Laptops are particularly cheap now for 2 reasons: 1.) the release of Windows 7 this week, 2.) The introduction of netbooks into the market place (mini laptops that are less expensive but also less powerful).

So, last week I picked up an Acer 5536 from Newegg.com for $450. It has a 15.6 screen, 3 GB of DDR2 RAM, 320 GB Hitachi hard drive, 4 USB2 ports, HDMI port, DVD burner, Athlon X2 64 dual core CPU, Gigabit ethernet port, 56k modem port (won't ever use), VGA port, 6-cell battery 2-3 hours, built in web cam, 5-1 card reader, built in WiFi B/G/Draft N. Weights 6 lbs. Only downsides - no Expressport, no Firewire, no Bluetooth. For $450 I can live without these.

Immediately installed 64bit Windows 7 Ultimate erasing the Vista that came with it. Works great and will address the extra memory in this machine.

Next, onto installing Pro Tools LE that came with Eleven Rack. Not officially supported but it did install successfully - except for Mac HFS compatibility but that's really no biggie. Plugged my Eleven Rack into the USB port, launched Pro Tools LE and it works! Was able to record 3 tracks of guitar (1 mono dry, 1 stereo processed) and play back a few tracks no issues to the internal drive.

I wish Pro Tools LE could pass audio to the internal sound card in the laptop so I don't have to buy their Micro dongle if I want to listen/mix sessions without the Eleven rack. I also wish Pro Tools LE had an input monitor mode like the HD system does so you can playback a track and listen to your guitar without having to record. Hopefully Digidesign comes out with a Window 7 64-bit compatible version soon.

Overall though, I now have a portable system for a pretty low cost.

Why not buy a Mac book? Costs too much.

Does the Acer used shared memory for video? With laptops I find it is always best to get one that does not use shared memory for video.

It does. The video is ATI Radeon HD 3200 (RS780M) 256MB (up to 512MB) shared video memory. Hasn't been a problem for me. I don't expect to do any gaming on this machine although it could probably handle some light gaming... http://computermonger.com/ati-mobility-radeon-hd-3200-review-benchmark.html

??? I think 32 bit OSes will address up to 4 gigs of RAM. You didn't need to go to 64 bit Win7 to address your 3 gigs. That is only necessary for OVER 4 gigs.



Exactly. Avid/DigiDesign is happy to lock you in...



You'd have a more portable, lower cost system if you simply DL-ed REAPER, HERE for a paltry $60 (it's 64 bit already, too...)




Fixed.

Yeah, but if you GOTTA have Pro Tools, you're on that treadmill...PTLE is very handy, but the intentional crippling is so dated.

Knife - Reaper looks interesting, though, not for me because I want Pro Tools integration.

Sean - what DAW are you using these days? Pro Tools LE? HD? Can you give a brief description of your rig?

Justin, at my place I have SONAR 8.5PE with MOTU HD192s and a 24i/o, and PTLE 8 with the 002R and ADA8000's. No one cares. Working great on a dual 3.2 PC with XP. I keep toying with the idea of PTHD, but SONAR does everything I need, and the sound quality is excellent. PTLE is enough for band tracking, but SONAR HD is much preferred.

Cool. I'll have to check out SONAR HD.

Well, I call it SONAR HD, but it is called SONAR Producer Edition. It will work nicely with your new PC, and the sound is great. You can even use PT shortcuts if you want.

Music tracked on a lap top, I have noticed has a very edgy, harsh sound to it. I don;t think a project tracked on a lap top well sound the same as one done on a desk top with quality power cables and power source.

This album I checked out tracked and maybe mixed on a lap top had such a harsh edge to it, it was almost un-listenable.

It all comes down to the power source, power effects everything.

Sorry for this little tid bit guys, you know how I am.

The same interface will make the same sound plugged into a laptop or desktop. I'm not sure how you can say there's a difference there.

I ASSUME you're not talking about internal sound cards on either device.

No Joe, it's much deeper than that. You must unlearn what you have learned.

Jeremy, based on what you're saying, a laptop has the potential for even better sound quality than a desktop. If you run it on batteries you take the power supply out of the equation.

"Music tracked on a lap top, I have noticed has a very edgy, harsh sound to it. I don;t think a project tracked on a lap top well sound the same as one done on a desk top with quality power cables and power source."

OMG!? What a crock O'shat... Jeremy wake up! You're dreaming!!!There are SO MANY variables (the simple ones are mics, interface, recording levels, eq, etc...)that have a real effect on the sound of the recording that the effect of the type of computer on the overall sound is just laughable. C'mon dude, I think you say stuff like this just to get a reaction

I was trying to be nice, but Jermey, I think you're full of shit.

How can a laptop recording the digital stream being sent by an interface do anything different that that interface sending the stream to a desktop - if fact - what is the DIFFERENCE between those machines, other than form factor?!

The recorded signal is already digitized before it hits the computer - give me a break!

Maybe if "Monster" built the batteries, and you use THESE power cables, it will be more even? The snake oil salesman that created those power cables should be strung up by them.
Notice the miraculous effect of his 2 foot power cable to completely change and "speed up" the power that traveled through miles of cables to get there .... even after traveling, as the last picture shows, through the standard power cable connecting the rack power unit he plugged it in to!

That link is hilarious. I especially like the professional audio engineers' testimonials.

Snake oil? I would call it pasture biscuits.

Well, I would tend to agree, there should be no difference between a laptop and a desktop if the analog to digital conversion takes place outside the box as in my example which is happening with the Eleven rack. However Jeremy may have a point about jitter introduced via audio over USB vs AES/EBU vs S/PDIF.

I find it annoying, and even a bit deceptive, that Digidesign in Eleven Rack 1.) does not allow multiple audio interfaces to use Pro Tools LE simultenously (e.g. Eleven Rack and 003), 2.) Does have a facility to route audio over USB in Protools HD. I asked them about this and was told it has to do with unresolvable clocking/latency issues between TDM and USB.

What jitter? All the conversion is done in the remote box. You are moving final data across these busses - it is not real-time data. It's nothing different than hooking up a disk drive.

Your comparison of USB to AES or Spdif are wrong. AES and Spdif are real-time audio streams, USB /Firewire/eSata/etc are not - they are block data transfer interfaces.

As for problems with clocking between TDM/USB - that sounds like a hardware defect on their hardware - everyone else can play fine with USB and it's specs are clearly defined.

Your point is noted Joe. Here's what Digi had to say about it...

And yet they manage to stream firewire on their pro desks .... hmmmm