Question:
I'm a musician - need a top spec laptop but not graphics - any out there?
Hi,
I'm a musician looking for a top spec (max fastest hard drive, max memory, max processor or close) core duo laptop under 4kg with good battery life 17" screen, but all the top spec laptops i have found have like this have a powerfful graphics card which sucks battery life - does anyone know if there is a great option out there for me? i don't need/want a great graphics card esp if it sucks battery... reliability is a top priority too...
I've been looking for hours online and all I have is confusion and a head ache :(
thanks 4 the help,
sache
Answer:
Re: Musician needing top spec laptop but not graphics - can't find laptop!
go to powernotebooks.com and look at their new Core Duo sagers and Asus's......or go to www.ISTNC.com .....very powerful laptops for the price
Answer:
Re: Musician needing top spec laptop but not graphics - can't find laptop!
what screen resolution do you need? if you don't need high resolution, the fujitsu n6410 should be an option...though you will have to probably get an extended battery or a second battery. also, you can configure the dell e1705 or hp dv8000t without a good gpu, which should give you more battery life. the toshiba qosmio is a nice 17" notebook, and i believe there is a model that has a weaker gpu, the 7300go. i would check out the battery life on that one. the hp nx9420 will give you good battery life as well b/c it is a business notebook, and you can get the ultra-capacity battery. excellent durability as well.
Answer:
Re: Musician needing top spec laptop but not graphics - can't find laptop!
thank you for those tips - i'll check them out...
i guess i need a very good screen resolution as music packages use up all the screen with little controls... and i'd like tyo watch dvds on the laptop too...
Just to check the real high end laptops like Dell M1710 compared to a lower priced one without the same processor and memory, hard drive - is the only difference in performance graphics? ie. will music software (big on sucking power - low graphics) run just as fast on either?
I will want an extended warranty - are any of those laptops you recommended by companies particularly noted for after care and are any companies more noted for reliability/durability of laptops?
thank you for the help - it's much appreciated!
:)
if anyone else has any recommendations i'd love to hear them too
Answer:
Re: Musician needing top spec laptop but not graphics - can't find laptop!
You might want to take a look at Apple's MacBook Pro (17") - it does have a moderately powerful GPU (ATI X1600), but its been downclocked by Apple for heat issues, so you'll probably get fairly decent battery life (for a 17" that is). It also comes with Digital In/Out Mini Jacks for recording music. Apple also has some great music/multimedia software for their notebooks too.
If you don't want a Mac, I'd look into the HP dv8000t or the Dell E1705 with optional higher capacity batteries.
You may also consider carrying around an extra battery or two if you really need to spend a lot of time unplugged.
Answer:
Re: Musician needing top spec laptop but not graphics - can't find laptop!
thanks again,
one other thing - an important feature is for the laptop to be as quiet as possible, are any of the ones you guys recommended especially quiet?
Is there any way of knowing without trying a laptop quiet or are any brands in particular noted for quietness?
Answer:
Re: Musician needing top spec laptop but not graphics - can't find laptop!
Most of the Core Duo machines I have seen have been fairly quiet. SilentPCReview test hard drives and such for loudness.
Answer:
Re: Musician needing top spec laptop but not graphics - can't find laptop!
The Apple MacBook Pro should be very quiet (with a 5400RPM drive - don't know about a 7200RPM one) when compared with Windows counterparts, unless you're pushing the notebook, in which case any notebook will be fairly noisy.
Answer:
Re: Musician needing top spec laptop but not graphics - can't find laptop!
hey guys, i came acroos this whilst searching:
"I would personally go with a rebranded clevo based model. Most of the dedicated music computer retailers seem to base their systems on them. Rockdiect and ajp are resellers in the uk but I'm sure there must be others who sell them as well."
is this sound adivce or are the likes dell/hp going to be just as reliable even if they aren't "clevo based"?
Answer:
Re: Musician needing top spec laptop but not graphics - can't find laptop!
hey guys,
i checked out your recommendations - the dv8000t has 5400 rpm hard drive, and i'd like 7200 as music work is hard drive intensive stuff (strangely i've seen you can configure to choose 7200 instates but nowhere in uk...)
the compaq one nx9420 - they come by far at the bottom of pcworld user surveys in terms of customer service/reliability etc. so I should stay well clear of them, despite the nice looking laptop...
macbooks do not have an upgradable cpu
so that leaves the dell e1705 or rockdirect ctx options... are there any other possibilities? does anyone know how quiet either of these models are?