Laptop for Pro Tools 12 'vanilla'

[AndyMVP]

Hi legends,

Please pardon the ctrl-v from the software forum, but I thought I might get different eyeballs here:

It's a topic that gets covered intermittently, but I can't see much up-to-date info about it - laptops!

My old HP Pavilion DV7 circa 2011 (nicknamed Old Wheezy) really doesn't want to take work trips with me any more and I think it's time for a new model. (When I'm in my studio I'm on an X99 system that hums along nicely.)

I mainly edit radio shows, podcasts, commercials and voice overs. Something fairly gutsy and relatively able to hold up for a few years would be nice.

I'd rather stay in PC-land if possible too - so recommendations other than MacBook Pros would be super. I read a thread from April of a DUC user happy with a Asus lappy but.. Any suggestions welcome!

[unkJE]

Cheaper than ASUS:

Look for a used Lenovo Quad Core W520 – like this eBay example (I am not the Seller!)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-w520...EAAOSwAaJaPFHW
Win 10/24 GB RAM/256 GB SSD/Dock

My Quad Core Lenovo W520 427637U - Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit/2nd Gen Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge - 2720QM 2.2GHz/16 GB DDR3 - SIIG FireWire 2-Port ExpressCard -13 Devices connected to laptop (excluding Printers & Faxes) with 433830U Dock - up to 3 Screens -
cost almost US $1650 including Postage back in 2011.

Found a 2nd W520 a couple of months ago on eBay - Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit/2nd Gen Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge + Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus – for US $199 + US$45 Freight.
Does the job.

Bear in mind EOL date for Pro Tools/Win7 support – if that matters to you.

[AndyMVP]

Cheers mate. I should have mentioned I'd rather something with a 17" screen. A numeric keypad would be important too with the way I use PT.

Good point about going second hand though, sounds silly but I hadn't thought of it.

[unkJE]

Originally Posted by AndyMVP

.... I'd rather something with a 17" screen. A numeric keypad would be important too with the way I use PT.

With my Lenovo W520 ThinkPad (427637U) & 433830U Dock, I can have up to 3 Screens - I'm happy with 2 for now.

The laptop's 15.6 inch and the monitor's 21 inch - good enough for now.

I also use a corded numeric keypad and mouse - I rarely touch the laptop, apart from the ON button.

[EGS]

Originally Posted by AndyMVP

... I'd rather stay in PC-land if possible ...

How about a brand-new 2017 (64GB RAM/2TB internal SSD/Xeon/Thunderbolt 3) Lenovo Thinkpad P51 Mobile Workstation?

[taylor4814]

ADK Pro Audio
https://www.adkproaudio.com/music-production-laptops

[Neil H]

I currently run a Gigabyte P35 and it's not quite time for me to upgrade yet but I do spend a lot of time pouring over viable laptops for Pro Tools and what I have now is faultless, if I were going to be upgrading now I'd be putting my money into a new Gigabyte Aero 15

https://www.gigabyte.com/Laptop/AERO-15X#kf

I wouldn't be putting money anywhere near those horrible Clevo plastic lumps that some companies still insist on peddling.

I'd absolutely recommended making sure you get equipped with Thunderbolt 3 just to give you more connectivity options even if it's just to give you more USB3/3.1 bandwidth connectivity for audio interfaces, external hard drives, peripherals and even firewire.

Sent from my G8141 using Tapatalk

[AndyMVP]

Those Gigabyte machines do look nice. Shame there's no 17" Aero. The Sabres and P series look good too.

Given that I typically only record one voice track into Pro Tools at a time (so signal flow is mono in > mixmixtinkertinkermixmix > stereo out) I'm not sure I'd need the data transfer speeds of Thunderbolt for my drives or interfaces - or am I overlooking something?

[Neil H]

Originally Posted by AndyMVP

Those Gigabyte machines do look nice. Shame there's no 17" Aero. The Sabres and P series look good too.

Given that I typically only record one voice track into Pro Tools at a time (so signal flow is mono in > mixmixtinkertinkermixmix > stereo out) I'm not sure I'd need the data transfer speeds of Thunderbolt for my drives or interfaces - or am I overlooking something?

If you don't want firewire or a lot of high bandwidth USB devices plugged in at once then perhaps you won't need TB but I'd prefer to keep my options open and have as much connectivity as possible.

Sent from my G8141 using Tapatalk