Buying Computer

[PParkingson]

Would this be a good computer to buy to run the Pro Tools software?

2018 Newest Business Flagship Dell Inspiron Laptop PC
15.6" FHD Truelife Touchscreen
Intel i7-8550U Processor
32GB DDR4 RAM
1TB Harddrive
HDD Backlit-Keyboard DVD-RW 4GB AMD Radeon 530 Graphics
Windows 10 Pro

Thank you for any input.

[Darryl Ramm]

probably not (based on my broad distrust of Windows laptops, and Dell computers in general :-O). It’s great that you ask, but how do we really know what you really need?

Windows 10 Pro is a good choice. 32 GB is likely a good choice.

what HDD spec? And why get a HDD not a good SSD? With a PCIe SSD you can record and boot off the internal drive.

What are your needs? workload? Lots of VIs etc.? What interface are you using? What are you doing similar work on Today?

Are you sure Windows is a better choice than a Mac? Do you really need a laptop? What version of Pro Tools are you planning on using? What is your budget?

What is likely most helpful is to state what your needs are and ask what people are using/know work well with Pro Tools meeting similar needs.. Especially for Windows laptops there dies not seem to be lots of different recommendations offered when people ask. One common recommendation for folks wanting high-quality Windows laptop for Pro Tools was to buy a MacBook Pro and boot Windows on it.

[PParkingson]

Thanks! I'm helping out a friend who is computer illiterate. He has already purchased a Perpetual Licence, so we would be using what I know as Pro Tools (not Pro Tools First).

Interface Model: Tascam US 18X08

We tend use between 6-10 Tracks, and only use a few effects. I'm trying to find my friend an economical solution. The Laptop I have asked about is about $1,000. The Avid Support person recommended this as a good choice, due to the 32 GB Ram and the Intel i7 processor.

I am aware that a Mac would probably be better, but aren't they quite a bit more expensive?

[Darryl Ramm]

Where are you planning on recording to? With a single internal HDD you should not be recording to that?

You have to pay attention to the HDD or SSD. You did not include a model
number or link so I have no idea what the internal drive spec is. Hopefully the unit has USB 3.1 Gen II ports to support 10 Gbit/s external SSD to record to (like a Samsung T5 SSD). But as I mentioned already an even better option is just get an internal PCIe SSD and run windows from that and record audio to it.

Does it need to be a laptop?

[PParkingson]

Thanks again for responding. Unfortunately, I don't know what HDD and SDD mean. Does it have to do with internal or external storage?

Here is everything I can find concerning the computer:

Product description
Processor and Memory

Processor Type:8th Generation Intel Core i7-8550U Processor (8MB Cache, up to 4.0 GHz)

Processor Speed:4.0 GHz

Cache:8MB

Memory (RAM):32GB 2400MHz DDR4,

Maximum Memory Expansion:Not Specified

Hard Drive and Multimedia Drives

Hard Drive:1 TB 5400 RPM [SATA] (HDD)

Optical Drive:Tray load DVD Drive (Reads and Writes to DVD/CD)

Multimedia Card Slot:SD Card Reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC)

Graphics and Audio

Graphics:AMD Radeon 530 Graphics, with 4G GDDR5 graphics memory

Audio:Stereo Speakers (Windows), MaxxAudio

Display, Keyboard, Mouse, and Webcam

Display Size:15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Truelife LED-Backlit On-cell Touch Display

Display Type:FHD

Display Resolution:1920 x 1080

Keyboard:Backlit Keyboard, English

Mouse:N.A

Webcam:Integrated Widescreen HD 720P Webcam with Dual Digital Microphone Array

Connectivity

Ethernet:10/100 Ethernet LAN

Wi-Fi:802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.2, Dual Band 2.4&5 GHz, 1x1

Bluetooth:4.2

Modem:N/A

Ports/Slots

Ports:1 X USB 2.0, 3 X USB 3.1 [2 x USB 3.1 Gen1, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C with PowerDelivery and Video (Discrete only)], 1 x combo headphone / microphone Jack

1 x HDMI

Expansion:Not Specified

Power

Battery Type:42WHr Battery, 3-Cell (Integrated)

Typical Battery Life:65 Watt AC Adaptor

AC Adapter:INCLUDED

Software

Operating System:Windows 10 Pro 64-bit English

[andrej770]

I tend to be a lot less biased about which platform. Both are fine. Both have been used for years in Pro Tools. Some folks that are not astute at fixing windows tend to stick to mac since its simpler, but its not any more powerful. Actually, you can create a much more powerful windows machine every day of the week or you can wait for apple to create one for you (if you love mac). Its just simple; some minds need simple.

Since you are looking at a Dell, lets look at the model line you are looking at. Inspiron is NOT the top model laptop at Dell; the Alienware line is. The model just below the Alienware line is the Latitude. Alienware is for gaming and more powerful, but it will cost you more. Also adding 32 GB to a laptop will drive the price up. The Inspiron is a low to middle of the road laptop, but will perform fine depending on the load. If you are building a new machine for just getting into Pro Tools, it will be fine. The processing power is important depending on the number of plugins you are using; an i7 is fine. All Dell laptops use a 64 bit Bus; meaning the data transfer is more than fast enough for Pro Tools. The bottleneck will most likely be your hard drive if its a 5400 rpm drive. If you are building and ordering it, ensure the Hard drive is a 7200 RPM hard drive or an SSD. An SSD is not required. I repeat, its not required. Its cheap enough these days though to get it; and I recommend it, but its not required. I've been in the music industry for years using both platforms. I am an avid mac fan, but also an avid PC user. So I know both platforms well. I will say this, if this laptop is for Pro Tools, don't waste your money on a touch screen. Pro Tools is keyboard shortcut and mouse based. Don't attempt to do it with a touch screen unless you are proficient. Touch screens also take up more processing power since they are not just monitoring the keyboard and mouse for input.

Reach out if you need anything additional.

[albee1952]

Great info above, but I want to add a little bit more:


I'm a PC guy, but Windows laptops are mostly a crapshoot unless you buy the exact model that someone is already using with success(the chipset and graphics can be a show stopper)


Normally, I would recommend a MacBook Pro with an i7 cpu and maxed out RAM, but new ones will all be loaded with Mojave and that is also a show stopper.


In any laptop, trading s spinning hard drive for a 1TB SSD is a very wise move(in the old days of spinning drives, you needed a separate drive for sessions. But SSD'd are so much faster and better, its now possible to record with only a single SSD(but I also recommend a large external drive so you can off-load projects when finished to conserve space on your SSD(and its unwise to fill your drive more than around 80% full).


If you really NEED a laptop, maybe you could find a used MacBook Pro that is a few years old and the previous owner didn't feel the need to update the OS. If a desktop tower is a possible choice, I would either buy from a specialist builder like pro-tools-pc.com. Or buy a used HP Z820(lots on eBay) and get a dual 4 or 6 core XEON and 64GB of RAM. Many of those can be spec'd with an SSD system drive and 1 or more 7200 rpm spinners(which work fine for sample libraries and recording). I recently bought a 12 core Z820 with 64GB or RAM and a 500GB SSD and it was $1100 with shipping(not the latest and greatest, but really good bang for the buck). I dropped in a pair of 4TB spinners(1 for samples and the other for sessions) and its got very good performance, and it is known to be PT compatible(which can't be said for most off-the-shelf PC's)

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by albee1952

If you really NEED a laptop, maybe you could find a used MacBook Pro that is a few years old and the previous owner didn't feel the need to update the OS. If a desktop tower is a possible choice, I would either buy from a specialist builder like pro-tools-pc.com. Or buy a used HP Z820(lots on eBay) and get a dual 4 or 6 core XEON and 64GB of RAM.

On the subject of used I would suggest the op take a look at what OWC has in the way of used Macs. The have Minis and MacPros (both cheesegrater & iTrashcan) and MacBook Pros as well. My main machine this past year+ has been a 2012 MacPro from them running both OSX 10.10.5 and OSX 10.12.6

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by PParkingson

I am aware that a Mac would probably be better, but aren't they quite a bit more expensive?

Well...

Mac is an easy choice, because you can just pick one from Avid's supported hardware list and that's it. Compared to similar PC it costs the same, but Apple don't sell the cheap stuff so that's why people think it's more expensive.

You wouldn't want to try recording with a $300 computer anyway, so...

[easyrider]

Originally Posted by PParkingson

Would this be a good computer to buy to run the Pro Tools software?

2018 Newest Business Flagship Dell Inspiron Laptop PC
15.6" FHD Truelife Touchscreen
Intel i7-8550U Processor
32GB DDR4 RAM
1TB Harddrive
HDD Backlit-Keyboard DVD-RW 4GB AMD Radeon 530 Graphics
Windows 10 Pro

Thank you for any input.

Get a Dell G3 17inch.

Thunderbolt port
6 core 12 thread i7 8750H processor
NVME solid state drive
GTX 1060 gfx 6GB

I've just bought this for £981inc :)

Dell G3 17 - 3779 Gaming Laptop

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-8750H (6 Core, 2.2GHz, 9MB Cache, 45W)

Windows 10 Home (64bit)

16GB (2x8GB) 2666 MHz DDR4 Memory Non-ECC

2 TB 2.5inch SATA Drive (5400 RPM)

256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Graphics with 6GB GDDR5 vRAM

Software- Windows 10 Home

Intel Wireless 9462AC 802.11ac 1x1 WiFi and Bluetooth

LCD Back Cover Non-Touch - Black (With Type C Thunderbolt)

Palmrest with Finger Print Reader - Black

Primary 4-cell 56W/HR Integrated Battery

17.3 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare LED-Backlit Display

Internal UK/Irish Backlit Keyboard

I’ll be swapping out the 2tb drive for a 2tb ssd