i think it's more appropriate to ask here instead of at mobile computing
i wanna buy laptop for my music playing & am wondering whether netbook spec (atom 1.6Ghz, 1 or 2GB RAM) is good enough. i want to connect my guitar & keyboard thru usb midi interface & play thru software. currently i use my vaio (C2D 2.5GHz, 2GB RAM) for this & i manage to use both soft-synth (keyboard) & amplitube (guitar) at the same time with no lag whatsoever. the amplitube is showing around 8% of CPU usage. any comment is highly appreciated.

rgds

This post has been edited by ajay67: Dec 16 2008, 10:57 AM

i guess the atom processors are catered for a more lighter usage.. like documents and internet surfing with multitasking of music in the background.. i think your Vaio now is already perfect..

yeah the vaio is good but it belongs to the office, not my personal one . i'm thinking if i can have smaller one for portability.

if you strictly want mobility, get the 2nd most powerful laptop you can get nowadays, because the 1st rate laptop is always too expensive.

your vaio is enough for what you want. don't let the CPU go over 70% full load, cause your system also need power to run the normal task and graphic stuffs. better to get a more powerful CPU than a ngam ngam enough one. regarding that atom, i doubt the 1.6ghz can give you as smooth performance as the vaio.

most importantly, your hdd have to be at least 5400rpm, or best, replace a 7200 rpm. defrag hdd often, cause laptop hdd is not as responsive as regular desktop hdd especially a 5400rpm hdd.

Well, i've an ATOM 330 mini-itx desktop....how do u connect the MIDI cable? Via USB? I used to have one but i think that connects to the 'gameport'..which is extinct on most mobo today.

Are u doing real-time recording as well? If yes, i thin u better get a more powerful rig.

This post has been edited by Matrix: Dec 15 2008, 12:18 PM

sorry.. what is ATOM 330? is it equivalent to 1.6Ghz ATOM processor on netbook? as mentioned, i connect my equipment thru a usb midi interface (Infrasonic AMON). no i don't do do real-time recording, just playing live. i read a review on one netbook (forgot which one) which can handle ableton.

Nope. Not powerful enough. I experimented with my MSI Wind nettop and the lag was horrible for my Line6 UX2.

that's the answer i wanna hear (or actually don't wanna hear ) from someone who actually tried it..
just for the record, yr MSI got 1gb or 2gb ram?

ur not gonna be recording, but playing live...

so why not get a modelling amp?

or if its portability u want, get one of those multi-fx like the Vox tonelab SE for under rm900.
well, its not as portable as a netbook, but it will be better and u can always hook it up to the PA for shows.

This post has been edited by Everdying: Dec 15 2008, 02:12 PM

but that's only for guitar, isn't it? that's just half of my story

Computers crash. Especially windows. If you're willing to risk that during your live playing sessions....

Unless you really strip down all the processes running in the background to a minimum. But even then it's risky business.

As for a netbook, it probably won't be good enough. Get a laptop with plenty of RAM. I don't really think processor speed matters. It's the processor type i guess. Because 1.6GHz should be enough to run the modellers decently.

no i don't think screen resolution matters. we are not talking about high-graphic games here. but i agree RAM is the main thing but not the only thing. otherwise a 2GB RAM netbook should be enough for me considering 2GB RAM vaio can perform to my expectation.

so, blacktrix, if your MSI wind got 2GB RAM & still fail, i'll drop this idea of getting a netbook for this purpose..

Yes. I have 2gigs of RAM. The processor just isn't powerful enough.

thanks! so the next question would be : what is the minimum spec for a notebook for this purpose? probably any C2D one with 2GB RAM should suffice?

I run my audio recording software on my Acer 5920G.
Core 2 Duo (2.0 ghz), 2 gig RAM, modified Mac OSX.
I used that for a promo for Nissan, not a problem.

you'd be fine as long as it's C2D.

hmm.. i gotta think back which is the best way for me..
the reason i wanted to go for the netbook way is portability. i usually bring my guitar, effects & keyboard to the jamming session which is quite troublesome. thus initially my idea is to leave the effects & keyboard behind & bring a smaller midi controller & laptop. my second option is get myself a smaller keyboard, & eliminate the need for a laptop altogether. what do you all think?

i setup my turntables with Mixvibes DVS (Digital Vinyl System) on my asus EEEPC 1000H together with ESI U46DJ soundcard... on minimal settings .... smooth as butter...no problem .. mixing scratching etc...

i'm not familiar with DJ equipment..
do you connect thru MIDI or line in?

sorry i don't connect to any line in or midi ....
i am using a USB soundcard ... so i use the USB port instead.....
so if you are talking about midi device , that midi device should has a USB cable that can be connected to your laptop/pc/netbook etc..