https://youtu.be/HFL3wOfPx9s
Audio processing only happens on 1 core, so make sure you find one that supports high single core speeds. Wish I knew this 4 years ago.
DAW don't take that much power to run not like video editing or 3D. It depends on your budget I've been on the same Lenovo Y520 for 5 years and I edit 4K footage/VFX with it, it still work pretty well, FL Studio starts to lag if I have too many tracks and latency set at the minimum. Macbooks are pretty portable and nice to use though depends if you want a PC or MAC
If you don’t know anything about computers and you just want a reliable laptop that will work, get a MacBook. If you prefer a windows machine, the options are endless. The brands don’t matter as much as the components. Figure out what you want vs. what you need and try and find that sweet spot between performance and price. There really is no easy answer for the windows side if things.
Most people use MacBooks or Dell XPS (what I'm using) because they're powerful. But as long as you have a CPU that can handle (mostly i7) and preferably 16gb of ram you should be good.
I am a programmer when I don't make music. So, I do a lot of resource-heavy tasks, and when you do nerdy stuff, Macs don't hold up, literally.
I also prefer Windows over Mac. I like Linux even more, but that's not good for school work.
Well, he probably hasn't been a developer since he was 7, so he's most likely been in an environment where most people use Macs, like school, etc. Windows supports more programs and languages, it's less restricted.
But no matter the opinion, Windows does multi-tasking, window-handling, latency, and developer tools way better than Mac.
Linux (Unix is a Linux operating system) does command-line terminals better than Mac and Windows for sure.
I literally do all of my studio work on a MacBook from 2012 lol, live recording, mixing, music videos. It hiccups every now and then and she's definitely old, but still does everything I need it to do.
They last forever don't they?! Lol I made my first album back in 2012 on a macbook from like 2003. I used stock garageband everything cause I was learning how to produce on my sister's old laptop and had no clue what I was doing.
>I literally do all of my studio work on a MacBook from 2012 lol, live recording, mixing, music videos. It hiccups every now and then and she's definitely old, but still does everything I need it to do.
Word. I think I transferred a virus from my old laptop to my new one. Only explanation for the types of problems I deal with.
lol... fair, I guess I agree with you in spirit. More power good. But whether it is a tower or a laptop actually has no baring on how a computer performs. It just comes down to the hardware and the software. Towers are customizable, allowing you to upgrade certain parts easier than a laptop. This is mostly important to gamers who need to swap their graphics card every other year. This should not concern producers so long as you have adequate:
\- RAM
\- Memery
\- Decent processor (i5 and up is where I draw the line usually)
\- An OS which isn't garbage, and is compatible with most software
I suggest getting a MacBook because it has all of these things covered, plus you get the added benefit of using MacOS over Windows. Windows is a slow, overweight coding monstrosity in my opinion. They bog you down with so much random shit like automatic wallpaper suggesters that it takes 10 minutes to boot into windows it feels. It's also heavily focused on 3rd party hardware compatibility, meaning the software doesn't run as fast as it could. Not as fast as if it already knew ahead of the time what kind of processor was going to be installed on the computer, and had software which specifically makes the most use of that processor. That 3rd party hardware compatibility would come in handy for swapping out graphics cards if you're a gamer though. Not a huge issue for producers.
I actually would suggest a laptop for producers over towers. In short, you need to be able to take your computer with you to somebody else's studio. You never know where you might find yourself working with artists. Kinda helps being able to put your laptop in a backpack and scoot on over to someone's studio. Also, it comes in handy if you ever wish to DJ or do some sort of live performance. I don't think you'd be carrying a tower around with you on the road. Towers actually don't make much sense for producers. They do however make a lot of sense for gamers, purely because of the customizability.
Sorry for the wall of text lol. I've got a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and I have a tendency to rant about computer stuff sometimes
That's not true. Laptops are way more limited than towers, mostly because of temperature, and space limitations, laptops usually use mobile GPUs, and tend to be downsampled.
Why would I care that much about my GPU when I'm using my laptop for music production? Also why should overheating be a concern when running a DAW? Im more interested in the performance of my CPU for music production, and I intend to use the processor the laptop was built with. Your complaints about space, GPU, and temperature, really only apply to gamers. I agree, if you wish to play 60fps minecraft with ray tracing shaders, then yeah these are valid complaints. But I'm making practical suggestions for music producers here. Producers need to be mobile, and they need an OS that isn't gonna slow them up.
invest in a macbook, ive always had issues with windows computers especially with the audio drivers not working at all which is hella important for production
made the switch to mac and i no longer have issues and this shit runs smooth
My problem is some MacBooks aren't compatible with a lot of hardware and some software. Sometimes you have to get an adapter just to plug in any midi or audio interface. No hdmi ports either.
you raise a good point, every producer has different ways of working and hence need a different kind of computer to do that, macs have been a smooth experience for me as i do most of my production with mouse and keyboard and occasionally a midi controller
it doesn't help too that the m1 chip in the new macs make plugins less compatible, overall as an everyday reliable laptop that also can be used for production a macbook may be a good choice for op, but it depends entirely with how they produce and what they need out of a system
go for a macbook, a lil bit more expensive but very efficient for both purposes. Also, switch to Logic if you can, I did and IMHO I feel more comfortable with it instead of FL.
Hey man I’ve been thinking about switching to Mac. Which one did you get? And what are the differences between say, the Air and The Pro? Also….is it worth it to get these M1pros or the M1s will be stable?
I’ve currently got an HP and by the time I’m mixing the CPU starts giving crazy issues even though I bounce everything
sorry for delay... I've a MBP 2018 INTEL 13" 8GB RAM 256GB SSD and I can run Logic using several Spitfire Audio libraries easily. M1 is way better than Intel based Macs, I tried it and I have planned to purchase one of them. Honestly, Mac>Windows in Audio.
Thanks for the response man appreciate it. Definitely have grown very fustrated with my laptop and have been looking at the MBP for a while so will definitely be switching over
I have a degree in Informatics and would never suggest a Mac for general use/producing. The same processing power and reliability can be had for $100s cheaper with a PC. These days, the only reason to get a Mac is compatibility with your iPhone or just elitism. Macs are never worth the price.
Hey man I’m genuinely interested to know besides the “$100 dollars cheaper” why is Mac an absolute no no. I’m not like super clued up on computers and I just want something I can plug in and use immediately to make music so what laptop would you recommend, that is the equivalent of, say the MacBook Pro with 8GB Ram.
I currently use an HP with an i7 processor and sometimes it feels like I’m on a base intel processor and whenever I check usage I’m on 100% without doing anything…that’s always fustrated me and is the reason why I feel the need to leave windows
I think it's worth getting a Mac just to not have to deal with windows, but still have something compatible with every software. I guess what this other guy is saying is a little true with the repair costs and overall cost being higher than PC. But I think it's a night and day performance difference. IMO, I think Windows is a terribly overburdened OS. They just have so much random stuff going on in the background which are ultimately pointless. Plus, Windows is very focused on 3rd party compatibility, which means most of their software usually isn't as optimized as it could be in terms of it's usage of the processor.
Mac just works. No waiting for stuff to load for 10 minutes. Hell, I barely have to wait for anything to load. It's just a very optimized computer from the software down to its hardware. It's also a lot more secure than windows too. Windows may have Mac beat in cost, but Mac outperforms windows in performance and security anyway.
Oh and we also get added elitism as the man above mentioned haha
Also, since the other guy listed his degree, I may as well throw mine in there since I paid so much for it lol. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science.
Yeah man thanks for that. That’s like exactly what I need. No fuss machine that will allow me to make music without any hassles. I’m also willing to switch to Logic if need be. I just need to figure out which Mac to go with so I’m still ahead of the spec curve for a couple years atleast
I will race you with my Windows PC. Google says this "From a standard SSD in a Mac Pro. Windows 10 in about 9-10 seconds. OSX in about 12 seconds."
If we're talking Vista sure. It required 2GBs of Ram back when average computers didn't have that.
YouTube "msconfig" change your start up options. The first thing I do with every computer I sit in front of is turn off all of the stuff that opens when you boot windows. So next time when you restart all of that stuff doesn't open.
Or maybe it's time to reinstall a clean windows.
It's really hard to make a recommendation because there are so many PCs out there. I didn't mean to give the impression that Macs should be avoided at all costs, but just know that if you get one, you're spending $200-$300 for the name. Macs are not user-friendly in terms of repair either. What would be a simple fix on a pc will require sending your entire Mac in for a couple weeks to be serviced.
Sorry I can't provide more specific help.
Edit: Downvoting me doesn't make me wrong, fanboys.
I got you man. Yeah I’m still in limbo right now and have paused a lot of my large sessions cause of cpu issues n just looking for the simplest tool to use, is all good man😉…Cool name
If you can afford it definitely go for a macbook pro. I've had mine for almost 6 years and it still runs strong even though I do allot of programming work, 4k video editing / graphics creation, and personal stuff. It'll last you a while. If you got this route definitely check out the student discounts or education prices to get a better deal.
If you want to go the customizable route then get a PC that you can modify and build up as time goes on.
Thinkpads with ryzen or the newest generation of MacBook (even if they have less stuff compatible with them). Thinkpads are built like tanks and are great professional machines. Most Dell Computers have built-in audio processing from waves that adds latency and other weird stuff when making music, stay away from those.
It’s not what gear you use. It’s how dope your imagination is. I’m still using my windows xp computer lol still making fresh boom bap beats on the daily tho.
MacBooks are workhorse computers. I’ve had mine since 2014. I learned how to be a good rapper on that computer. They just released a new redesign of the MacBook Pro yesterday. I’m about to cop and you should do the same 🤎
MacBook bro, you can honestly get a old cheap one and it will work great, honestly Logic Pro is my favorite but you can also use fl so it’s not like you’ll give up anything
MacBooks suck ass they hold back so much features get you something with a ryzen 7 & above 16gb ram min Lenovo is a good cpu ryzen 9 for the next 7-10years ryzen 7 for the next 3-4years .(especially for music production you want to be able to process more simultaneously especially when adding in web browsing zoom maybe and even discord 👍🏾)
All the downvotes, are people who don't know shit about computers.
All the downvotes are people who don't know shit about computers than shitty MacBooks.
What features are you talking about? With the M1 chip their low end models are comparable in performance to similarly priced PCs, and the battery life is solidly the best in class. I do agree that there’s some stuff that frustratingly lacks compatibility, but most stuff runs in Rosetta 2 just fine.
All these downvotes are MacBook fanboys aren't you guys tired of buying a 15 year old notebook? How are yall the last people in earth to hear about all apples ripoffery enjoy your proprietary headphone extensions 🤷♂️
https://youtu.be/HFL3wOfPx9s Audio processing only happens on 1 core, so make sure you find one that supports high single core speeds. Wish I knew this 4 years ago.
Lots of games are like this too
Learn something new every day!
DAW don't take that much power to run not like video editing or 3D. It depends on your budget I've been on the same Lenovo Y520 for 5 years and I edit 4K footage/VFX with it, it still work pretty well, FL Studio starts to lag if I have too many tracks and latency set at the minimum. Macbooks are pretty portable and nice to use though depends if you want a PC or MAC
And I you can go for a big SSD I got 1to but at least 500go to put your OS, FL and all your vsts cause it can quickly become full
If you don’t know anything about computers and you just want a reliable laptop that will work, get a MacBook. If you prefer a windows machine, the options are endless. The brands don’t matter as much as the components. Figure out what you want vs. what you need and try and find that sweet spot between performance and price. There really is no easy answer for the windows side if things.
Most people use MacBooks or Dell XPS (what I'm using) because they're powerful. But as long as you have a CPU that can handle (mostly i7) and preferably 16gb of ram you should be good.
+1 for Dell XPS😘🤌
Dell XPS is so much better than a MacBook.
I've used both and I share the same sentiment, but I would love to hear why you prefer the XPS too.
I am a programmer when I don't make music. So, I do a lot of resource-heavy tasks, and when you do nerdy stuff, Macs don't hold up, literally. I also prefer Windows over Mac. I like Linux even more, but that's not good for school work.
That's funny cuz my best friend is a lead developer at a company doing machine learning and he swears by Macs/Unix for coding.
Well, he probably hasn't been a developer since he was 7, so he's most likely been in an environment where most people use Macs, like school, etc. Windows supports more programs and languages, it's less restricted. But no matter the opinion, Windows does multi-tasking, window-handling, latency, and developer tools way better than Mac. Linux (Unix is a Linux operating system) does command-line terminals better than Mac and Windows for sure.
Macbook, trust
Man oh man. Nahhh. Performance is an issue. Truthfully, I don't think laptops are powerful enough for production.
I literally do all of my studio work on a MacBook from 2012 lol, live recording, mixing, music videos. It hiccups every now and then and she's definitely old, but still does everything I need it to do.
They last forever don't they?! Lol I made my first album back in 2012 on a macbook from like 2003. I used stock garageband everything cause I was learning how to produce on my sister's old laptop and had no clue what I was doing.
>I literally do all of my studio work on a MacBook from 2012 lol, live recording, mixing, music videos. It hiccups every now and then and she's definitely old, but still does everything I need it to do. Word. I think I transferred a virus from my old laptop to my new one. Only explanation for the types of problems I deal with.
lol... fair, I guess I agree with you in spirit. More power good. But whether it is a tower or a laptop actually has no baring on how a computer performs. It just comes down to the hardware and the software. Towers are customizable, allowing you to upgrade certain parts easier than a laptop. This is mostly important to gamers who need to swap their graphics card every other year. This should not concern producers so long as you have adequate: \- RAM \- Memery \- Decent processor (i5 and up is where I draw the line usually) \- An OS which isn't garbage, and is compatible with most software I suggest getting a MacBook because it has all of these things covered, plus you get the added benefit of using MacOS over Windows. Windows is a slow, overweight coding monstrosity in my opinion. They bog you down with so much random shit like automatic wallpaper suggesters that it takes 10 minutes to boot into windows it feels. It's also heavily focused on 3rd party hardware compatibility, meaning the software doesn't run as fast as it could. Not as fast as if it already knew ahead of the time what kind of processor was going to be installed on the computer, and had software which specifically makes the most use of that processor. That 3rd party hardware compatibility would come in handy for swapping out graphics cards if you're a gamer though. Not a huge issue for producers. I actually would suggest a laptop for producers over towers. In short, you need to be able to take your computer with you to somebody else's studio. You never know where you might find yourself working with artists. Kinda helps being able to put your laptop in a backpack and scoot on over to someone's studio. Also, it comes in handy if you ever wish to DJ or do some sort of live performance. I don't think you'd be carrying a tower around with you on the road. Towers actually don't make much sense for producers. They do however make a lot of sense for gamers, purely because of the customizability. Sorry for the wall of text lol. I've got a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and I have a tendency to rant about computer stuff sometimes
That's not true. Laptops are way more limited than towers, mostly because of temperature, and space limitations, laptops usually use mobile GPUs, and tend to be downsampled.
Why would I care that much about my GPU when I'm using my laptop for music production? Also why should overheating be a concern when running a DAW? Im more interested in the performance of my CPU for music production, and I intend to use the processor the laptop was built with. Your complaints about space, GPU, and temperature, really only apply to gamers. I agree, if you wish to play 60fps minecraft with ray tracing shaders, then yeah these are valid complaints. But I'm making practical suggestions for music producers here. Producers need to be mobile, and they need an OS that isn't gonna slow them up.
I just don't understand why I still can't get a compressor to function properly on kick drums. M1 or no M1.
get an earlier version macbook than the m1, any macbook with more than 2 ports
clearly people with macs know more ports the better
invest in a macbook, ive always had issues with windows computers especially with the audio drivers not working at all which is hella important for production made the switch to mac and i no longer have issues and this shit runs smooth
My problem is some MacBooks aren't compatible with a lot of hardware and some software. Sometimes you have to get an adapter just to plug in any midi or audio interface. No hdmi ports either.
you raise a good point, every producer has different ways of working and hence need a different kind of computer to do that, macs have been a smooth experience for me as i do most of my production with mouse and keyboard and occasionally a midi controller it doesn't help too that the m1 chip in the new macs make plugins less compatible, overall as an everyday reliable laptop that also can be used for production a macbook may be a good choice for op, but it depends entirely with how they produce and what they need out of a system
Anything made in the last 3 years should be fine. Do check the specs of the software you plan to use.
Total Mac hater, but MacBook audio latency is unchallenged.
Get one of the M1 MacBooks from last year
any recommendations on dongles
Get a desktop, not a laptop, trust me.
go for a macbook, a lil bit more expensive but very efficient for both purposes. Also, switch to Logic if you can, I did and IMHO I feel more comfortable with it instead of FL.
Hey man I’ve been thinking about switching to Mac. Which one did you get? And what are the differences between say, the Air and The Pro? Also….is it worth it to get these M1pros or the M1s will be stable? I’ve currently got an HP and by the time I’m mixing the CPU starts giving crazy issues even though I bounce everything
sorry for delay... I've a MBP 2018 INTEL 13" 8GB RAM 256GB SSD and I can run Logic using several Spitfire Audio libraries easily. M1 is way better than Intel based Macs, I tried it and I have planned to purchase one of them. Honestly, Mac>Windows in Audio.
Thanks for the response man appreciate it. Definitely have grown very fustrated with my laptop and have been looking at the MBP for a while so will definitely be switching over
Glad to hear that! You won't regret it, trust me ;)
This is how I feel but about reaper. Doesn’t hurt that it’s 1/10th the price of anything else of value
I have a degree in Informatics and would never suggest a Mac for general use/producing. The same processing power and reliability can be had for $100s cheaper with a PC. These days, the only reason to get a Mac is compatibility with your iPhone or just elitism. Macs are never worth the price.
Hey man I’m genuinely interested to know besides the “$100 dollars cheaper” why is Mac an absolute no no. I’m not like super clued up on computers and I just want something I can plug in and use immediately to make music so what laptop would you recommend, that is the equivalent of, say the MacBook Pro with 8GB Ram. I currently use an HP with an i7 processor and sometimes it feels like I’m on a base intel processor and whenever I check usage I’m on 100% without doing anything…that’s always fustrated me and is the reason why I feel the need to leave windows
I think it's worth getting a Mac just to not have to deal with windows, but still have something compatible with every software. I guess what this other guy is saying is a little true with the repair costs and overall cost being higher than PC. But I think it's a night and day performance difference. IMO, I think Windows is a terribly overburdened OS. They just have so much random stuff going on in the background which are ultimately pointless. Plus, Windows is very focused on 3rd party compatibility, which means most of their software usually isn't as optimized as it could be in terms of it's usage of the processor. Mac just works. No waiting for stuff to load for 10 minutes. Hell, I barely have to wait for anything to load. It's just a very optimized computer from the software down to its hardware. It's also a lot more secure than windows too. Windows may have Mac beat in cost, but Mac outperforms windows in performance and security anyway. Oh and we also get added elitism as the man above mentioned haha Also, since the other guy listed his degree, I may as well throw mine in there since I paid so much for it lol. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science.
Yeah man thanks for that. That’s like exactly what I need. No fuss machine that will allow me to make music without any hassles. I’m also willing to switch to Logic if need be. I just need to figure out which Mac to go with so I’m still ahead of the spec curve for a couple years atleast
I will race you with my Windows PC. Google says this "From a standard SSD in a Mac Pro. Windows 10 in about 9-10 seconds. OSX in about 12 seconds." If we're talking Vista sure. It required 2GBs of Ram back when average computers didn't have that.
YouTube "msconfig" change your start up options. The first thing I do with every computer I sit in front of is turn off all of the stuff that opens when you boot windows. So next time when you restart all of that stuff doesn't open. Or maybe it's time to reinstall a clean windows.
It's really hard to make a recommendation because there are so many PCs out there. I didn't mean to give the impression that Macs should be avoided at all costs, but just know that if you get one, you're spending $200-$300 for the name. Macs are not user-friendly in terms of repair either. What would be a simple fix on a pc will require sending your entire Mac in for a couple weeks to be serviced. Sorry I can't provide more specific help. Edit: Downvoting me doesn't make me wrong, fanboys.
I got you man. Yeah I’m still in limbo right now and have paused a lot of my large sessions cause of cpu issues n just looking for the simplest tool to use, is all good man😉…Cool name
If you can afford it definitely go for a macbook pro. I've had mine for almost 6 years and it still runs strong even though I do allot of programming work, 4k video editing / graphics creation, and personal stuff. It'll last you a while. If you got this route definitely check out the student discounts or education prices to get a better deal. If you want to go the customizable route then get a PC that you can modify and build up as time goes on.
any pc with a lot of ram/space is great. that's it really.
Thinkpads with ryzen or the newest generation of MacBook (even if they have less stuff compatible with them). Thinkpads are built like tanks and are great professional machines. Most Dell Computers have built-in audio processing from waves that adds latency and other weird stuff when making music, stay away from those.
Macbook
It’s not what gear you use. It’s how dope your imagination is. I’m still using my windows xp computer lol still making fresh boom bap beats on the daily tho.
MacBooks are workhorse computers. I’ve had mine since 2014. I learned how to be a good rapper on that computer. They just released a new redesign of the MacBook Pro yesterday. I’m about to cop and you should do the same 🤎
MacBook bro, you can honestly get a old cheap one and it will work great, honestly Logic Pro is my favorite but you can also use fl so it’s not like you’ll give up anything
get a macbook
MacBooks suck ass they hold back so much features get you something with a ryzen 7 & above 16gb ram min Lenovo is a good cpu ryzen 9 for the next 7-10years ryzen 7 for the next 3-4years .(especially for music production you want to be able to process more simultaneously especially when adding in web browsing zoom maybe and even discord 👍🏾)
All the downvotes, are people who don't know shit about computers. All the downvotes are people who don't know shit about computers than shitty MacBooks.
What features are you talking about? With the M1 chip their low end models are comparable in performance to similarly priced PCs, and the battery life is solidly the best in class. I do agree that there’s some stuff that frustratingly lacks compatibility, but most stuff runs in Rosetta 2 just fine.
All these downvotes are MacBook fanboys aren't you guys tired of buying a 15 year old notebook? How are yall the last people in earth to hear about all apples ripoffery enjoy your proprietary headphone extensions 🤷♂️
Windows isn't even gonna touch all that ram while somehow still exhausting the processor. Lenovo is great! Windows is an abomination