• Registered: 2011-02-08
  • Posts: 9

Topic: Laptop recommendation

Hi I have the fireface UC and have an old dell laptop which is on the blink and now I need to get a new laptop could someone be able to recommend me a laptop(2011 laptop) to get that will work well with the fireface UC and is not a mac, I have looked at the tested systems but they seem to be all old models

Thanks

  • fb_
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  • Registered: 2008-06-01
  • Posts: 30

Re: Laptop recommendation

While they're not without issues, I'm happy with my Lenovo W520. I just got my Babyface. I don't have any CPU intensive projects ready to test, but running a few VSTi's (Omnisphere etc) at 48 samples posed no challenge to it and LatencyMon doesn't report any problems.

It's also been great for university use.

  • Registered: 2011-02-08
  • Posts: 9

Re: Laptop recommendation

Ok great thanks for the reply I will look into the Lenova W520

  • Ulrich
  • S/Mux specialist
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  • Registered: 2008-05-31
  • Posts: 316

Re: Laptop recommendation

What about noise from the fan of the W520? Can you describe the fan behaviour and the noise level, please?

Ulrich

  • fb_
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  • Registered: 2008-06-01
  • Posts: 30

Re: Laptop recommendation

There's a program for Thinkpad laptops called TPFancontrol, that allows you to set the fan control how you want it. Mine idles at 40-50C, with the fan completely off. The first 1 or 2 levels of fan spinning are quite inaudible. Some people have an issue with the fan 'pulsing' (spinning fast very briefly) but I've only rarely noticed the issue - mostly in the late hours of the night. For me it seems to occur on the border between fan off and fan on, and this point can be adjusted to fit your needs.

I'd definitely recommend reading up on the Lenovo and Notebookreview forums to see what issues people are having. Lenovo seem to be actively developing BIOS fixes. I also considered other laptops ie. Dell E6420 and HP 8460W, but this one matched my needs best.

My machine specs:
2720qm
8gb ram
FHD 1920x1080 matte screen
Nvidia Quadro 1000M
Intel 310SSD 80GB (Soon to have Crucial M4 256GB)
9 cell battery
3 year warranty
BIOS 1.26

TPFancontrol base install:
http://www.staff.uni-marburg.de/~schmitzr/donate.html
TPFancontrol for W520:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph … mp;t=96275

  • Ulrich
  • S/Mux specialist
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  • Registered: 2008-05-31
  • Posts: 316

Re: Laptop recommendation

fb_, thanks a lot!

7 Reply by Burtan (edited by Burtan 2011-09-03 21:31:43)

  • Registered: 2011-01-11
  • Posts: 71

Re: Laptop recommendation

Hi,

I use an Elitebook 8460p with a Babyface. In Forte 48 samples are fine. Unfortunately, the fan is always on, though not very loud in idle. The build quality is excellent. I have choosen this one over the E6420 because of its superior docking station and usb 3.0. The Lenovo 14" offers no 2720QM.

specs: i7 2720QM
ram: 4GB (up to 16, but 8GB RAM chips are very expensive)
SSD: Sandforce 256GB
GPU: ATI 6470M

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