Choosing Laptop

Go MAC or suffer the Wrath !!

As a DJ, I’d say that you do not entirely NEED the best laptop in the world specs wise. But you need to make your choice quite well.

For instance, Choose an operating system you are comfortable with using and that supports your software (preferably natively, however, for Linux applications such as WINE may help you run some awkward software). Now, Read up on the tech-specs of your software and choose your laptop based around this. You do NOT want to run software on an under-spec PC. I’d recommend making sure everything is specced well, but if RAM is a bit low, you may be able to upgrade it nice and easily. Although this varies depending on the laptop construction. So unless you are sure and you get a big benefit from using this laptop rather than a properly specced one, carry on looking.

Now, There are a few other factors that are pretty important here. Those are Battery life, Rigidity, Screen size, Screen brightness, weight etc. Now. Screen size is very important and depending on where you intend to use the laptop, so is brightness. If you are going to be playing somewhere where glare is a risk (a club, outside, etc) then make sure you check the screen brightness before you buy! And as for screen size. It’s all about measuring portability against work area. With a 17″ laptop, you will get loads of work area, but it’ll be harder to lug around. I would personally advise against tiny 7″ netbooks too! (often software is too big for it’s tiny screen, not to mention most netbooks are brutally underspecced).

Now the rest is down to personal preference. If possible, try things out on the laptop (if you want my advice, find a local store like PC World, try out the gear there, and then order it elsewhere. Despite what the nice sales representative tells you, It will be cheaper elsewhere). Make sure you check a few essential things as well as a few you may have overseen. Specs is obvious, but make sure to give the screen a little wobble and see if it looks sturdy. Is the keyboard nice to use? Is the trackpad responsive? Do the little rubber stands on the bottom hold the laptop up enough to stop it overheating? Some of these things may sound pretty negligable. But avoiding a BSOD is essential, and a well-cooled laptop is sure to do that.

Now, For a few bits of advice

-Picking up a laptop direct from the manufacturer is a great idea. You are ensured a decent warranty, and the gear inside is always fresh up to manufacturer standards

-Don’t trust the sales guy. He is there to drain your pocket. Do you REALLY need a mac? It is nice to have one but it comes at a hefty price

-Ignore the Operating System war. As long as your software runs stably on the OS, why should you be bothered about the multi-threading capability of bla-bla-bla…

-Don’t get ripped off, but equally, don’t skimp. This one will probably be the one most people get wrong. A lot of people believe you need a top-of-the-range laptop and end up spending thousands… And then there are some who think they get the better deal by cutting down dramatically. Both of these can be avoided by being educated about what you buy. A penny saved is a penny earned!

-Go for laptop brands you know you can trust. A well trusted brand is always a good sign. Dell i can certainly vouch for. And if you know any niche brands that are good, use em too! Novatech is local to me and they are really good for laptops. The only real downside is if you somehow lose your graphics driver, or sound controller. Drivers are harder to find (Still, If you know what you’re doing. A quick look in PCI database helps lol)

Hey Brutes,

Currently it’s a Dual Core 7xxx-series with 2GB and 60GB harddisk. Just for testing. First glance it looks pretty impressive for such a relatively lightweight platform.

As far as laptop advice goes, I won’t burn my fingers on that one. I will give you one tip (purely my own opinion). I would choose a nice, relatively young, used Macbook over a new windows laptop if the primary use of the laptop is DJ-ing. Look for one of my older posts on the subject. There are some rather significant reasons to choose MacBook over windows platforms. Some are practical (aluminum casing, standard backlit keys and magnetic power cord connector – don’t underestimate this feature! broken power connectors account for an absurd high percentage of laptop failure and often the repair involves a rather pricey motherboard replacement), some have to do with OS features (the way Mac OSX handles sound is way more sophisticated and in essence driverless).

So, once you set your budget, take a look at what that money buys you in used MacBooks too.

Again, just my two cents.

Greetinx.