Although the season might look a bit different this year, due to the pandemic, students are returning to classrooms, nonetheless. The beginning of the school year is a time when many students are in the market for a new laptop, and if you’re interested in using your new computer to compose, produce, record, or mix music, there are some things you should keep in mind while shopping. Ten years ago, only the highest-end laptops were powerful enough to take on the task of real-time audio processing, and even still, they paled in comparison to the desktop machines of the day. In 2021, those days are long gone, and the promise of a mobile, high-performance music production studio is now a reality. So, let’s go over the ins and outs of buying a laptop for music production and pro audio.
When it comes to choosing a formidable music production weapon, there are, universally, certain specs that you’ll want to look for to ensure top performance. And then, there are those specs that can be sacrificed to cut costs.
The first important thing you need to consider is what DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) you’ll be using, and for which platforms it’s available. Most DAWs, such as Pro Tools, Ableton Live, and Cubase, are available for Mac or Windows. Others are only available for one or the other, such as Logic, which is Mac-only. Conversely, FL Studio is Windows-only.
Once you’ve narrowed your search by platform, you can start thinking about processing power, and for music production and recording, you’ll need a healthy dose of it. In the old days, capable machines were much harder to come by, and some DAW software developers used to qualify only specific computers on a case-by-case basis. But, now that powerful laptop processors have become more prevalent and affordable, you don’t have to do as much detailed research to qualify a machine. But still, there are some simple guidelines to follow.
Basically, you’ll want the fastest CPU that you can afford. The faster your processor is, the higher the track count, and the more mixing plug-ins and virtual instruments your computer will be able to play back without clicks and pops occurring from CPU overloads. Also, you’ll be able to use more plug-ins at lower sample hardware buffer sizes, which means lower latency, and a more responsive system. However, I recommend that you search for a laptop with the fastest single-core performance you can afford.
The next thing to look at is RAM, or Random Access Memory, which is where your computer temporarily stores information for use, like project files and samples. With most DAWs now supporting 64-bit operation, we have virtually unlimited access to the amount of RAM we can utilize, which means producers can create larger and more complex projects, without the need for cumbersome workarounds. I recommend 8 to 16GB of RAM, unless you’re using a lot of multi-sample based VSTs like EastWest, for instance, in which case I’d recommend a minimum of 16GB, and preferably more.
The Cost-to-Performance Ratio
Internal hard drives are another important factor. Obviously, you’ll want as much storage as possible for housing all your software and samples, but another big consideration is speed. In 2021, an internal SSD with at least 1TB of storage is the minimum I would recommend for music production.
While having two internal SSDs built into your laptop is certainly a convenience for storing large sample libraries and project files, that extra SSD often incurs a heavier price tag. As a cost-friendlier alternative, consider picking up a portable hard drive if you start running low on disk space.
B&H carries a full catalog of portable external drives that should solve your storage needs. One that really impressed us in our hands-on review is the Samsung T7 Portable SSD. Utilizing non-volatile memory express (NVMe) technology, the T7 can achieve the kind of read/write speeds you will likely want for transferring large files. The T7 offers plenty of additional features as well, including up to 2TB of storage and some seriously heavy-duty data encryption. The big one, though—at least for music production—is speed, on which the T7 wholly delivers. Do keep in mind that because the T7 is an NVMe drive, your laptop will need to have an NVMe drive, as well, to reach its max transfer speeds.
Another point that shouldn’t be looked over is USB connectivity. For portable production, it’s nice to have plenty of USB connectivity without having to use a USB hub. I would recommend a minimum of three, and preferably four, USB ports for connecting devices like dongles, drives, MIDI controllers, and more. Speaking of USB devices for laptops, I highly recommend a portable DAC like the AudioQuest DragonFly for laptop production on the go. Most laptops don’t have very good sound cards, and the DragonFly will give you more accurate sound reproduction, in a tiny package. And, while you’re at it, you may also want to pick up a great pair of isolation headphones like the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x.
Now for a spec you can skimp on. While certain plug-ins will utilize a dedicated GPU to render their graphic user interfaces, this kind of operation doesn’t require the kind of intensive processing power that gaming or video editing would. Not that a dedicated graphics card would hurt, but, you don’t need to break the bank going for the top NVIDIA or AMD models. In fact, the integrated Intel® graphics will do just fine for audio applications, and going this route can save you money, or let you put those funds toward a faster processor.
Now that you know the main points to look out for, here are some models that I recommend.
Apple 16" MacBook Pro (Late 2019)
This beast of a Mac features a blazing fast 2.3 GHz Intel® Core™ i9 8-Core processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Its only cons are its high price, and, like all newer Mac laptops, you can’t expand the RAM or upgrade the hard drive. It also features four Thunderbolt™ 3 ports that also allow you to use USB 2.0 and 3.0 devices using an adapter, so you can easily add a portable drive for project files.
Apple 13.3" MacBook Pro M1 Chip with Retina Display (Late 2020)
If you’re OK with the smaller screen, you can’t go wrong with this late 2020 MacBook Pro. Considerably more affordable than its 16" bigger sibling, this 13.3" MacBook Pro is also plenty capable, featuring Apple’s speedy M1 chip, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.
Acer 15.6" Predator Triton 500 Gaming Laptop
As it turns out, gaming laptops make great music-production laptops. Who knew? Anyway, this machine packs an incredible amount of power, and flexibility, for a great price.
It checks all the boxes—2.6 GHz Intel® Core™ i7-10750H 6-Core processor, 16GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, two USB ports, and a Thunderbolt™ 3 port. And, as with most Windows-based machines, if you want to upgrade to, say, a larger internal SSD in the future, it is possible—whereas with Mac, it’s not.
MSI 17.3" GL75 Leopard 10SDR-636 Gaming Laptop
This MSI notebook is my “diamond in the rough” pick and is, by far, the most affordable of the bunch. It has the same 2.6 GHz Intel® Core™ i7-10750H 6-Core processor as the Acer above, a 256GB SSD for your programs, and a large second 1TB 7200-rpm magnetic drive for project files and samples. While the 256GB SSD is a bit on the light side, keep in mind that this disk is only meant to hold your programs, while all of your samples and recordings will live on the much larger 1TB magnetic drive. If you don’t intend on installing a ton of programs, this may be the option for you. Plus, you can always upgrade the SSD if you start running low on storage space.
Hopefully, we have answered some questions for you, and this can serve as a guide to your quest for the perfect music-production laptop. Thanks for reading, and I encourage you to leave your questions and thoughts in the Comments section, below.
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