Laptop for audio school

[Skeletonfish]

Hello LTT Forums

i'm going to be attending audio production school come July (its a ways away but Christmas and stuff) and would like to get a new laptop considering mine is a few years old. it runs great and all but it ways close to the same as a tank and I don't want to be lugging it around day after day.

heres what im looking for:

- Portability not ultrabook slim but still something that won't way me down everyday from carrying it around all day

- Decent battery life

- Power. I want to be able to do at least a little bit of casual gaming in my spare time and also for editing audio which I have a feeling I might need to do

- Thunder bolt would be really nice to have

 

​i hope you guys can point me in the right direction, i was thinking macbook pro but the price and im not sure im ready to switch to OSX

[skimmilk5]

Remember that with OS X and MacBook Pros, you can use Boot Camp Assistant (iSwitched to Mac from Linus on YouTube; search for it) to dual boot with Windows. If you want to go that route, then I would get a mid-2012 non-retina 13". It is the last one to be made with any upgradability in mind, and you can get a kit of Corsair Mac Memory 16GB 1600 MHz for $100 (it's a bit on the expensive side, but is Mac validated). It's better than forking over many hundreds of dollars for only 8 GB of RAM. And you could put an SSD like the Sandisk Extreme Pro, which helps you prevent hard drive oopsies. Apple charges $650 for that sucker. Pay like $150. Don't use the Apple SSD. It's inferior hardware, and it costs way more.

[Guest]

 So is there any decided budget?

[Enderman]

msi GS 60 or 70

or customize your own maingear pulse 15/17 which is a custom build GS laptop with some additional stuff

[luke8733]

I have a Macbook Pro, it is great for school. Battery life is great and I can play games like Minecraft and CS:GO for a long time on decent settings (note that the higher the setting, the more it eats away at the battery). The fans also ramp up and are pretty loud when gaming. OSX is a very good operating system, smooth and efficient. In conclusion, my laptop is very portable, I don't need to carry a charger around, gaming is adequate, and OS X is what pulls me in. Any questions?

[Skeletonfish]

Remember that with OS X and MacBook Pros, you can use Boot Camp Assistant (iSwitched to Mac from Linus on YouTube; search for it) to dual boot with Windows. If you want to go that route, then I would get a mid-2012 non-retina 13". It is the last one to be made with any upgradability in mind, and you can get a kit of Corsair Mac Memory 16GB 1600 MHz for $100 (it's a bit on the expensive side, but is Mac validated). It's better than forking over many hundreds of dollars for only 8 GB of RAM. And you could put an SSD like the Sandisk Extreme Pro, which helps you prevent hard drive oopsies. Apple charges $650 for that sucker. Pay like $150. Don't use the Apple SSD. It's inferior hardware, and it costs way more.

thats not a bad idea but if i go with a 2012 im not gaining much over my current laptop in performance. im just trading in for a more portable one

 

 So is there any decided budget?

not really, cheaper is better

 

msi GS 60 or 70

or customize your own maingear pulse 15/17 which is a custom build GS laptop with some additional stuff

hmmm....

[Skeletonfish]

I have a Macbook Pro, it is great for school. Battery life is great and I can play games like Minecraft and CS:GO for a long time on decent settings (note that the higher the setting, the more it eats away at the battery). The fans also ramp up and are pretty loud when gaming. OSX is a very good operating system, smooth and efficient. In conclusion, my laptop is very portable, I don't need to carry a charger around, gaming is adequate, and OS X is what pulls me in. Any questions?

what year macbook pro do you have? and do think its better for school and just general computing compared to something like a razer blade 14?

[luke8733]

what year macbook pro do you have? and do think its better for school and just general computing compared to something like a razer blade 14?

i have an early-2015 13 inch, with 16GB of RAM. I think both laptops are great choices, but I chose the Macbook Pro because of battery and OSX. I don't care about the graphics on the Razer Blade 14 because after an hour of gaming on high, you're out of battery. I really like the Macbook Pro, but both have pros and cons.

 

Advantages of Macbook Pro: 

CPU power

Portability

Battery

RAM (if you upgrade)

PCIe SSD

OS X

Touch Pad

Durability

 

Advantages of Razer Blade: 

Graphics 

Portability 

Windows 10

Ram (if upgraded)

M.2 SSD

 

I would suggest going to an Apple Store and just browse the web on a Macbook Pro

[Skeletonfish]

i have an early-2015 13 inch, with 16GB of RAM. I think both laptops are great choices, but I chose the Macbook Pro because of battery and OSX. I don't care about the graphics on the Razer Blade 14 because after an hour of gaming on high, you're out of battery. I really like the Macbook Pro, but both have pros and cons.

 

Advantages of Macbook Pro: 

CPU power

Portability

Battery

RAM (if you upgrade)

PCIe SSD

OS X

Touch Pad

Durability

 

Advantages of Razer Blade: 

Graphics 

Portability 

Windows 10

Ram (if upgraded)

M.2 SSD

 

I would suggest going to an Apple Store and just browse the web on a Macbook Pro

thanks for the insight, ill probably go into an apple store someday soon. while im here what do you think of the force touch trackpad? (if yours has it)

[luke8733]

thanks for the insight, ill probably go into an apple store someday soon. while im here what do you think of the force touch trackpad? (if yours has it)

I love it, but it is not a feature that you should necessarily include in a buying decision. It is mainly an add-on, the gestures are nice and responsive. If you do go to an Apple Store, remember to try out all of the trackpad's features. 

[Skeletonfish]

I love it, but it is not a feature that you should necessarily include in a buying decision. It is mainly an add-on, the gestures are nice and responsive. If you do go to an Apple Store, remember to try out all of the trackpad's features. 

Thanks for the help man!

[luke8733]

Thanks for the help man!

Happy to help!