thegsi
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Registered: 3rd Feb 07
Location: Kidderminster Drives: Evo (you can't afford one)
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I'm looking into getting a cheap laptop at the moment. It will only be used to run Cubase (music production program) from time to time when I need to write/programme away from home. I could do with one that has a decent enough processor and a good amount of RAM but after viewing a few at PC World, I was a little confused with processor terminology? Are AMD better than Intel? Dual core? Quad core? Don't want to spend anymore than £400 so any advice or suggestions welcome.
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VrsTurbo
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Registered: 8th Jun 10
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Well you need to know the minimum specs for Cubase first and work from there but id go for
I3 or I5
4-6Gb Ram
Sorted
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thegsi
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Registered: 3rd Feb 07
Location: Kidderminster Drives: Evo (you can't afford one)
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Cubase will run quite well on a 1.3GHZ processor but like anything, the more plugins it has to process, the more demanding. Cheers man.
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pow
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Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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If want a nice cheap laptop an i3 with 4GB or TAM should do the trick. A nice clean install of windows will always help things as well 
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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As VRS said, got for Intel and then it's a case of as much RAM/Storage and features you can get for your money.
Edit - Just make sure you get something with a 7200rpm drive, helps if you bounce tracks down (which you should be doing anyway) as well as the usually streaming/writing of audio.
Guessing you're already sorted for an audio I/O interface though? Otherwise latency will be another issue, even using something like ASIO4ALL.
[Edited on 30-05-2012 by Dom]
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thegsi
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Registered: 3rd Feb 07
Location: Kidderminster Drives: Evo (you can't afford one)
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How about this one lads?
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-pavilion-g6-1378ea-15-6-laptop-11884722-pdt.html
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pow
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Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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Thats not half bad for the money. Have a peek on dabs and ebuyer as well
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VrsTurbo
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Registered: 8th Jun 10
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I have that exact one got it from tesco though. Decent laptop feels a bit cheap. I upped the Ram to 8Gb and have a SSD and its a rather tasty machine
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by pow
Thats not half bad for the money. Have a peek on dabs and ebuyer as well
This, you'll find something better for similar money ie: -
http://www.ebuyer.com/343311-asus-x54c-laptop-x54c-sx282v
Bit more but i5 - http://www.ebuyer.com/364297-hp-pavilion-g6-1347sa-laptop-a8s58ea-abu
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Sam
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Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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I always recommend Intel over AMD CPUs.
Core i3 laptops you are looking at between £300-£400, Core i5 £400+.
HP laptops will be super cheap from the big chains due to HP stopping production of home user computer products so they are just trying to shift old stock/cheap stock they bought off HP.
John will probably recommend Dell, and they aren't too bad.
Steer clear of cheap brands like Medion, Packard Bell etc.
If you want designer, go for Sony or Apple  (but they won't be within your price bracket).
I can get hold of factory refurbished laptops if you are interested, they will be cheaper than the equivalent brand new ones but still come with the 12 month warranties from the manufacturers.
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thegsi
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Registered: 3rd Feb 07
Location: Kidderminster Drives: Evo (you can't afford one)
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quote:
Originally posted by Sam
I always recommend Intel over AMD CPUs.
Core i3 laptops you are looking at between £300-£400, Core i5 £400+.
HP laptops will be super cheap from the big chains due to HP stopping production of home user computer products so they are just trying to shift old stock/cheap stock they bought off HP.
John will probably recommend Dell, and they aren't too bad.
Steer clear of cheap brands like Medion, Packard Bell etc.
If you want designer, go for Sony or Apple (but they won't be within your price bracket).
I can get hold of factory refurbished laptops if you are interested, they will be cheaper than the equivalent brand new ones but still come with the 12 month warranties from the manufacturers.
Yeh it needs to be PC to run the software I already have and from past experience (2 Vaio's) Sony's are shite. The two I've had haven't lasted two minutes. John will probably refuse to give me any advice other than to fuck off because he is miserable and hates me.
Cheers mate
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Sam
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Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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Just had a very quick look, I can get you this:
Toshiba Satellite C660-2EV - 15.6'' HD LED screen, Intel Core-i5 2430M CPU, 6GB RAM, 640GB HDD, DVD-RW, Windows 7 Home Premium
http://bit.ly/JMYVXA
for just under £400 inc. VAT
It's an 'A1 condition' Toshiba refurbished laptop - but comes boxed with everything just like the brand new ones, and comes with the 12 month warranty as well.
If you're interested, I can find out a bit more information about it and get back to you with exact pricing?
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thegsi
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Registered: 3rd Feb 07
Location: Kidderminster Drives: Evo (you can't afford one)
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Yeh that looks like a good deal Sam. I'll let you know once I've looked into it a little more.
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Sam
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Premium Member
Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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No probs mate.
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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You'll get a 'refurb' dell off ebay with 3 year NBD warranty for that.
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Sam
Moderator
Premium Member
Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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Cool!
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