Help choosing a laptop

F

Fshhhhhhhh

New Member
Hey guys!

I need advice.

I would like you to help me to choose a laptop which i will use for playing poker and working with Ableton (music production) only. I will use it at home mostly with two big monitors connected to it. The screen size should be 13-14 inches. The price or operational system does not matter to me (not until its more than 2k eu), but i dont want to get more than i need. I just want it to produce high quality sounds and be able to work with many samples at the same time.

If I posted in a wrong section of the forum, I apologize and ask admins to move it were it belongs.

Any advice would be much appreciated!
 
Grantapus

Grantapus

Member
Macbook Pro 13"? Just make sure you get a keyboard cover because the butterfly key switches will fail if you get dust under them.
 
F

Fshhhhhhhh

New Member
Grantapus said:
Macbook Pro 13"? Just make sure you get a keyboard cover because the butterfly key switches will fail if you get dust under them.
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I have read a lot about macbooks being overpriced just for the brand. Can you elaborate if you think thats the case or you believe there is nothing else of that quality on the market for cheaper price? Thanks!
 
Grantapus

Grantapus

Member
Fshhhhhhhh said:
I have read a lot about macbooks being overpriced just for the brand. Can you elaborate if you think thats the case or you believe there is nothing else of that quality on the market for cheaper price? Thanks!
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Well they are overpriced to some extent. But the build quality is second to none. The specs are OK but not the best...however my base model MacBook pro 13" is faster than my windows gaming laptop (I7 7th gen CPU, 16 gb ram, gtx 1060 etc.) It edits 4k video like a breeze and I think it would be a good option for you. Just make sure to get an adapter because the MacBook only has USB C ports.
 
Darren

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
Grantapus said:
Well they are overpriced to some extent. But the build quality is second to none. The specs are OK but not the best...however my base model MacBook pro 13" is faster than my windows gaming laptop (I7 7th gen CPU, 16 gb ram, gtx 1060 etc.) It edits 4k video like a breeze and I think it would be a good option for you. Just make sure to get an adapter because the MacBook only has USB C ports.
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Highly doubt it's "faster". Side by side the higher spec system will render faster, regardless of if it's a Mac or PC. I'd hazard a guess your gaming laptop has a much faster CPU than the Macbook.

OS smoothness and snappiness is one thing, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Mac is faster in that sense, but in raw speed, no.
 
Grantapus

Grantapus

Member
Darren said:
Highly doubt it's "faster". Side by side the higher spec system will render faster, regardless of if it's a Mac or PC. I'd hazard a guess your gaming laptop has a much faster CPU than the Macbook.

OS smoothness and snappiness is one thing, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Mac is faster in that sense, but in raw speed, no.
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Yeah the gaming laptop has MUCH better specs, but the same 4k video renders over 2x as fast on the Mac compared to the gaming PC. And yes, the gaming laptop has much more raw power, but In day to day real world usage, the MacBook seems faster. I think it's due to good software optimization on apples side. Looking more into what he said, he is looking for something to use at home so design won't matter as much if it's just gonna be sitting on a table or desk, so maybe a windows laptop would be the way to go.
 
F

Fshhhhhhhh

New Member
Grantapus said:
Yeah the gaming laptop has MUCH better specs, but the same 4k video renders over 2x as fast on the Mac compared to the gaming PC. And yes, the gaming laptop has much more raw power, but In day to day real world usage, the MacBook seems faster. I think it's due to good software optimization on apples side. Looking more into what he said, he is looking for something to use at home so design won't matter as much if it's just gonna be sitting on a table or desk, so maybe a windows laptop would be the way to go.
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Thanks for updating. You mentioned windows laptop might be the way to go, the problem is that i dont understand cpu specs very well. Can you share the name of the model that could work for my preferences?
 
Darren

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
Deerling7 said:
He also said playing poker and music production. I don't think that requires a $2000 Mac.
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Music production is one of the few cases I'd suggest a Macbook, they generally play nicer with audio software. Friend of mine is a PC guy but also an audio engineer for touring bands and uses a Macbook.
 
Grantapus

Grantapus

Member
Craving said:
I use Garageband in fact. I hear Logic Pro is a nice addition. I recommend this because they are very user frienfly, also professionals use these. However i hear god reviews from FL studio, quite similar to apple's UI. Main reason for a mac is the OS. Then again you can go Linux. Drivers are a PITA for macs, any phone/tablet other than an iPhone or iPad... it won't connect
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FL studio is the best. I have used it for 2 years and its far superior to Ableton And Logic Pro.
 
Grantapus

Grantapus

Member
Craving said:
What is it about it that is better? Logic Pro has 5 star reviews almost everywhere, then again, same with garageband. Probably the UI. How's FI studio for beginners?
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Logic Pro is not very good for beginners. The UI is very complicated and hard to use. If you want to make real music, GarageBand is NOT the way to go. You pretty much just put some loops together to make "music". FL Studio is perfect. The UI is way more clean, but it does the same thing if not more as Logic Pro. Garage band is technically better for beginners, but at the same time your not really making "real" music. Its just throwing some drum loops and stuff together with some chords. I can tell if music is made in Garageband because it sounds so basic and non original. FL studio is very good for beginners because of the non cluttered UI, but is VERY ADVANCED if you are a professional producer, in other words....perfect! I would get the Producer Edition of FL studio because it is pretty much the standard for professional production. Don't get the "Fruity" version, as it has limited functionality. Keep in mind that even with FL studio, the stock plugins are not that great, and professional plugins are very expensive. I have spent thousands on plugins. Nexus 2, which is one of the most well known (and one of the best plugins) costs $4000, and sylenth1 (which is also an essential) is hundreds. You would also want some good strings and a piano....For the Piano, you want Addictive Keys, which is made from real pianos recorded from 6 microphones (in other words it sounds EXACTLY like a real piano and is very advanced) and that will set you back about $100. So be prepared to be spending a lot on plugins because like i said, if you use the stock ones, your music will sound like it was made in GarageBand (VERY BAD THING). I hope this helped.
 
Grantapus

Grantapus

Member
Craving said:
You can still record music with instruments in Garageband, so what's more original about FL studio? I use Garageband, i think the UI is pretty user-friendly
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Wait....i think i dont get it. So are you trying to "MAKE" music or record instruments and put it together?
 
Grantapus

Grantapus

Member
Deerling7 said:
Can one say what "real" music is?

If so, I declare mumble rap "fake" music.
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LOL! Ok thats not really what i was trying to say. All music is real music. What i mean is: Are you trying to make music ONLY with a computer using synths and stuff, or are you trying to make "REAL" music playing instruments and recording them into FL studio or another DAW and putting it together to make a song. Thats why i put "real" in quotes.
 
_Kyle_

_Kyle_

Well-Known Member
Grantapus said:
LOL! Ok thats not really what i was trying to say. All music is real music. What i mean is: Are you trying to make music ONLY with a computer using synths and stuff, or are you trying to make "REAL" music playing instruments and recording them into FL studio or another DAW and putting it together to make a song. Thats why i put "real" in quotes.
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Oh.
 
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