Need a new laptop..

[TechDiff]

..and I'm stressing out. really could use some help and advice or just a soothing voice and a comforting hug :(

 

So I'm midway through writing an album, some tracks finished, some half done, and some just sketches. I've been given a release date to work towards and working hard to meet it.

 

I was busy doing some work on a remix I'd been asked to do, shut down my laptop at the end of the day. next day I go to turn it on and nothing happens. No lights, no indicators, nothing. you don't even get a light when the power supply is connected. After investigation I've managed to figure out that the motherboard is fukt, and the laptop is a goner. Fortunately the HD was ok so I didn't loose anything.

 

so now I've got to find myself a new laptop, one that will be able to run all the programs I need to finish this album, and here's where my worries start.

 

Much to the amusement of friends, I still use FLStudio 4 as my main sequencer. I know they've release like 6 new versions since then with new things and bits and doodads, but they also changed a lot of the things I liked in Version 4, so at least until I can get these tracks finished I like to stick to it.

 

no surprise really, but I can't find any info about whether I'll be able to run FLStudio 4 in Windows 7. anyone have any ideas?

 

Ideally I'd like to find a new laptop with XP installed, but after searching about, they seem rarer than rocking horse shit. so I guess the remaining options are either a second hand laptop (would prefer not to) windows 7 and pray that bridging or whatever works, or what?

 

I also heard that intel MacBooks can run XP, dual boot style. is this right or have they stopped supporting XP too now that Windows 7 is about? I also heard about those shell type programs like parallels which seem to allow you to run XP programs, but I wonder how well they'll work for music stuff where latency is important.

 

Honestly, any help or advice on this is really appreciated!!!

 

basic Criteria is: something that I can install FLStudio 4 on, doesn't cost a fortune, sturdy enough for gigging.

 

Thanks in advance.

[GatorGreen]

Windows 7 will run FL Studio 4 just as well as XP. If you're going to run Windows anyway, you would probably be better off getting a "PC" laptop than a Mac. Lenovo ThinkPads are quite sturdy, but there's plenty of other choices that would suit you just as well.

[TechDiff]

Cool, thanks for the reply. To be honest it's probably a bit of a dumb question in the first place, but it's better to ask these things and look stupid than to stay silent and prove your stupidity. I'd hate to fork out on a laptop that can't do what I bought it for.

 

with that said, here's another stupid question, just in order to clarify stuff. I'm assuming Windows 7 is a 64bit OS, and will come in many different flavours (home, professional and so on). Will all versions be as backwards compatible as you suggest?

 

you're right though, I'd certainly prefer a windows machine to a mac, but I'm eager to explore all possibilities.

 

I had been looking at the lenovo thinkpads already, but to be honest they seem slightly underpowered compared to other things in the same price range, although they do look pretty solid.

 

I've just been up most of the night, seeing what's about. Quite tempted to go with one of these gaming laptop companies. Most spec their machines with fast processors, plenty of ram, and loads of HD space as well. The powerful graphics cards are a bit superfluous to my music needs at the moment, but will come in useful for an AV project I've begun working on.

 

Just been eyeing up the Asus laptops, specifically the G53 and G73 models, anyone have any experience using these?

 

They sell at a huge mark up in the UK, but there's quite a few on eBay for less than £1000, from apparently reliable sellers. Again, anyone have any experience in buying laptops this way? Don't want to get ripped off, but also don't want to spend unnecessary cash.

 

once more, sorry for the no doubt idiotic questions. I'm a bit clueless with this sort of thing.

[Guest hahathhat]

+like1tweetyes on lenovo thinkpads

[Hautlle]

Cool, thanks for the reply. To be honest it's probably a bit of a dumb question in the first place, but it's better to ask these things and look stupid than to stay silent and prove your stupidity. I'd hate to fork out on a laptop that can't do what I bought it for.

 

with that said, here's another stupid question, just in order to clarify stuff. I'm assuming Windows 7 is a 64bit OS, and will come in many different flavours (home, professional and so on). Will all versions be as backwards compatible as you suggest?

 

you're right though, I'd certainly prefer a windows machine to a mac, but I'm eager to explore all possibilities.

 

I had been looking at the lenovo thinkpads already, but to be honest they seem slightly underpowered compared to other things in the same price range, although they do look pretty solid.

 

I've just been up most of the night, seeing what's about. Quite tempted to go with one of these gaming laptop companies. Most spec their machines with fast processors, plenty of ram, and loads of HD space as well. The powerful graphics cards are a bit superfluous to my music needs at the moment, but will come in useful for an AV project I've begun working on.

 

Just been eyeing up the Asus laptops, specifically the G53 and G73 models, anyone have any experience using these?

 

They sell at a huge mark up in the UK, but there's quite a few on eBay for less than £1000, from apparently reliable sellers. Again, anyone have any experience in buying laptops this way? Don't want to get ripped off, but also don't want to spend unnecessary cash.

 

once more, sorry for the no doubt idiotic questions. I'm a bit clueless with this sort of thing.

 

Not sure about those exact models, but my Asus has been going strong for about 2 and a half years now. I even dropped it and all it did was chip a bit of the plastic off the corner/deform it very very slightly. They definitely get my approval, and I usually hear others say good things about them.

[Guest sirch]

..and I'm stressing out. really could use some help and advice or just a soothing voice and a comforting hug :(

 

So I'm midway through writing an album, some tracks finished, some half done, and some just sketches. I've been given a release date to work towards and working hard to meet it.

 

I was busy doing some work on a remix I'd been asked to do, shut down my laptop at the end of the day. next day I go to turn it on and nothing happens. No lights, no indicators, nothing. you don't even get a light when the power supply is connected. After investigation I've managed to figure out that the motherboard is fukt, and the laptop is a goner. Fortunately the HD was ok so I didn't loose anything.

 

so now I've got to find myself a new laptop, one that will be able to run all the programs I need to finish this album, and here's where my worries start.

 

Much to the amusement of friends, I still use FLStudio 4 as my main sequencer. I know they've release like 6 new versions since then with new things and bits and doodads, but they also changed a lot of the things I liked in Version 4, so at least until I can get these tracks finished I like to stick to it.

 

no surprise really, but I can't find any info about whether I'll be able to run FLStudio 4 in Windows 7. anyone have any ideas?

 

Ideally I'd like to find a new laptop with XP installed, but after searching about, they seem rarer than rocking horse shit. so I guess the remaining options are either a second hand laptop (would prefer not to) windows 7 and pray that bridging or whatever works, or what?

 

I also heard that intel MacBooks can run XP, dual boot style. is this right or have they stopped supporting XP too now that Windows 7 is about? I also heard about those shell type programs like parallels which seem to allow you to run XP programs, but I wonder how well they'll work for music stuff where latency is important.

 

Honestly, any help or advice on this is really appreciated!!!

 

basic Criteria is: something that I can install FLStudio 4 on, doesn't cost a fortune, sturdy enough for gigging.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Holy shit, you made those tracks on your myspace with FL Studio 4?

[Guest Sprigg]

You really won't go wrong with an Asus... and I don't know much about Windows 7, but my friends with the 64-bit version can't run a lot of older programs, so I would try to get 32-bit. But I may be talking out of my ass here, I don't know.

[TechDiff]

again, thanks for all the advice!

 

I'm really glad I asked now, because this:

Windows 7 will run FL Studio 4 just as well as XP.

 

sounds brilliant! However this:

You really won't go wrong with an Asus... and I don't know much about Windows 7, but my friends with the 64-bit version can't run a lot of older programs, so I would try to get 32-bit. But I may be talking out of my ass here, I don't know.

 

Sounds like classic Microsoft headaches. From what I understand now, it's also only with professional and premium installs of Win7, Home does not allow for backwards compatibility. Honestly this kinda stuff is the exact reason I tend to ignore updates and such, more than likely to render at least one aspect of your work flow or environment completely redundant.

 

Holy shit, you made those tracks on your myspace with FL Studio 4?

 

Hahah, yeah man, why not? well FLStudio and Reaktor more or less. Been trying to limit myself as much as possible. I've a couple other vsti plugs that get used on occasion, but mostly just these two. stoked you liked then tracks though, they're well old I think. Haven't put anything up in a long time because for a while everything I put up was surfacing all over slsk etc. The Distro is great but it kinda spoils the surprise of a full release IMO. Loads of new things scheduled for the rest of the year though. 12" and MP3 release of breakcore/hardcore stuff on Peace Off mid October, an album of slower aggressive elecro IDM glitchy stuff on Ad Noiseam around November, and then hopefully another free EP of acidy braindance stuff with the side project. will put some links up on here somewhere as things come out.

 

Good to see that Asus are pretty reputable. Had a tour around the PC shops in town today and I'm completely baffled by the shite that some of them are peddling. Most feel like they're built from wafers and will just disintegrate after a months use. either that or they're so utterly butt ugly that I'd feel like a right twat staring at it for hours on end.

 

The Asus ones I mentioned earlier still seem the best option. I did see a pretty cool vaio earlier, but my last 2 have been Sony and not exactly amazing. not bad, just not great.

 

the other thing with the Asus is that they're significantly cheeper through eBay than in a shop here. If I get one shipped from the states it saves me almost 50% Also Asus offer a global warranty meaning that where ever in the world it breaks down, I can take it to the nearest Asus repair centre and get it fixed.

 

basically I'm sold on that at the moment, so long as I can confirm that FLStudio will run. Might just have to find a friend who won't object to installing some dusty old software to test the theory.

 

still if anyone has any other recommends, I'd really appreciate em!

 

thanks everyone, massive help!

[Hautlle]

Is FLStudio 9 not backwards compatible with older saves? Just wondering why you wouldn't bother updating everything in one go. AFAIK they haven't removed stuff, just moved it around and added features (it's been a few years since I last used FL though, so I may be wrong)

[Guest Adam]

not yet afaik. patern blocks will be completely removed in fl11. now you can still use them, though I see no point.

[soundwave]

ebuyer.com have good laptop deals and clearences but its not the best time of year for this as students are buying for september

[Guest sirch]

 

Holy shit, you made those tracks on your myspace with FL Studio 4?

 

Hahah, yeah man, why not? well FLStudio and Reaktor more or less. Been trying to limit myself as much as possible. I've a couple other vsti plugs that get used on occasion, but mostly just these two. stoked you liked then tracks though, they're well old I think. Haven't put anything up in a long time because for a while everything I put up was surfacing all over slsk etc. The Distro is great but it kinda spoils the surprise of a full release IMO. Loads of new things scheduled for the rest of the year though. 12" and MP3 release of breakcore/hardcore stuff on Peace Off mid October, an album of slower aggressive elecro IDM glitchy stuff on Ad Noiseam around November, and then hopefully another free EP of acidy braindance stuff with the side project. will put some links up on here somewhere as things come out.

 

 

yeah i really like those tracks on myspace! i think i've said it before, ages ago, but they kinda sound like Aphex/Ae doing a bit of dubstep, to me. really cool sounding stuff mate! and very well mixed, too.

definitely keep us informed. cheers!

[Guest mollekula]

im not into breakcore really, but i was listening to these tracks of yours on myspace and they are freaking good

 

an album of slower aggressive elecro IDM glitchy stuff on Ad Noiseam around November

:wtf: a m a z i n gggg!!!

[TechDiff]

Is FLStudio 9 not backwards compatible with older saves? Just wondering why you wouldn't bother updating everything in one go. AFAIK they haven't removed stuff, just moved it around and added features (it's been a few years since I last used FL though, so I may be wrong)

 

well here's the interesting thing. new versions are compatible with old FL files, as I they will open. But many of the improvements on some of the generators, in particular the simple samplers and granulizer channels mean they behave very differently. I've got a load of tricks that I use with both these generators that just can't be done with the newer versions. It's weird and frustrating. have considered trying to replace the .dll files in FL9 with the ones from FL4, but honestly can't imagine it'd work.

 

im not into breakcore really,

 

Hahaha, can't say I blame you tbh. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with it myself. absolutely love playing it out, but I don't get the quite the same kicks out of making it as I used to. At the moment I'm getting more joy out of working at slower bpms, you can get away with lots more little details without them flying past unnoticed.

 

So I've kinda whittled my options down to a few different laptops. Visited some PC shops in town today, one place had a year old Alienware laptop which looked pretty solid for £800. Build quality looked awesome, decent enough processor and a decent chunk of ram. Only downer is only 3 months warranty and no way of extending it. (and the glowing keyboard nonsense was a bit lame)

 

Plus points: Solid as a rock, decent CPU and Ram, Great GFX card

Neg points: Heavy as a rock, short warranty,

 

I also found a decent Sony Vaio, again around £800. slightly better specs than the Alienware, but build quality seemed mediocre and my previous experiences with vaios put me off a bit, their after sales support is laughable.

 

Plus points: Good CPU and Ram

Neg points: Sony built quality, Sony support, General Sony-ness

 

there's the Asus I mentioned previously, looks like a fantastic machine. My only reservations are the fact that I'd been shipping it across from the states. Might have to pay a huge duty tax, some sort of carrier fee, and then VAT on top of that. it's very difficult to calculate how much that could add up to, but could quite possibly turn a £800 bargain laptop into a £1000 hastle.

 

Plus points: Awesome spec, solid build, great warranty

Neg points: International shipping and possible additional expenses, invisible lines on the world.

 

Last option, which I hadn't really considered too much, saw a not quite brand new 13" MacBook pro for £850. I'm not much of a mac person, but have always been impressed by the build quality. friend of mine was round a while back with one of these and I did find myself lusting over it a bit. I've heard that using bootcamp to stick windows onto them is easy peasy, but things aren't always as easy as they're supposed to be. The allure of it is that it looks solid enough and small enough for gigging, and the warranty can be extended for another 2 years. Downside is the potential faf of installing Windows XP/7, and trying to get all the hardware and software to get along.

 

plus points: Decent spec, solid build quality, nice and portable, extendable warranty

neg points: Potential nightmare forcing a second OS onto it and getting it running properly.

 

Pfff... Tricky choices to be made, need to sleep on this one I think.

[Guest Mookid]

get a mac! windows is a big sturdy boner up the ass! can't stand it! I've been using mac for 7-8 years now and will never go back to pcs!

i say, get a mac and start learning Reason! with Reason 6 right around the corner, things are getting even better!

[acid1]

As much as I'd like to endorse Macs as well, if PC's is what you are used to and FL4 is what you will be using, I'd say go with a Sony or IBM. Overall, neither laptop will break down quickly due to shortcuts taken with the hardware.

 

I had a nightmare situation with an Alienware that died twice in 2 years and caused me to lose hundreds of songs. I've also lost 3 Asus motherboards so they don't rank highly with me.

 

Actually get whatever laptop you want, just make sure you get a back up server.

[TechDiff]

Well, I ended up getting a mac. While I've never been much of a mac person, after looking at what else was available it just seamed the logical option.

 

Managed to find a 4 month old well spec'ed second hand 13" macbook pro for about £200 less than retail, and when comparing the build quality to any PC's for the same price, well there was no comparison tbh.

 

Had it for a couple days now, and Im now kicking myself, wishing I had done this years ago. The laptop came with OS X Lion, but I got a disk to downgrade to Snow Leopard. Easy as pie to do. I've installed Windows XP SP3 on a partition and it works like an absolute charm, better than it did on my old PC laptop!

 

This feels like the best of both worlds now. A very stable Windows platform for most of my music work. And running OS X means I'm no longer jealous of people running Logic and other Mac specific programs.

 

I'd seriously recommend the same route for other XP lovers looking for a new laptop. Trying to force XP onto a new PC laptop is going to be incredibly tricky now, tracking down forceware drivers and so on. And ultimately it will never run as smoothly as it could. So long as you can get Snow Leopard installed, your install disk will have all the drivers needed for a XP install, and BootCamp will even guide you through the process.

 

Anyways, chuffed to bits! Thanks for everyones help, cant wait to get back to work and hopefully share the results with everyone!

[hardcode]

congrats

[TechDiff]

get a mac! windows is a big sturdy boner up the ass! can't stand it! I've been using mac for 7-8 years now and will never go back to pcs! i say, get a mac and start learning Reason! with Reason 6 right around the corner, things are getting even better!

 

Well tbh, it's completely a matter of taste. I hear a lot of people go on about how Windows is such a bore, but I just don't get that myself, suits me to the ground and I have no inclination to change.

 

Used to use Reason, long time ago, well dabbled is probably a better word choice. Again it just didn't click with me. It has a very characteristic sound quality which to me defeats the purpose of a DAW. FL is far from transparent itself, but it does make an incredibly efficient host. As about 80% of my sound design is done in Reaktor, Reasons lack of VST support renders it more or less useless to me.

 

But, in so far as getting a mac, well Im with you there. Works like a charm , runs windows XP beautifully, and feels solid enough for gigging.

[Guest Blanket Fort Collapse]

I'd seriously recommend the same route for other XP lovers looking for a new laptop. Trying to force XP onto a new PC laptop is going to be incredibly tricky now, tracking down forceware drivers and so on.

They just don't make drivers for XP with new laptops you are saying? Only problem I have ever encountered is putting the Sata drivers on the XP cd. I have never heard of forceware. I'm about to build a new desktop which I will use an XP SP3 partition for music recording and performing and Windows 7 for games n other unproductives.

 

I hope it's not impossible to use XP on some new desktop hardware in the next few years.

[Guest mollekula]

I hope it's not impossible to use XP on some new desktop hardware in the next few years.

 

why? is there such a possibility?

[Guest extherium]

+like1tweetyes on lenovo thinkpads

 

I would have recommended one of these as well. Great for all kinds of media and awesome performance to boot.

 

Buy online on the weekend -- they usually run discounts then and you can pick up the Intel i7 version for less than $1000, incl. accessories.

[TechDiff]

They just don't make drivers for XP with new laptops you are saying? Only problem I have ever encountered is putting the Sata drivers on the XP cd. I have never heard of forceware. I'm about to build a new desktop which I will use an XP SP3 partition for music recording and performing and Windows 7 for games n other unproductives.

 

I hope it's not impossible to use XP on some new desktop hardware in the next few years.

I hope it's not impossible to use XP on some new desktop hardware in the next few years.

 

why? is there such a possibility?

 

Well, I can only really talk from a laptop point of view. But the issue is that as Windows XP becomes more and more redundant, so too does the motivation for manufacturers to develop XP drivers for their hardware. Similarly, many laptop drivers surfaced through the OEM driver installers that come with new laptops. As companies no longer made new machines with XP installed, there would be no point in them creating driver CD's with XP drivers on them.

 

For example, my last laptop had am NVidea Graphics card for which there was no official XP driver. The way NVidea driver installers work is by scanning the system for supported hardware, and then running the appropriate install. Of course if I ran the installer it would not recognise any supported hardware. This is where "Forceware" comes in. Basically its an installer from either a newer OS or and older model, with a modified .inf file, it forces the installation process to recognise the graphics card and complete installation.

 

The issue here is that the driver will never be 100% percent compatible with the device you're trying to use it with, and this can lead to all manner of issues. There is a relatively vibrant online community of people who modify these .inf files, but it is reaching the point where hardware and XP compatibility is completely reliant of these people, and having a computer than is completely reliant on Hacks is far from confidence inspiring.

 

The sata drivers issue is another one I know all too well, there are quite a few ways around it though.

 

The first one like you mention is slipstreaming. ie making a new .iso file which combines both the Windows XP files and the chipset/sata drivers. There's programs out there specifically design for this task, NLite for example. I've had mixed results with these, it's a long and boring process.

 

Second option is an already compiled slipstream installer. You'll find online some lovely people who have already created slipstream installers, which have included many many different chipset drivers and all kinds of things. Some of these are several gigs in size. Basically its the kinda thing your local computer sop will have made for themselves, so that when they have to do a full reinstall of an OS they can just stick one disk in, and avoid tracking down loads of drivers. These work very well, providing you dont end up with driver conflicts.

 

Third option is the good old fashioned way. Copying all your sata drivers onto a floppy disk, and adding them to the XP install during start up. F2 to install additional drivers thing. This option works fine, so long as you can find the sata driver, and also find a floppy drive that is supported for this task. Not all of them are!

 

While I dont think its impossible to build a new desktop for running XP on, I'd highly recommend checking for the availability of appropriate drivers before purchasing any components. Save yourself the headaches further down the line.

 

Ive had to go through this whole process a few times. My last laptop came with Vista installed and required a lot of head scratching and driver hunting in order to downgrade to XP. My girlfriend bought herself a new laptop about a year ago and she wanted XP on it. It took about 3 months to get it working as so many of the components did not have XP drivers available. So much forceware on that thing it's not funny. Even then it's not completely sorted, gave up tring to find compatible drivers for the wireless card, SD card reader, and Bluetooth, so those components just dont work.

[BCM]

So long as you can get Snow Leopard installed, your install disk will have all the drivers needed for a XP install, and BootCamp will even guide you through the process.

 

does XP not work if you have OSX Lion then? didn't know that...is it to do with Lion being 64bit only or something? I have just bought a new iMac to replace my beloved but sadly ageing Macbook...came with Snow Leopard, but took the free upgrade to Lion (got Lion on my Macbook and love it, so wanted to get the same on this new iMac).

[acid1]

Congrats on your Mac, you won't regret it ... until you get trolled into a pointless pc vs mac debate thread sometime.