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Buying Computer
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. |
#2
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Re: Buying Computer
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. Last edited by Darryl Ramm; 11-13-2018 at 04:48 PM. |
#3
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Re: Buying Computer
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? |
#4
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Re: Buying Computer
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? |
#5
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Re: Buying Computer
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 |
#6
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Re: Buying Computer
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.
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Mac 8 Core 6,1 - OSX 10.13.6 - 32GB RAM - Pro Tools 2018.10 - 8x8x8+8 ch DA Card (x2) - HD OMNI - ICON D-Control 32 - Sync I/O - Sonnet xMac Pro Server w/HDX x 2, Blackmagic Intensity Pro 4K Protools 2018.10 HD Native in 1 project suite Eristopher Music |
#7
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Re: Buying Computer
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)
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HP Z4 workstation, Mbox Studio https://www.facebook.com/search/top/...0sound%20works The better I drink, the more I mix BTW, my name is Dave, but most people call me.........................Dave |
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Re: Buying Computer
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#9
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Re: Buying Computer
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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...
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Janne What we do in life, echoes in eternity. |
#10
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Re: Buying Computer
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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
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Tech:Quantum and ASP880 / Yamaha MT120S / Ryzen 5950X /Win 11 Pro 64-bit /Pro Tools 2023.12/ Shure DMK57-52 /Neumann TLM 102/ Oktava MK-012 Mic Pre's Focusrite ISA One/ DAV Electronics BG1/ Joe Meek VC3 Guitars and Instrumentation:Gibson Les Paul Zebrawood/Fender USA Telecaster/Fender Deluxe Strat/ Martin OM-18V/ Martin D15-M/Gibson SG Bass/ 1972 fender Musicmaster Bass/ 1972 Hayman Drums /Vox,Fender Amps/Roland F130R |
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