I also was thinking that even a headless mini m1 might just do the trick for Omnisphere. for a keyboard player trying to be economical about it.

I have so many other questions, though. Like, after you buy that; what do you need the band for? Why no Mac? Can you invoice the band for it? Who are these people.... etc.

This is like someone going to the auto parts store and saying "I really need a screwdriver; so sell me something other than a screwdriver. "

 

Last edited: Jul 18, 2022

There are a LOT of reasons WHY PC laptops still sell a lot.
So YES, M1 is more efficient. BUT you can't run Windows native on it

OP ask a WIN machine and you try to sell him a MAC machine.
You are inverting things : OP ask for an hammer and YOU try to sell him a screwdriver

 

You should quote me where I try to sell him anything? lol. Read the entire thread before such dumbass comment. Audiogridder is free and no-one has suggested ditching the original laptop. So not only is your comment bullshit; it's ok, because I already expect it of you entirely. Next time I''ll spell all that out just for you to make sure you understand what you are even trying to talk about.

 

Last edited: Jul 19, 2022

Have you been looking at the latest prices for new AMD laptops? Some of them are almost 30% more than the highest spec'd MACs.
To be honest, I never thought I would see that in home computing.

 

@clone you joined my "ignore useless ppl" list
Nice one !

 

thank you all guys, there is so much to take from your advices.

I'd really not take an Apple machine because I don't like the environment, other than I'd need to learn how to use it deeply and know every issue that MacOS can have. As of today, I'm quite confident I can solve (almost) any issue I can face with a Windows machine, and if something breaks during a live gig, I can fastly solve it. I can't do this with a Mac, I would spend some years with the OS before taking it live and being confident I can fix any possible issue. This is the reason, just sticking to something I really know very well. So, no, I really can't consider a Mac laptop to go out for live gigs, but thank you anyway!

I'm actually seeing that the laptop I need will not be so much expensive, I came to this conclusion after reading all of your replies.

Here are some models I came up with:

• Dell Inspiron 15 - 819€ https://www.dell.com/it-it/shop/notebook-dell/inspiron-15-3525/spd/inspiron-15-3525-laptop/cn32513
• ASUS VivoBook Pro 16X - 999€ https://www.amazon.it/ASUS-VivoBook...refix=asus+vivobook+pro+15,aps,86&sr=8-3&th=1
  
• Huawei MateBook 16 - 900€ https://consumer.huawei.com/it/laptops/matebook-16/buy/
• Huawei MateBook D16 - 999€ https://consumer.huawei.com/it/laptops/matebook-d-16/buy/ (+ Huawei MateView GT 27'' at 1,99€)
  
• Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G4 ABA - 1089€ https://www.lenovo.com/it/it/laptop...eries/ThinkBook-15-Gen-4-15”-AMD/p/21DL003RIX
• HP Pavilion 15-eh1016nl - 550€ https://www.hp.com/it-it/shop/product.aspx?id=52W34EA&opt=ABZ&sel=NTB
  
• HP Pavilion 15-eh2003nl - 800€ https://www.hp.com/it-it/shop/product.aspx?id=673J5EA&opt=ABZ&sel=NTB

I like Surface laptops from Microsoft, but they are really overpriced. 1500€+ for 16/512, idk if it makes me happy. probably not.
Personally I don't like Acer, my current laptop is an Acer and I had a very bad story with customer service and repair service.

ok, let me know which do you prefer among these and why thank you again!!

 

Ryzen 5 5625U is a lot more efficient than 5600H
i5 is overpriced AND less efficient

So forget BOTH HUAWEI MateBook 16 and D16
And Asus

5625U is faster than 5500U
So forget HP Pavilion 15-eh1016nl

Dell ? not for me ... NEVER

So 2 left :
ThinkBook 15 G4 ABA
HP Pavilion 15-eh2003nl

Both :
5625U
16GB RAM
512GB SSD

HP Pavilion 15-eh2003nl : 2 years warranty
There is 10% reduction before 29 this month with "SALDI22" code
Final price : 719,99€ only versus 1100

To me, it is the winner by a LARGE margin
But it is NOT my money

 

Espacalliy in that Case Dell over Microsoft, because Surface Pro is unrepairable and my Dell Lattitude 5285 2 in 1 is an Enterprise Grade Device (which gets more and Longer Updates then regular Customer Laptops and easy repairable there is no other Surface Type which is openable like this type. And you can grab them refurbed for like 500 € with i7 16 GB RAM and 512 GB. The sucsessor Dell Lattitude 5290 2 in 1 is like 1000€ in that Config.

https://www.ebay.de/itm/204027410352?hash=item2f80fb37b0:g:MAUAAOSwWa5iw9be&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAA8MZgmaAAdaxKsYMCjO2+tsfi0dF8E060m1Om00lFO234NeHovEHukJiNpi5+91HWPRKfbAxh9DQvS30kWL1U1lbS7y9NbvR0dcJOZrdp6Iw9eih4m6A8udbVatmRCiSgH3UQV6U987I7lvDtKYiT1hXttm7ACfxyq/VzmyxfJEJDZ2NpgwV1ZKnCWfGGY+ct5XHdKyVWTR0TEpxGxFWSN502HH9IhjFW3H+eIxLO60qGiTLglb6sRAmFJCeX4d75GKYZfH7B5r/LsohSbu7NsA6mkkRzFs1o7zuYaOxVQ7CgMjoaHvKvOal+a1e0PE+pVA==|tkp:BFBM3uDc58Jg

 

Last edited: Jul 19, 2022

I use a Dell Inspiron 16 Plus for live shows (3 to 5 per week). I don't yet play any VSTs live on it though, I just use Gig Performer 4 to run the lights (DMXIS) and sync uRemote. I have used it in rehearsal running VSTs, mostly Kontakt, EW Play, and VST guitar amps, without any latency or any other problems. Probably everyone here is more knowledgeable than me in regard to computers, but this laptop is so good for what I need that I almost forget that it is running the show. Best of luck with whatever you eventually choose.

 

because the 5600H is the performance part rated @45W and U parts are 15W.
H, means extended & longer boost!

like @Billy Boils said i like the 16 plus, or the 15 plus

stay away from 5500U and 5700u, these are ryzen 2 parts
Huawei and repairability is a concern
the 12 gen intels are mostly better then current ryzens, except in the high-end
and even 11gen are Very! good parts


if you dont mind last gen or 2nd hand or refurbished there are great deals to be had!
last gen but reduced:
Asus Duo line is pretty cool
Dell 5521 with less powerful mx450 gpu (should run cooler and longer)
and 5421

 

Look for single core performance when choosing a laptop for audio. You also want to look at ram. The more ram you have the more programs you can run at the same time. You do not want a hard drive but a high speed SSD drive.

 

RAM is already set at 16GB
SSD minimum 512GB

No problem here
Final decision is not ours anyway

 

this is a steady and nice analysis, thanks it really clears my mind

this is a nice pro-review for Dell laptops. it really seems a very subjective issue then, not always being in place. this is both strange and annoying lol

I would not buy the Asus because of its structure, I need something simple; and the 2 Dell's are quite out of the budget, but thanks

this is getting interesting!

one question: is there any negative fact about being charged with a USB-C charger? Instead of classic AC adapter. Because I really like laptops with USB-C charging. Has any of you had bad experience with this?

 

I don't like Acer because I've repaired too many so far. I *sometimes* [once a year or so] repair laptops and I mostly remember Acer, Dell and Asus ones. So I kinda stay away from those brands. I also don't think Huawei is that good because it's a new player in town and I'm not sure how good they are. Maybe somebody else can chime in about it? I'd love to know how Huawei laptops fare.

So that leaves Lenovo and HP as my recommendation, I guess. It's not a completely sane advice since my experience is probably biased. Maybe too many people I know buy Acer, Asus and Dell? Not the ones that asked for my advice, of course. Between Lenovo and HP I would find it hard to choose, but I would go for a sturdier one with IPS screen, possibly with aluminium or graphite casing, because you know - gigs... things happen... it could fall somewhere and break. Are there any laptops with aluminium or graphite casing? I've seen them, but they were rather expensive. If the casing is plastic I would buy a hard plastic or rubber shell case for it.

Cheers!

 

I'd say USB-C charger is preferable, too. No bad experiences with it so far but big advantage - you can charge it with any powerful enough USB-C charger. Proprietary chargers suck arse. Especially when they go tits up and you have to pay 50 euro for a new one,but also if you forget it for some reason it absolutely sucks to find a replacement one, but when you have USB-C there is a possibility someone has a charger you can use. So of course you like it!

 

I noticed HP Pavilion 15-eh2003nl is selling for 700 euro instead. Interesting. Both HPs and Lenovo have IPS screens and similar specs. It's up to you to decide... at least the choice is narrower now. I was drooling over Lenovo Thinkpad 15 for the past couple of minutes, though. :P

Now I know what laptops to recommend, too. Very useful thread! Don't forget to let us know about what you bought! Maybe share a few thoughts about it when you start using it, too.

Cheers!

 

@JudoLudo
I find the HP Pavilion 15-eh2003nl really attractive for the price, 2 years warranty and specs

And i'm with SineWave about HP Pro and Lenovo, as a computer tech.

 

it is always subjective but you can also see history as an indicator
Dell Lenovo and HP where for the longest time leaders in Laptop space, first HP fell of the wagon, but now is on the Top
Then Lenovo after the Sino acquisition, and the last few years Dell, while Lenovo is still struggling with some of its models.
Dell managed to keep the Biz and Workstation parts in ok-ish order.
Now Asus and even Acer made great strides in the high end and solid Performers in the midfield.

i for instance bought an 1K Acer intel hexa nitro5 for 480 on amazon warehouse (somehow a nitro with french keyboard was sold to NL and Germany buyers, and i dont´t give a fuck, and got a great deal )

The Dell i mentioned are always on sale somewhere, i promise you the 2k Dell price - you can get them for 1K or less, sometimes even on dell´s site.
But you have to aim for the 11gen, then you get 11400H-11500h Hexa
or even the Superb Octa 11850H (with vPro for business)

USB Charging can be a Problem if there are not enough ports.

You might think there are loads of options for you but Once you define what is a must for "your" Machine. The options slim down significantly like i wrote above:
do you need a LAN port on board, how many Type A ports, what kind of Video / GFX output
HDMI 1.4 ok? or 2.0 or better 2.1, DP 1.2(3,4) TB3,4 or USB4
And more importantly how many and type of drive ports.

Lastly, HP Pavilions are nice machines but badly build (i tested one last year for a few months), they have the same Problems as the Dell XPS line.
The "newer" Thinkpads (T14 -T15, (P) Amd 5000 and Intel 11gen) are very good!

Don´t know if you know this site, i added some filters:
Min. 12 Threads
CPU Tdp from 40W
2x None Soldered Ram sluts
140 selectable options
you can enable/disable by highlighting - de-clicking on the left side/Column

 

Last edited: Aug 3, 2022

Acer Nitro 5 AMD - 15.6" Laptop AMD Ryzen 5 5600H 3.3GHz 16GB Ram 512GB SSD W10H (Acer Recertified)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/255206575530?epid=3050583418&hash=item3b6b7f4daa:g:78AAAOSw33lhgAbc

 

right now i would not pay more than 800 new (for this or the intel hexacore model)
and strangly ebay seems to be the most expensive platform atm.