 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)











if you what rock solid drivers you have to spend some cash homes, ( but you will be futureproof a while as well)

NO point in getting something worthless in 6 months (IMHO) just to save money.

with that in mind,
here are more affordable options also

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-VivoBook-F510UA-Laptop-8th-Gen-Intel-Core-i5-8250U-8GB-128GB-SSD-1TB-HDD/153117593239?epid=8020445559&hash=item23a6850e97:g:34wAAOSwT0NbXJ7d&LH_PrefLoc=1&_sacat=0&_nkw=asus+laptop&LH_ItemCondition=1000&_from=R40&rt=nc&LH_FS=1&LH_TitleDesc=0|0


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Asus-VivoBook-X540l-15-6-Intel-Core-i3-5005u-1TB-4gb-Windows-10-Laptop/123285088134?epid=2278641794&hash=item1cb45d2786:g:2wAAAOSw3jBar93j&LH_PrefLoc=1&_sacat=0&_nkw=asus+laptop&LH_ItemCondition=1000&_from=R40&rt=nc&LH_FS=1&LH_TitleDesc=0|0


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Acer-Spin-3-SP315-51-37UY-15-6-FHD-Touchscreen-Convertible-Intel-Core-i3-7100U/392089844230?epid=241190874&hash=item5b4a603a06:g:30MAAOSw3yJbTyZN&LH_PrefLoc=1&_sacat=0&_nkw=intel+i3+laptop&_from=R40&LH_ItemCondition=1000&rt=nc&LH_FS=1&LH_TitleDesc=0|0

ultra cheap option
https://www.amazon.com/desktop-Windows-To2-2Ghz-Graphics-Dual-band/dp/B07DYG3K5T/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1533308007&sr=1-3&keywords=hdmi+wifi&refinements=p_72:1248879011
https://www.amazon.com/ACEPC-T8-x5-...rd_wg=rtunr&psc=1&refRID=RA1CHJE1BH3Z6WC3QHPX

 

Last edited: Aug 3, 2018

hmm i had 2 XPS and 1 Alienware from Dell, never again...

just use thunderbolt for ethernet, 2012 is ancient now, but still, will work, have one from 2011 still works

 

I think this question is one of the most reverent. I found a laptop here: https://besttechexpert.guide/, but that was a long time ago.
There are dozens of manufacturers, all have their pros/cons, different lines of device models, different price categories. Immediately, I note that the fact that does not break - in principle, no! A laptop can break any brand and model range. However, there are statistics!

For example, SquareTrade conducted a statistical study on the example of 30,000 laptops of different brands (it is worth noting that the useful life was limited to 3 years).

So, the statistics are as follows (see the screen with the rating below):

the most reliable manufacturers: Asus, Sony, Toshiba;
the most unreliable: HP, Acer.