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I am currently running the free version of haultwerk on my new VPO, which by the way I LOVE having a VPO !! I am using about a nine or ten yr old laptop to run it. We want to get a new laptop anyway and so I want to get one that will have enough memory and power etc to run my vpo. For now we will also use it as our personal computer. I haven’t determined yet what version of hauptwerk I may want at some point but I would hate to buy a laptop and then get down the road and decide to buy software and / or sample sets and have it turn out that my laptop doesn’t have enough memory or not a good enough processor etc. I am hoping that some of you can list some specific current laptop models that I can consider that will be adequate. August (so they say) is a great time to buy a laptop because of back to school(college) sales that are happening right now. I would be grateful for laptop suggestions please. (All the choices out there are overwhelming to someone not that knowledgeable about the specs etc). Then I can go hunting for the best price on specific models. Thank you !!!
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Go for a laptop with at least a minimum of 8GB of Ram, (If you can afford 16GB the better) also go for an SSD with a minimum of 512GB ((If you can afford 1TB even better) and preferable an M2 version that uses PCIe as its interface, (Its typically 4 times faster than SATA Interface) the CPU should be the most powerful you can afford and best sticking with Intel as some music software can have problems with AMD, (A laptop with a touch screen would also help with Hauptwerk) you will also need a proper Midi/Audio interface (Steinberg make some reasonably priced USB interfaces) to get the best sound along with a decent set of speakers. (A subwoofer would also help with Hauptwerk)
After that just look for a laptop that does whatever else you want. (The personal feel (Particularly the keyboard) is always an important thing that people forget)
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Personally I would find a used Mac and run HW on it... either an iMac, Mac Pro Silver or a Mac Mini would work very well... be reliable and be upgradeable (depending on model). You can use a touchscreen, or if you want to save on costs just hook up a used monitor and a keyboard/mouse to set your presets.
The downsides to using a Laptop for HW are:
- You'll continually have to hook up the laptop and all cables when you want to play.
- Laptops tend to have mobile-optimized processors... so are slower even though it says i3 or i5 on teh specifications since the mobile model is slowed down to save battery power.
- Laptops generally support less memory than desktop computers (in the event you wish to upgrade HW or your sample sets).
I know this didn't really give you the answer you asked for, but it's definitely the way I would lean to...Comment
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Also look at how many RAM the sample require that you want to use and make provision for some spare RAM that your operating system use to havecRAM leftComment
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8 GB is probably not enough. Depending on which sample sets you want to use, you might need up to 32 if you are using surround. Even so, you probably need a minimum of 16.Comment
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I don't know. The current model PC's I'm looking at online still have 250GB to 500GB SSD drives with 1TB or 2TB SATA storage drives standard. That says to me that insisting on a 1TB SSD puts you right at the cutting edge and I don't even want to know the $$$$ because the I5/250GB/16GB machines are around $800USD. I'm not seeing HW specifically ask for SSD's that large. It's the RAM that shouldn't be skimped on, I think. I just bought and am communicating with you all on a 15/8GB/500GB HD (no SSD) I got off Craigslist for $120. I'm staying in touch with the builder because I am going to have him build a Mac (his recommendation) box for my VPO. He assures me he can do it for around $250. Xeon processor, 16 - 32 GB, 250 - 500 SSD. No laptop can touch that. I'm in Portland and this builder is local to me but if anyone needs a VPO box and can't locate something similar can PM me. I'll put you in touch with the computer builder (who does laptops if you insist) and maybe it can be shipped within the country.Comment
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I do need to stick w getting a laptop for now because I want the portability as this will also be our personal computer , not just for the vpo right now anyway. I saw an ad for a Dell Inspiron touchscreen laptop that has 16gb. I’m trying to see how to post a picture of the specs but I’m not seeing how to add a photo. It’s on sale for $925 at Best Buy. SSD 512gb. Intel 8th generation core i7 processor. How do those specs sound ....adequate? Thank you all so much for helpingComment
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6th gen I5/8-16GB/250GB is plenty for a stopgap machine that you may upgrade later. HW Mt. Carmel Skinner will load wet samples into 8GB, 16GB and you can load dry samples. Why it matters? Because you will be miserable (I would be) trying to play an organ from a 15" touchscreen. You really want to save some money by buying a used or de-spec'd (or both) sound engine so you can buy dedicated touch screens for the console. If you own smartphones you already have more computing power in a mobile format than Shuttle astronauts have. Your proposed Dell laptop costs more than my Dell Desktop, the planned for Mac VPO sound engine (desktop) and our two iPhone 5s's together! And you will not have the flexibility or the performance to show for all that $$$ outlay. Just saying.Comment
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Keep in mind, that the basic edition of Hauptwerk supports no more than 3 GB memory, so unless you're planning on purchasing the Advanced version, virtually any laptop on the market today will have more than enough RAM.Comment
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