Laptop Compatibility for Pro Tools SANDRA REPORT INCLUDED

[Richard621]

I'm completely new to this forum and everything else and I need to find out if my laptop will work its a SONY VAIO

Here's the report:

SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : Sony VPCCW26FX VAIO
Serial Number : 27520136********
Chassis : Sony Notebook
Mainboard : Sony VAIO
Serial Number : N**
BIOS : AMI (OEM) R0170Y7 05/14/2010
Total Memory : 3.92GB DDR3 SO-DIMM

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz (2C 4T 2.53GHz/2.93GHz, 2GHz IMC, 2x 256kB L2, 3MB L3)
Socket/Slot : FC PGA988

Chipset
Memory Controller : Sony Core (Arrandale) Mobile DRAM Controller 2x 2.4GHz (4.79GHz), 2x 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM 1GHz 128-bit

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Elpida EBJ21UE8BDS0-AE-F 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-8500S DDR3-1066 (7-7-7-20 4-27-8-4)
Memory Module : Elpida EBJ21UE8BDS0-AE-F 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-8500S DDR3-1066 (7-7-7-20 4-27-8-4)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : SONY t Flat Panel (1600x1200, 13.9")
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M (32SP SM4.1, 512MB DDR3 128-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
Compute Shader Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M (32SP, 512MB DDR3 128-bit)

Storage Devices
FUJITSU MHZ2160BH G1 (160GB, SATA150, 2.5", 5400rpm, 8MB Cache) : 149GB (C:)
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GT20N (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 1MB Cache) : N/A (D:)

Logical Storage Devices
System Reserved : 100MB (NTFS)
Hard Disk (C:) : 149GB (NTFS) @ FUJITSU MHZ2160BH G1 (160GB, SATA150, 2.5", 5400rpm, 8MB Cache)
Optical Drive (D:) : N/A @ HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GT20N (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 1MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Sony PM55 LPC Interface Controller
Audio Device : Sony P55/PM55/3400 High Definition Audio
Audio Codec : Realtek Semi 262 High Definition Audio
Audio Device : Sony High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : nVidia 000A
Audio Codec : nVidia 000A
Audio Codec : nVidia 000A
Disk Controller : Sony P55/PM55/3400 6 port SATA AHCI Controller
Disk Controller : Sony PCIe SD/MMC Host Controller
Disk Controller : Sony PCIe SD/MMC Host Controller
USB Controller 1 : Sony P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : Sony P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : Sony FireWire Host Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Generic Marvell Yukon 88E8057 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Ethernet)
Network Adapter : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network) (Ethernet)
Wireless Adapter : Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (802.11n (HT), AES-CCMP, 65Mbps)

Power Management
Battery No 1 : Sony Corp. 50.61Wh

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Home 6.01.7601 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : x64

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 5.3

Well I'm pretty sure that's all of it.

Please Help! Thank You
Richard

[cwsand]

The 5400 rpm system hard drive is a red flag to me as you probably need at least a 7200 rpm drive. You definitely need an external or second hard drive at least 7200 rpm for your Pro Tools sessions. You may have to disable the wireless NIC when using Pro Tools. If you haven't purchased Pro Tools 10 yet, I believe you can download a trial version from Avid and test it out.

Chris

[Darryl Ramm]

And the question is "will work".. for what?

And some idea of what are you hoping to do with the laptop? Record or Mix with what audio interface? how many tracks? What kind of plugins? (e.g. an i5 dual core is a lot less powerful than say a quad core i7). Any heavy sample based virtual instrument (e.g. a drum VI?) use?

[Richard621]

Thanks for the Reply!

Oh I see so I would have to look for a Hard Drive with 7200 rpm that fits/compatible with my model laptop, whether it be Internal or External, Right?

So whats the difference between a 5400 rpm and 7200rpm is that how fast it is or is it something else?

[Richard621]

Thanks for the Reply!

Well I'd want it to record a small demo for my band, mixing I'm not to sure about yet (Learning), but definitely recording. I might get the Mbox 3 with Pro Tools Express so that I can have both the audio interface and the software.

As for tracks, 16 for me will have to do for now since that's what PT Express supports.

I would just use the Plugins it comes with for now like Boom, Xpand2, and Structure FREE any others I can get from the dpm. files at a Pro Tools 10 Station at my college.

Processor-wise, since I have an i5 dual core, should I just try to get an i7 quad laptop or is there a way to install a faster a processor that can handle all this?