Planning to buy a new computer
Comments
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Soldered DRAM can run faster than the same chips going through a module connector. Same thing goes for SSD chips, except the signal frequencies aren't as insanely high there, as they are on DRAM chips.
It is true that using socket makes things harder... But soldered memories in most computers do not run faster, they run normal speeds. So the reason is not to allow them run faster. The reason is more like cut the costs or socketed memory would not fit in space.
And as you mentioned SSD has even less reasons to be soldered.
And maybe it is better if things run a bit slower if it brings possibility to replace them in case of failure or need to upgrade.
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If I were to buy a live performance laptop TODAY, I would look seriously at the Razer Blade line.
@Jon Watte Thanks a lot for your contribution to this thread, I really appreciate it.
I don't care much about the 16gb = 64gb conversation. I just want a good reliable laptop that is built like a tank and will last me for a few years.
I would love to buy a Razer Blade but there are a couple of issues, maybe you know more about them.
- I have heard because of the slim build they have throttling issues is that true?
- Have never seen musicians using those laptops for live performances so I am a bit sceptical about getting it. Then again I have an Asus and I am always the odd man out when we go for live performances.
Another issue is that razer blade laptops are really expensive in India and I don't think they are officially available either. Some of the models are more expensive than a mac and I don't think I can afford that.
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And Razers are made for gamers, if you want it for music and not for gaming it has no meaning to pay extra for dedicated GPU. And also I would be affraid that it is thin. Good cooling is important for all, but even more important for you.
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@Kubrak Most of the windows laptops that you will buy for music production will be gaming laptops. Plus I edit videos also so the dedicated GPU definitely is helpful.
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I've never owned a Razer laptop but I've considered one in the past for the same reason, video editing.
I scratched it off my list when I was watching a random LTT live stream and they casually mentioned that 4 out of 6 employees that owned Razor laptops "had them broken" - This was like 2 or 3 years ago and I have no idea if such high percentage of failure is representative or not but it scared me. I would definitively try to investigate the failure rate before buying one.
On throttling: Pretty much every laptop has that issue unless you're ok with a thicc boy laptop... An advantage of Windows is on some laptops is you can undervolt things for less peak speed but more stability less heat and potentially no throttling, just like a laptop but some have a locked BIOS.
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To be fair: My last Razer was 4 years ago. Since then, I've used Dell XPS (fine!) and Macbooks (also OK!) and almost all my music work has been on a dedicated desktop workstation (very fine!)
The main reason to get a Razer, is if you want a laptop size similar to the MacBooks, and/or want the nice built-in GPU, which I generally do/did. In fact the Mac GPUs are not nearly as nice as the Razers.
Whether Razers cool poorly or not is likely dependent on specific years/models, so only trusted benchmarking sites can really review this for a new model. Or buy it with a return guarantee and try it.
Regarding pricing: Razers aren't more expensive than MacBooks. If neither option is in your price range, use a desktop if you can! You get more for your money.
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Most of the windows laptops that you will buy for music production will be gaming laptops. Plus I edit videos also so the dedicated GPU definitely is helpful.
Try to look at notebooks with AMD 6xxx. It has strong internal GPU. It is comparable to dedicated GPUs that are often in notebooks.
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I picked up a gaming laptop for music production, too. A used one in great shape. An Asus A15 with 16GB RAM and an 8-core Ryzen 7 CPU. My old laptop I'd rather leave to mundane tasks and not music, or very little music-related things, it runs a 4th gen i7 and 8GB RAM, some Massive X patches cause the CPU to max out and I get distortion, and from just one damn note at that. This new one I picked up is way more capable, but overkill in GPU that I don't need.
And if you people think the M1 is impressive, Apple is going to introduce a new iteration with a 20-cores CPU. TWENTY CORES! ******!? That will be insane for the interested. Not me, though.
I figured that it would just be a matter of time before someone or another attempts to make a desktop PC with an ARM-based SoC. ARM-based SoCs are everywhere: in our mobile devices, in modern digital synthesizers, hardware digital pianos, MIDI controllers, and I'm sure that there's much more.
I have to second Kubrak's post, soldered RAM and other things are meant to save on space and/or cost. This obsession with making things thinner looks dumb as heck to me. It makes equipment harder to service and you reach a point where you even compromise durability against accidental drops, so equipment also becomes very fragile. Completely, completely absurd. They even try to minimize the number of USB ports.
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@D-One I might go with another Asus laptop because I had a great experience with the one I have right now. They make some really good laptops. I trust LTT so I am not taking the risk of getting a Razer then. That's a very high number they are quoting.
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@Jon Watte In India Razer laptops are almost as expensive as Macs. I was telling @D-One that I might go with an Asus laptop because I have had a good experience with them. I saw some videos of music producers who said that the new M1s still have a lot of compatibility issues with software so I am scared to put in so much money and not get the performance from it. Plus getting a gaming laptop will be nice to be able to play games once in a while I guess. :)
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I will try looking into this. Thanks Kubrak!
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@valerianmengsk How is the experience with the new Asus computer? My ROG G551 has been really great. Been using it for almost 8 years now, apart from a few glitches here and there, it's been a solid workhorse.
I think apple stopped going the make everything slim ideology with the new macs. A few years ago that's what they were doing and performance was suffering.
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And if you people think the M1 is impressive, Apple is going to introduce a new iteration with a 20-cores CPU. TWENTY CORES! *****!? That will be insane for the interested.
Yes, but half, or so, of them small ones. And "only" 20 threads. AMD is prepared to bring 16C/32T (full cores) to notebooks this or next year (Zen4 or Zen5). And has much more cores on desktops for years already...
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I'd check recent reviews, especially on places like amazon where people can leave reviews at a much later date instead of just initial thoughts. It feels wrong to be negative about a brand I have no experience with and just leave that comment out there with no source, my memory was exaggerated, it was 3 employees. I searched for the video and clipped the important part:
Dave's died after 2 years too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyuyKwMujCY
The hardest thing in the Windows laptop world is knowing what to expect in terms of build quality, longevity and what to pick because there are a million brands making laptops with a huge variation of quality, sometimes even within the same brand it varies between models.
I'd try asking in a store what brand has the fewer complaints/returns as no one will know this better than the people who sell a bunch of them everyday.
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You are correct. The newest MacBook Pros have an excellent design that hits a sweet spot of thinness vs thermal management. My 14" M1 Pro stays cool & quiet under heavy workload. And battery life is wonderful too. Super happy with it.
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