Laptops - I know, I know, but I need good advice!

WaveLab
1

Hi all.

I’m resuming a degree course in music technology and composition in a week. I have a good PC DAW on which I’m running Cubase Studio 4, Reason 4, Recycle and BFD. I also record vocals. I’m strongly considering getting a laptop to work on at uni and for performances. I keep hearing that Macs are more stable, and all the computers at uni are Macs. But I’m not keen on shelling out extra bucks unnecessarily. But then I’m confused, because almost every electronic muso I’ve seen play in my city uses a Mac!

While the uni computers run Logic, I’d like to stick with Cubase because I love it and I really dislike Logic’s manual in comparison to Cubase’s. Plus I think the notation software in Cubase is possibly superior to Logic’s?? I’ll probably also get Pro Tools (thankfully at good student price) as we train in mixing on this program. I’ll probably put Reason on this as well and if feeling flush, may dabble into Ableton Live at some point.

Questions:

Today I’ve read quite a few people on here say that they have problems with Macs running hot while running Cubase. Or not charging while running it. Which Mac laptop is recommended to get around this problem? If recording vocals, I don’t want a noisy machine.

Which Mac laptop is the best for my needs long-term in music, so I don’t need to fork out more money in the too near future? Which would get me by while still at the cheapest price?

Am I expecting too much to be able to run Cubase (would like to upgrade to 6), Pro Tools, Reason, with possibly Halion Symphonic Orchestra sounds on the one laptop?

Does Steinberg offer any kind of transition help if moving from one platform to another? That is, will I need to buy Cubase again to use it on a Mac?

And finally, I know there is now a thread listing laptop models in use, but not much info as to how well they’re working. So, what PC laptop do you recommend for my needs? And is there any real advantage over the Mac? Is stability and latency an issue with all laptops? And if so, what do I do to get around this? (I’ve also heard that having an earth pin on the power plug can cause major problems.)

Any help for any of these questions would be greatly appreciated!!

(P.S. I’m in Australia, if that makes a difference for recommendations.)

2

You mean unlike all the others that need advice…!?

3
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My HP elitebook works perfectly fine using a firewire interface and Cubase 5 32 (will be trying Cubase Artist 6 64 next week, I’ll let you know)
Rarely any crashes or issues with Cubase, I would ditch the mac :sunglasses:

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I was just expecting people to either tell me that the PC/Mac question is a personal preference or to direct me to the laptop specs thread started by the moderator, and I was just pre-empting that. Of course, everyone else wants good advice, too. :slight_smile:

6

Thanks, JCschild and Strophoid. Both good options.