Need a new laptop

[jill223]

Hey, I've just signed up to this, sorry if I'm posting in the wrong place..

I bought Pro Tools LE about a month ago and I'm running it on a fairly crappy Toshiba laptop. When recording, it only lets me record a few tracks before it complains about not enough cpu, and it won't let me use any plug-ins for even one track. I don't mind though because I was planning on buying a new laptop anyway. This is the one I want:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...MSI+LAPTOP.htm
I like it for many reasons and I think it's pretty cheap for its specs. However, I'm worried Pro Tools still won't run amazingly on it and that I still won't be able to use guitar rig, amplitube and other plug-ins that I would love to be able to use. I would be very appreciative if someone could give their opinion.. Would this laptop run Pro Tools competently, or should I get something else?? I've used windows all my life but if it would be wiser to switch to a Mac to run Pro Tools the best, I will do it. I wouldn't mind dishing out say another £200, but I have my heart set on a laptop, not a desktop.
Sorry if I sound like an utter noob, thanks for any help!

[joelrockstar19]

im sorry, im not very good with euros :/ ... but you are better off investing in a solid desktop computer for that same price. ive only heard bad things about latops and recording. pro tools le is ideal for desktop computers, and if you want to record specifically on a laptop, your best chance is a powerful macbook. pro tools m powered or pro tools se would suit your needs better for laptop purposes. this is just my suggestion, and you should probably research and test a bit before you buy.

[The Dougfather]

The main issues with using Pro Tools on a PC is running a qualified system. You have to dig really deep in to the compatibility pages, right down as far as chipsets etc. Avid so qualify some PC's but they always tend to be the pricey ones. Theres also a list of bios tweaks etc. It's pretty relentless and thats why i quit that game a long time ago.

The reason the macs are popular are because Avid are able to qualify a system, so after that if your plugins are update you should be in good stead.

If money is tight you might consider a intel mac mini, plenty of horse power to get you started and future support. There are also the G5's, i have one and it still works great but the technology is discontinued and no futures updates are offered.

[jill223]

sorry for the faulty link,

the one I want is an MSI laptop:

•Intel Pentium dual core T4500.
•2.3GHz processor speed.
•4GB DDR2 RAM memory.
•320GB SATA hard drive
windows 7 premium

[jill223]

Realised that laptop doesn't have a firewire port which I'm told is pretty important so you can run pro tools audio off of a firewire hard drive. I then looked at a Macbook, the only one I can afford and it says it doesn't have a firewire port either! I thought loads of people used macbooks for pro tools??

[Bob L]

Loads of people do. They've either ponied up for MacBook Pros, or have the older generation MacBooks that had FireWire ports.

The Dougfather is spot on as far as the compatibility issues with PC laptops. There is risk that any PC won't work, and far less risk with Macs, but there is a price for that peace of mind.

If you're looking for the bulletproof solution, either buy the exact model that's most currently cited as working by the Windows laptop users in that forum, or go new MacBook Pro.