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Lenovo for music production?
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snakeo09
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
22
Posts :
45
Posted : Feb 28, 2011 18:22:13
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Hey all, Im planning on buying myself an Ideapad Lenovo (dont remember the model no.) but the specs are
-i5
-2.4Ghz Processor
-4GB Ram
-500GB Hard drive
-5400 RPM hard disc
Im using cubase 5 and was wondering wether Lenovo was a good laptop for music production on the road? I read somwhere that performance-wise it comes second to macbooks, is this true?
Could u guys recommend me a good laptop if lenovo isnt that good?
The lenovo costs around 755.928 USD after converting to us dollars from my currency, so im looking for somthing around that range.
And what else do i need to look for in a laptop when taking into consideration that it will be used solely for music production?
Thanks in advance for all your help
Boom! |
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magner
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
36
Posts :
147
Posted : Mar 2, 2011 01:40
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specs are more than enough i assure you, what you dont want to have on a laptop for music production is an extremely powerful graphics card, make sure its a standard one, or even better check if the the i5 processor in question has a built in gpu (Clarkdale and Arrandale) that would be more than enough and no extra ram would be consumed to run graphics, also the risk of overheating is drasticaly reduced.
If you have the option to upgrade to 8 gigs of ram do so, you wont regret it. Lenovo motherboards are IBM, never saw any info in regards to performance for audio production, the best 3 on the market (tested and proven) are msi, asus & gigabyte.
One very important thing you need to get rid of when you purchase a new notebook is to get rid of the bloat ware it comes with, they run in the background and are realy annoying!. As for the operating system i would suggest windows 7 64 bit pro or ultimate.
Hard disc speed on this model you mentioned is a bit low, 7200 rpm would be ideal, when loading presets from synths like omnisphere it gets annoying believe me, or else get an external one in the future if upgrading is not an option.
Most important thing is DONT DONT DONT connect it to the internet, just use the net to update windows, your motherboard drivers and gear driver updates.
As you already know the more powerful the processor the more heat its going to generate, an external cooler for the laptop would do a good job.
As for performance in regards to a macbook i cannot comment, myself i had an i mac i5 quadcore and i tested it head to head with a new pc running windows 7 64 bit pro (same specs) that i built myself for a strait 12 hrs, the result? the pc was better in al aspects, speed, cooling u name it, as you can guess i sold the imac 
I hope this helped |
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Eleusene
Started Topics :
4
Posts :
117
Posted : Mar 2, 2011 14:22
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I have a Lenovo N500 and I'm not happy with it. There is a very annoying noise when you plug in the power cable or when the battery is empty. It's a very loud bleep noise. The only thing you can do is to turn off the speakers. So not the best if you want to use your laptop for live.
And the most stupid fact is that Lenovo didn't bother to make an update to eliminate the noise yet. The problem is well known and there have been endless discussions in forums but there's no way to stop it.
So maybe better check and read some forums before buying your new laptop. Beside that my Lenovo laptop is good.
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willsanquil
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
93
Posts :
2822
Posted : Mar 2, 2011 19:41
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supergroover
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
39
Posts :
1505
Posted : Mar 3, 2011 11:33
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Is the 5400 rpm drive really that slow? I was thinking of getting a macbook pro that is 5400 too.
 soundcloud.com/supergroover |
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snakeo09
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
22
Posts :
45
Posted : Mar 3, 2011 16:29
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thanks for all the suggestions, and yea does it make really that big of a difference between the 5400 rpm and 7200 rpm? |
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willsanquil
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
93
Posts :
2822
Posted : Mar 3, 2011 19:06
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eh...I mean, your boot times will be longer, it'll take longer to load files and access data...but how *much* longer I wouldn't feel qualified to say.
For music production I don't think its a huge deal as long as you don't put a premium on load times.
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch...you must first invent the universe
www.soundcloud.com/tasp
www.soundcloud.com/kinematic-records |
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Mike A
Subra
Started Topics :
185
Posts :
3954
Posted : Mar 6, 2011 10:57
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@magner - You have some inaccuracies.
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| what you dont want to have on a laptop for music production is an extremely powerful graphics card, make sure its a standard one, or even better check if the the i5 processor in question has a built in gpu (Clarkdale and Arrandale) that would be more than enough and no extra ram would be consumed to run graphics, also the risk of overheating is drasticaly reduced. |
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Totally irrelevant if he has more 4 GB of ram (or more). Laptops are running low resolution, so it doesn't matter. CPU with a GPU may be even better, because power consumption would be lower, since there is one less device to power.
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| One very important thing you need to get rid of when you purchase a new notebook is to get rid of the bloat ware it comes with, they run in the background and are realy annoying!.
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I agree. I'd even state it this way - the first thing you should do when you get your pc is to format and have a clean install. It will work perfectly ok (and even better) without all of the "lenovo service center" and whatever crap they got there.
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| As for the operating system i would suggest windows 7 64 bit pro or ultimate. |
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What's wrong with home premium? Pro or ultimate will have 0 advatage for the music producer.
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| Most important thing is DONT DONT DONT connect it to the internet, just use the net to update windows, your motherboard drivers and gear driver updates. |
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So you connect it or not?
If the issue is malware and viruses and stuff, most chances that you will get it without an internet connection. A lot of viruses today spread through USB drives (and finally Microsoft published and update to disable autorun from USB drives). You should have a net connection, and install a good antivirus (avg, avast, whatever) and you will be safe. Smart interneting is also important. Avoid clicking stuff at porn sites etc.
MacBooks are totally overrated. They cost much more per performance unit. On the other hand, that illuminated apple logo looks cool and it will probably get you laid, so it's up to you. 
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magner
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
36
Posts :
147
Posted : Mar 7, 2011 07:01
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I opted for pro cause it can handle up to 192 gig, i know it sounds exagerated to be needing more than 16 gig which is the limit for windows 7 home premium, but in the future i mean why not hihi!, i just love huge horsepower!
As for the internet thingy i always check my devices with my notebook that is not my daw before any data transfer and so on, call me paranoid but id better be safe than sorry. Yes and like you said, avoid porn sites!! those are the worst, pussy always gets you in trouble even the digital one!!
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Mike A
Subra
Started Topics :
185
Posts :
3954
Posted : Mar 24, 2011 18:17
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Needed more than 16gb of ram is nature's way of telling you to use original synthesized material instead of samples
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