Best Laptops For The Music Studio: Top
The best laptop for a music studio will cost around 1500 USD or even double that, but it definitely doesnât need to cost that much money. Nevertheless, if you want to chuck some cash at your creative space, these are the two most often recommended. Both cost around 1400 bucks.
The Apple solution is one lots and lots of musicians use for a simple, no frills user-interface and basic buttonology for artists who donât necessarily like learning computer stuff. It breaks? Take it to the Mac mechanic or replace it. If youâve got cash, itâs great. Apple is notoriously overpriced, though, and they donât play well with Android phones or other non-Mac devices or software, so theyâre a lifestyle choice.
The Razer 15 Studio is a gaming lappy, plenty powerful for just about anything youâre going to do, and almost certainly overpowered as a music production laptop. If you arenât going to have a desktop computer but you intend to use this for more than just music production, itâs a fine decision nobody can sneeze at.
Best Laptop For Music Production And Djing: Apple Macbook Pro 13
Apple
Why it made the cut: Custom chips take the leader of the best laptops for music production and DJing pack from strength to strength.
Specs:
- CPU: System-on-a-Chip Apple M1 chip 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores up to 8-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine
- RAM: 8GB or 16GB memory
- Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1T, or 2T SSD storage
- Battery life: Up to 20 hours of battery life
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Best Laptops For The Music Studio: Bruh Were Broke
The best laptops for music production â like we keep saying â can be pretty bare bones to get the job done. Some artists even use their phone .
Since DIY indie artists tend to have just a little money for making music, we put the most time into this section. Thereâs not much to say, here, because each is pretty different from the others and every artist will need to compare them all to decide for themselves which is right for their studio.
Here are the winners, and all of them can get you tracking today.
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What To Look For When Searching For A Music Production Laptop
Finding the best laptop for music production is just as important for the music-making process as musical instruments are. Finding the best laptops for music production means considering the right things.
- In general, there are four significant factors that you need to consider when looking for a music production laptop: RAM
- Processing Speed
- Drive Space
- Monitor Specs
To produce music efficiently and effectively, you need power and performance. Come with us as we explore the recommended specs for music production laptops.
Asus G731gw Rog Strix Iii
Pros
Get @
ASUS ROG Strix III was designed specifically for one thing: to be a streamlined gaming machine. Butas with most high-end gaming machinesthat usually means that it has the power to handle a variety of demanding tasks, including video and music production. For studio musicians and producers, ROG Strix III does seem to have what it takes to serve as the core of a modern production rig. The speedy processor and generously-sized display will make it an excellent choice for those that rely heavily on computers for music production. Even with the base configuration, you get ample RAM and hard drive space for most projects. Lets see what else the ROG Strix III has to offer.
Useful features
What others are saying
Users find the ROG Strix III to be an absolute beast, running the most demanding applications without a hiccup. Even loading up a handful of demanding softsynths hardly registers a blip on the CPU meter, and even the most determined power users never came close to maxing out its capabilities. The battery life averages around 3.5 hours, so most users prefer keeping it plugged into a power outlet. But most find this a small price to pay for the powerful performance and gorgeous display, which makes using an external monitor unnecessary in most cases.
Bottom-line
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How To Upgrade Laptop For Music Production
Here are some good suggestions on how to upgrade your laptop:
How We Choose The Best Laptops For Music Production
So, clearly there is a lot to think about when choosing the best laptop for music production.
It’s easy to see why a good all-round laptop can fetch a premium price tag, but, as with anything from the best samplers and studio monitors to home studio mixers, you get what you pay for, so it’s always wise to get the best you can afford, rather than skimping and regretting your purchase later . Our price comparison software will come in handy here. Next to each product entry on this guide our price widgets will display the best deals online right now to save you shopping around.
In this guide we dont focus on various legacy ins and outs, such as the number of USB sockets, or lack of, for your audio interface, and so on. With so many dongle and docking options available, this shouldnt be a deciding factor in your purchasing journey. In this guide we’re talking sheer horsepower for music-making. For example, can your portable rig cope with large multitrack sessions, running handfuls of plugins and MIDI instruments?
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Should You Buy A Refurbished Laptop
While the temptation of saving a few bucks is hard to resist, in my experience its been mostly a bad idea.
Most assume a refurbished laptop is a great way to save money on an expensive music-making machine, not realizing these laptops arent really like new. A refurbished laptop are usually returns sent in by unhappy customers that unfortunately received a dud product.
Its not uncommon to find that refurbished laptops:
- Have a poor battery life: Refurbished models might be the same model, but are usually older-year models. Current-generation models offer improved battery performance thanks to many internal components that have been upgraded since the model was originally released. Also, batteries lose their ability to hold charge over time, meaning a supposed 8-hour battery life may be half that.
- Have wear and tear: Refurbishing a laptop removes defective parts, but parts that are on their way out may not be detected, meaning a critical piece of equipment may fail within months.
- Have no warranty: Youll usually get a warranty of a year, or three, with a new laptop. Refurbished laptops tend to have a six-month warranty, if anything.
- Are bundled in with no operating system: Depending on who youre buying from, there may be no operating system, or a non-legal license, opening you to the possibility it could suddenly stop working.
What Is The Storage
Storage here refers to the amount of permanent space your computer has for system software and programs . When you get close to running out of storage on a laptop, not only can you not save your takes, edits, etc., but performance problems ranging from processing lag to frequent crashing can quickly arise.
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Q: What Processor Do I Need For Music Production
The processor is like your laptop’s brain. And being at the core of the machines operations means carrying out different actions, performing calculations, and, most importantly, running music and other related programs. The processor is a square chip that’s located on the motherboard. Now where there is only one core, just a few tasks can be performed at a time. So, when running a sophisticated digital audio or video workstation, it will likely overwhelm a single-core laptop with several tracks concurrently.
Fortunately, there are many laptops with quad-core and even dual-core processors. A dual-core simply means two central processing units in a single motherboard chip instead of one. And as you expect, more cores mean more and better performance. With more power, the laptop will be able to do several tasks simultaneously, which is vital when recording or producing music. This means more cores are better. Go for at least an i5 duo-core or even an I7 quad-core processor with at least 2.2 GHz frequency.
Q: Is Battery Life Important
Though most people who use laptops for music production have set them up in one location, the advantages of portability should not be ignored. Throwing your studio in your backpack and working from the coffee shop or the beach, for instance, can be an amazing experience that you cannot get with a laptop that has poor battery life.
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Best Computer For Music Production
A dive into the best computers currently on the market best suited for those working in music production based on comparisons between storage, memory, and powerful CPUs.
Alongside passion and talent, a quality computer is a driving force that helps a music producer reach the highest levels. Without a suitable computer, they are nothing, as theyre unable to effortlessly run their DAWs as well as storing a giant library of samples and tracks on just one device.
Sure, any computer will be sufficient at executing one aspect of music production, however, the issue is there are so many components and areas of music production that basic laptops just wont cut it.
We know your expertise lies with music and producing, not computers, so thats why weve saved you the time by doing all the research and tests ourselves to find you the best computers for music production.
If you were looking for a long list of budget-friendly computers, then youre in the wrong place and music production is probably not for you. Quality = costly and music production requires first-rate computers alongside additional tech and audio gear that literally screams money.
So whether youre finding your feet in the music production industry or youre a high-flying DJ, well be able to find you the right computer just for you.
PC Guide is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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Best Laptops For Music Production In 2022
By Robin Owens 17 days ago, Hardware
The best cheap laptops for music production.
Finding the best laptop for music production isnt a task you can take lightly. Your goal should be to purchase a model that offers the performance and functionality necessary to support all the latest software used for music recording. Moreover, the laptop you buy has to be powerful enough to remain viable for several years before getting outdated, so that your investment fully pays off.
If you plan to be on the move a lot, you should give preference to lightweight, compact laptops. Finding the perfect model may not be easy, but thankfully, you have this article to help you.
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The Best Laptop For Music Studio And Music Production: What The Pros Say
Across all of the music studio and music production authorities, six laptops stood out with two or more agreeing that they were fine options. Almost all suggestions cost 1k USD or more! But we have budget options available, too. Note, too, that these laptops for music production are intended to last you a long time, so the price should be spread out over at least three years.
Also, you can get a desktop computer with these specs for far less money. If youâre not going to be mobile with your digital audio workstation, then thereâs absolutely no point in getting a laptop for the job. Theyâre way more expensive.
Below are the laptops for music studios most recommended by experts. Theyâre in order from least expensive to most HOLY MOTHER OF⦠for your convenience. We arenât rich, either.
How To Choose A Music Production Laptop
If youre just getting started with a home studio you really dont need anything super fancy or expensive.
There are plenty of affordable computers that can handle the demands a DAW puts on their systems.
There are plenty of affordable computers that can handle the demands a DAW puts on their systems.
Theres lots to consider when picking a music production computer.
But in general, watch for these four factors.
- Processing speed
- Monitor size
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Which Laptop Is Best For Music Making
The best laptop for music production is going to depend on what part of the process you specifically need to use it for. If you’re looking for something from initial audio recording to final mixing and publishing, than something like the MacBook Pro 16-inch is going to get you there.
But if you’re looking for some portable options for on the road recording and some light editing, the latest Dell XPS laptops will work nicely and thanks to excellent battery life can last long enough to get through a good sized recording session.
Laptops For Music Studios And Music Production: Min Requirements
For the best laptops in music studios and music production, we canât even start before we see what the software needs. See these minimum requirements below, but if youâre not looking to spend 1K USD on your new machine, note at the end that the open-source DAW LMMS has very low reqs.
All the below require a 64-bit operating system and around 75GB on the hard drive but any new lappy will have those things, so nm.
Ableton Live
â 64bit Intel or AMD multi-core
â 4GB minimum RAM
â $99 for Live Intro, $449 for Live Standard, and $749 for Live Suite
â MacOS 10.12 or later
â 2.3GHz processor
â 1.5 GHZ processor
â 1GB RAM
Note that in addition to being totally free , LMMS requires far less of your laptop, so if youâre going to get a budget lappy, this software will run better than all of the alternatives.
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Budget Pick: Lenovo Yoga C740
Lenovos Yoga C740 offers the best bang for your buck, and its a great machine for a home musician or producer.
The Windows 10 laptop has a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage, which is pretty good considering its modest price. The laptop has two USB 3.1 ports, one USB-C port, and a single USB 3.0 port. This is a healthy array of inputs thatll work with all of your current and future recording gear.
The Yoga C740s key feature is that its 14-inch 1080P display can be flipped a full 360 degrees. The touch sensitive display can be used like a tablet, which means you can make quick edits to your music using your finger instead of a track pad and cursor. If youre more comfortable using an iPhone or iPad for creative work, this is a must-have feature.
It may not be quite as powerful as the other laptops on this list, but Lenovos Yoga C740 holds its own at nearly half the price.
Hp Business 156 Touchscreen Laptop For Music Production With Large Storage Space
The HP Business 15.6 Touchscreen laptop is definitely one of the best budget laptops out there. HP is a brand that has been trusted by many music producers and computer users in general and I personally have found HPs computers to be the most reliable and well built.
The HP Business laptop features a 3.6GHz Quad-Core AMD CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 1 TB hard drive, a webcam, HDMI, and Radeon R7 graphics. Its a lightning fast laptop that will be able to handle a heavy workload filled with tons of plugins in your favorite DAW.
With a 1 TB hard drive, youll have plenty of storage for project files and music software. 8GB of RAM is plenty to run plugins without slowing your computer down. If you have graphics-heavy plugins, that shouldnt be an issue either due to the Radeon R7 graphics card. The laptop runs on Windows 10.
Of course the most defining feature is the touchscreen, which is one of the reasons why Im ranking this laptop so high. Having a laptop with a touch screen makes your workflow much more efficient as you get a chance to break away from using a mouse.
The touch screen makes using faders and knobs in your DAWs and plugins so much easier and therefore expedites mixing and mastering.
One of the main gripes people have with this laptop is that it slows down once it has so many programs and files on it. This can be remedied by switching out the hard drive with a solid state drive.
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