• Registered: 2011-05-11
  • Posts: 7

Topic: PC laptop recomendations for fireface uc ??

i have to buy new laptop
so i would like to know which pc laptops works good with ff uc
rme´s tested systems doesn´t help so much cause those laptops
are pretty old.

i´ve been considering these models :

lenovo thinkpad t520
samsung 400B5B and NP700Z5A
hp probook 6560B


any experiences of these systems ??
thinkpad is obviously most rugged of these three
but price/performance ratio is not so good...

thanks

  • From: Connecticut, USA
  • Registered: 2011-08-01
  • Posts: 376

Re: PC laptop recomendations for fireface uc ??

HI,
In theory any of these will work. Models change to quickly for RME be able to constantly be testing each brand and model that are available. Since you are using the Fireface UC this will give more options and increased odds that the laptop will work fine.
In general make sure the laptop will support at least 8 gigs of ram.
You will most likely need of bunch of tweaking to Windows, Driver settings and possible your BIOS once you get it. Laptops are designed for low power use and long battery life not the high performance required for audio use.

Here are 2 links that might help you in your search.

http://www.rme-audio.de/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12491

http://www.rme-audio.de/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12500

Thanks Chris

Chris Ludwig
North East USA Sales | Synthax/RME
www.facebook.com/RMEAmericas
Twitter @RMEAmericas

ChrisLudwig's Website

  • Registered: 2011-05-11
  • Posts: 7

Re: PC laptop recomendations for fireface uc ??

thanks for links! good articles! i´ve been messin with windows allready so no problem..
i would just like to know if theres any known problems with these systems
like shared irqs and bad dpc latencies. i could only find some info about thinkpad
but other models are untested for audio use , well i think i go with the thinkpad anyway
what you lose on power you gain in trustworthy (i guess)
i have had lenovo laptop allready 5 years and its still running smoothly.

one of the downsides of thinkpads is that is does not have usb3 ports at all
does ff uc run smoother on usb3 ?

  • Registered: 2011-05-04
  • Posts: 249

Re: PC laptop recomendations for fireface uc ??

I'm using RME UFX with Lenovo Thinkpad W520, i7 2820QM processor model here.

Zero problems using it with USB3.0 ports, USB ports on docking bay. UFX works even with Ricoh 1394chip controller which cause some problems with another interface (M-Audio PF2626). I know you're looking for UC, but I bet it's going to be the same. I've been a Thinkpad user for nearly two decades, but this was the first Lenovo. The only complaint was the quality of keyboard/touch pad was little less than what I anticipated. But overall, pretty good.

  • From: Connecticut, USA
  • Registered: 2011-08-01
  • Posts: 376

Re: PC laptop recomendations for fireface uc ??

Hi,
Yes all the RME USB interfaces run fine on USB 3.0 ports. There is no performance change from running it on USB 3. USB 3 detects and runs as 2.0 when a 2.0 device is attached.

All laptops and desktops will have shared IRQs.  IRQ sharing is not the problem. Poorly written drivers and poor motherboard implementation are the problems people deal with on laptops as well as desktops. These tend to be the source of all IRQ, DPC and general performance issues.

Thanks Chris

Chris Ludwig
North East USA Sales | Synthax/RME
www.facebook.com/RMEAmericas
Twitter @RMEAmericas

ChrisLudwig's Website