Laptop recommendations?

Saving up for a Mac is worth it. I can’t imagine using anything else, for DJing or otherwise. The extra you pay initially is quickly repaid by stability, build, ease-of-use, and lack of need for annoying (and frequently buggy) drivers for every piece of equipment you buy, viruses, malware, etc.

Knowing it is off your budget and avoiding the Macbooks, one pc line that must always be considered is the Envy by HP. I know it is Windows-based but it is the first line of attack against the Macbook Pro. I must even say that the Envy 14 Beats edition is quite a gorgeous and powerful catch.

Digitall DJ, post: 225 wrote:
I appreciate the appeal of Macs, but resent the over-inflated pricing! I am swayed towards the Sony Vaio series, but no-one has mentioned them.

That’s a common misconception, when I bought my MBP 13, I compared the specs carefully to other manufacturers and it not much more if not different. Why? Because mac’s use better components than the standard laptops. Consider that the memory in macs are usually of the fast DD3 types, then consider that the processors are usually of the more powerful intel variety, I’m not talking of comparing the ghz against ghz, but intel also code processor model numbers by how many instructions they can do in cycles or something like that so two 2.2 ghz processors are not necessarily the same. Then factor in that macs have LED backlit screens not standard lcd ones. Also factor in the keyboards are of much higher quality feel to use not like cheap ones on standard pc laptops, further mac keyboards are backlit so great for dj’ing in the dark. Then construction a MBP is made from one piece aluminium, which is not just aesthetically pleasing but a reassurance that your case will last and not crack. Even consider that macs have multi-touch trackpads that allow you to use gestures to be that bit more efficient – i find using normal trackpads annoying now. Then on top of that you get great value software from apple in for of iLife and since they opened the app store they have slashed prices of software. The operating system is more secure and stable, which means I dont need to run a virus checker, so I get more out of my processor than pc hogged down by norton or whatever else. It also means that my mac doesn’t slow down after a while like pcs do – I used a work pc laptop in my last job and each morning I started my pc i went to get a coffee and it would still be waiting to get set up. My mac allows me to be more productive straight away so saving time means saving money. So when you take ALL these things into comparison macs are not over-inflated price wise and stack up very favourably against premium pc laptops like Sony Viao’s

Dell Inspiron 15R. Update the BIOS, tweak settings for audio Performance: Flawless.

$700 in Feb, 2011. Might be less now.

I’m still of the mind that Windows works beautifully when you have solid hardware backing it up. It’s why Macs run solid, because Apple won’t allow substandard hardware into the fold.

Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony, etc…just research and find a laptop with good reviews that show it’s got solid hardware. If you can’t afford Apple then just make sure you’re not buying some cheap POS laptop from a discount store.

I believe most of the problems DJs end up having with their stuff is due to using minimum spec hardware and low quality hardware. A cheap Gateway laptop will fail you…and 9 out of 10 times there isn’t a $300-$600 solution that won’t bring you problems.

I still stand by that Lenovo Thinkpads, Sony Vaios, and Toshiba laptops all have solid hardware and never let me down.