Laptop Buying Guide

Discussion in 'Computer Hardware' started by gompo, Feb 17, 2014.

  1. gompo

    gompo Ultrasonic

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    Hi,

    I'm thinking on buying Macbook Air/Pro for Traktor use (No Production)

    1. Which screen size and product model should I go for?

    2. Also which screen size do other DJ's prefer?

    3. What should be appropriate HDD size?

    Thanks :)
     
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  3. korgrog

    korgrog Member

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    This is a general guide I use for myself

    Buy last year's computer

    get it on sale

    look up reviews in magazines,download off internet if necessary

    find the machine you want,look up the problems it has on the

    internet,you will have a year of reviews

    on performance,internal hardware and operating system :thumbsup:
     
  4. SineWave

    SineWave Audiosexual

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    That's how I got practically new and brilliant 2000$ worth, best of the T410 line 3 years ago [all the features, like Nvidia Quadro graphics and Firewire], Lenovo Thinkpad T410 for $400 AUD with Windows 7 Pro license and the guy upgraded it with Samsung 128MB SSD, too. Now just the SSD and the Windows license is worth a lot... ;) But the thing is you should let your wife find the best deal. They can sense it naturally. I'd just go for the first one I find. :wink:

    I bought it for on location recording and I was looking for a laptop with firewire because my TC konnekt 48 has firewire. I can wholeheartedly recommend the whole setup. Konnekt 48 can be had for around 550 euro withut the remote these days, here in Europe. :)
     
  5. gompo

    gompo Ultrasonic

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    No other brand except Apple!
    And i want to buy a new laptop.
     
  6. mercurysoto

    mercurysoto Audiosexual

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    I think it al comes down to portability vs screen estate.

    First off, I'd discourage you from getting a MacBook Air. It surely happens that once you buy a puter you find a way to max it out, and the Air is the low end of the MacBook line.

    Back to portability vs screen size. I've owned a 13" and I loved the lightweight it had. After two years I moved up the ladder to a 15" MBP, and although the screen space is more comfy to the eye, I still feel it breaks my back. Additionally, the smaller size of the 13" MBP made it easier to disguise it when walking around.

    I assume the 17" lappy is a wireless desktop machine. One last thing to consider is that the greater size the more powerful the specs it has. I can't regret having my 15" rig. It's an i7 with a whooping 16Gb RAM and 1Gb Nvidia video card.

    Good luck with your choice.
     
  7. korgrog

    korgrog Member

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    15-Inch MacBook Pro With Retina display
    The cheapest MacBook Pro currently for sale is a 13-inch model with a 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 chip for $1,199. Does that sound slow and small to you? Then check out the brand new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Gorgeous? Yes. Expensive? Of course. For a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, 16GB of 1600MHz memory, 512GB of flash storage, and more, $2,599 might seem cheap after you make these two simple internal upgrades:
    • 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
    • 1TB PCIe-based flash storage
    Final price: $3,299 (up from $2,599).

    27-Inch iMac
    Finally, we come to the all-in-one desktop iMac. Apple has a 21.5-inch model that does the job for $1,299.

    The 27-inch high-end version comes with a 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 1TB drive, and Nvidia GeForce GTX 775M 2GB GDDR5 graphics. Here's what you can upgrade:
    • 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
    • 32GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM
    • 1TB flash storage
    • Nvidia GeForce FTX 780M 4GB GDDR5 graphics
    • Magic Trackpad and the Magic Mouse
    Final price: $4,018 (up from $1,999)

    Don't forget, you can add AppleCare protection to any of these systems for a measly $149 to $349 (depending on device and configuration). And you should. get her done :thumbsup:
     
  8. Pm5

    Pm5 Ultrasonic

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    Macbook pro 13. End of the story.
     
  9. mercurysoto

    mercurysoto Audiosexual

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    One more thing to ponder: my girl has a 2013 13" i5 @2.5Gb MBP with a 180Gb SSD and 8Gigs of RAM that come soldered to the motherboard. It is fast. It can compete in efficiency with my quad core i7. Of course, mine is 2011 and the solid drive must account for efficiency. Anyhow, the only times we've put them to perform side by side is when doing photography edition and retouch. I've never put hers to audio work, which might put a different kind of stress to the rigs.
     
  10. Pm5

    Pm5 Ultrasonic

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    you don't really need a spaceship launcher/sismic research computer for DJing.
    anything Core2Duo with 2gigs of DDR will play nice and fine.
     
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