Was waiting for the new Lenovos but they’re disappointingly priced, and unfortunately the t61p which was my former choice is no longer available to customize on their site.
So I’m looking for something 15.4" wsxga+ with decent graphics capability (at least that of t61p) that also can run pro sound cards.
I do also play the occasional game so would like it to be able to run current games at at least medium settings.
I’d prefer something with the new montevina chipset.
I’m having trouble figuring out what the best value is. I’m willing to spend about $1,500 usd.
PC only.
I would get Either:
Macbook pro because Apple laptops are pretty high on the quality spectrum.
or
Lenovo because I get a discount.
I would avoid Acer, HP, and Compaq based on my and acquaintance’s past experiences with those brands.
dont forget the important thing, a laptop/notebook won’t be fast enough for renoise I’m affraid.
maybe more seriously.
if i had a huge amount of cash to spend for really no reason at all.
i would pick one of these just because they look so freakin cool:
this last one would definitively run renoise.
only because it looks really cool. it would compliment renoise greatly.
Yeah I’m still sulking a bit because I thought they’d sell the t61p’s at a discount for at least a few weeks after the intro of the new ones. Comparable hardware for a lot cheaper. And now I can’t order it customized from lenovo with a discount because it’s not on the site anymore. boohoo 
Is there another (technical) name for cardbus?
Because when I’m looking at other laptops I don’t see it listed.
For the price of a t500 decently equipped WITH a discount you can get the asus g50 which blows the t/w500 out of the water hardware wise.
My question is does the g50 have cardbus?
Not a Notebook but . . . Definitively A-TO-MIC !!
HP PAVILION HDX9350ef
Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 avec technologie Intel Centrino à 2,10 GHz, mémoire vive : 4 Go, disque dur 320 Go
nVidia Geforce 8800M GTS (512 Mo)
Blu-Ray / CD / DVD multiformat double couche Lightscibe,
Ecran 20,1" TFT Ultra BrightView
4 USB 2.0, 1 Ethernet RJ-45, 1 FireWire IEEE1394, 1 HDMI, 1 eSATA, 1 VGA, 1 S-Vidéo, 1 sortie casque, 1 entrée micro, 1 ExpressCard/54 (compatible ExpressCard/34), etc . . .
Take a look at the Dell Vostro series. I’m very happy with it even though it has expresscard instead of cardbus, which means I got a indigo IO collecting dust.
I got the Vostro 1400 with 4GB ram, it can play Call of duty 4, and Renoise run smooth with 7ms latency using Directsound, so I actually don’t miss the indigo much.
Thats total bollocks I’m afraid.
black macbook
or some little sony vaio
just recently i bought my first laptop.
it will of course never replace my desktop (at least not in the near future), but planning to play live on here and there, you can’t deny its use.
i did a lot of research on the net, because i’m pretty picky when it comes to hardware and wanted to make sure, i get the best “bang for the buck”, without compromising build-quality.
so i ended up with a DELL XPS M1530, and for 999 EUR, i’m really surprised of its high quality.
the XPS series (as all other DELL models, too) can be custumized during the online order, when it comes to certain hardware components, like CPU, RAM, HD, GFX-Card, etc.
my XPS has the following configuration:
WXGA+ Display 1440x900 (15,4"),
Intel C2D T9300 (2x2.5Ghz, Penryn),
8600M GT 256MB DDR3, 9-Cell Li-Ion Battery,
320GB HD, 4GB DDR2-5300.
it also features the standard wifi, bluetooth, etc stuff plus a HDMI port, which can also be used for digital audio and dolby digital / dts.
even though i don’t know what kind of desktop you got, i’m quite positive my notebook will kick your desktop’s ass, when it comes to raw CPU performance. 
it’s really more than enough for the average and even more demanding renoise user.
and up to 6hrs of battery runtime under minor load ain’t too bad either.
you’ll find numerous reviews for that laptop googlin’ the net, here’s one of’em.
I’ve composed all my music on a laptop for years, it only ever started glitching when I knew I was pushing it.
Sorry for raiding the thread 
I just thought I might as well ask here instead of starting a new thread.
I’ve been looking for a notebook for tracking purposes too and I was recommended to buy one from Zepto and I found a couple that would fit my budget (800€ being the rough maximum). I’m running Renoise on Ubuntu (Studio) at the moment.
Nexus A15, 835,65€ if I buy it from the finnish site.
Znote 6025WD, 798,95€
Znote 3415W, 799€
Are any of these any good or should I try to find something else? (edit: note, the system specs are in the links)
I think laptops are still in their infancy as far as the whole “it fucking breaks WTF” kind of thing goes.
I have been through about 5 laptops now, and I can safely say that they all have their issues and will all give you hassle.
The most solid I have used (and what I am using now) is the IBM Thinkpad series.
They look insectoid too, which is ace.
They are excellent not only because of their build, but also the support forums fucking rock.
I used a Mac for a bit earlier this year and it was nice, but I cant afford a Mac that is future proof enough to warrant the price (part of the Mac business model no doubt).
So, get an IBM / Lenovo second hand and you will be fine.
I am running Ubuntu / XP on a 4 year old T42 maxxed out with Ram and a 7200HD and it is SOLID.
WHAT?!?!?!
ARE YOU ON DRUGS?!?!?!?!?!
SOMEBODY GET THIS MAN A STRAITJACKET!!!
That being said, if I personally were to buy a new laptop atm, I’d go for an alienware clone… http://www.sagernotebook.com/category.php … these are manufactured by Clevo, the same company that manufactures alienware laptops… and are apparently of the same internal quality, minus the fancy alienware cases. They’re some of the highest quality gaming laptops on the market, and would be more than adequate for sound production. I’d also invest in a few lithium backup batteries, and a nice multi-i/o audio interface with some midi knobs for the tweaking.
Damn, they don’t apparently ship to Finland… 
Thanks for the replies.
oooooo, look around there’s probably a distributor for sager notebooks for europe.
A little more info. Since near future plans may take me abroad for a year+ I will need this to function as a desktop replacement also, graphics are also important. Not that I play a ton of games, but I do want a capable system should the urge arise. For a benchmark I’d like something that will run crysis for example at a decent frame rate on medium settings.
I don’t want something that will eat the battery in less than 2 hours.
FYI my desktop right now is an athlon 64 3000, so most laptops will probably run renoise and just about everything else better 
The lenovo w500 is still a consideration but I want to see some benchmarks on the graphics first.
I like the led backlighting, the switchable graphics and the aesthetic of it.
Anybody know anything about that v5700 firegl graphics card?
Using a Dell Vostro 1510 here, works great
If you have the money buy a sony vaio or a macbook.
i run renoise on an old sony vaio, with a 1.8ghz pentium M thats only 400mhz FSB and a gig of sdram, still manage 2ms latency with ubuntu and a realtime kernel, so take into consideration that the overall power of your laptop dosent need to be huge to still be a power user.