The nth question about which laptop to purchase

[Benci]

I know I know, this has already been asked plenty of times, and I have already read through dozens of topics relating to laptops here. But pardon me while I make up and excuse as to why it is important to make a new topic in regard... well, everyone has their own preferences and specidic needs, so do I, no? Maybe not, alright.

I'm looking to purchase my first laptop to run a DAW on. That's about it, no gaming, no useless battery melting programs (other than the DAW, that is), just to make music on.
Regarding specs I think it's pretty basic information, I've seen others say 8GB of RAM are "necessary" (though I'll probably shoot for 16 if I can), an i5 or M1 should supply though higher is better, but other information I may need advice on.

So, is it a Mac or a Windows unit? Why does everyone say (or maybe it's just my impression) making music on a Mac is better? Is there actually a difference or is it just fumbling? I know thw answer may seem an obvious no, but peer pressure to go a specific route is rather confusing.
Is there something specific I should be looking for other than specs? Like number of USB ports, other stuff that's helpful to consider, compatability with instruments/devices? Again, this is probably an obvious answer, but I don't know jack about any of this, I just want to make music eventually.
And any tips on an actual model I could purchase? I don't really have a budget, I saved up a couple thousands from working in the past moths, but obviously the cheaper the better, I'll eventually like to purchase some drum machines, synths, or any other kind of cool little tools, so saving up is rather important for me. I've seen plenty you can get a great unit for even just a couple hundred bucks, but if you have any suggestion other than pure numerical specs they're welcome.

I think those two questions should be enough to settle my doubts, though if you do have any other tip I should know or stuff to look out for, that'll also be helpful.
Thank you, and sorry for being annoying.

[Kwackman]

Your choice of DAW is, arguably, more important than your laptop.
When you decide on that, it might dictate your Mac/PC decision as some DAWs only run on one platform.

[ajay_m]

Do you intend to use the laptop much on battery or will it be plugged in normally?.
Is weight a consideration?.
Would the ability to easily add more storage or memory be desirable?
Would you prefer a 13,14,15 or 17 inch screen?
Is the colour accuracy of the screen a concern?
Do you want to plug in external screens? If so, 1 or 2?
Obviously if your daw of choice is Logic, it'll have to be a Mac and your options diminish. Personally I don't believe there's any superiority for music apps with macs unless logic or garage band are your preference OR really long battery life is desirable. In which case Apple definitely have the advantage.

[Arpangel]

I started on PC, then changed to Mac, now I run both alongside each other, each one runs specific programs.
When Im using my Mac, I don’t know why, but it just seems easier, less hassle, and loading software is always easy, no frequent Windows updates, it's just less hassle.
If I were just starting out, and didn’t have the need to run Windows specific plug-in's, I'd definitely get a Mac.
Just my opinion.

[The Elf]

...and I started on Mac and moved to Windows, which I find easier to manage - and considerably cheaper. Updates have never been a problem for me, much as others wail over them. I've had many machines and they just work.

But I'll use either. It makes no difference to me as long I'm using Cubase.

Win or Mac makes no difference. As others have said - choose your DAW and then buy the machine that suits it.

[tea for two]

Morning Benci.
If you get wind then a touchscreen laptop makes plugins softsynths a whole lotta fun.
Nowadays for wind I purrchase only touchscreen laptops, touchscreen all in one desktops.

[Benci]

The most frequently brought name seems to be Ableton, in general really, so that was going to be my first choise. I have also seen plenty recommend Reaper due to it being particularly easy on the PC (though I guess someone could confirm if that's true or not), and Logic also gets brought up often as a pretty light DAW too.

My preference would be a Windows unit, but that's solely because I don't have any Apple devices at home and have always used Windows and Android as OS. As far as necessity though, as long as it runs I'm fine with; Windows does also have the advantage of running emulators I guess, so even if impractical I suppose a partial switch would be possible, though I'm also not really sure if there are functional iOS emulators, it's just an assumption—though I could bet there are, like no way no one has made something lile that... right?

[RichardT]

The Mac vs PC debate is an endless one. These days, both are wonderful for producing music on. I prefer Mac, having used both for many years, but it really is just a personal preference.

I would follow Ajay’s approach and draw up a list of requirements to evaluate machines with.

I’ve just bought a new machine, and important requirements for me were

- totally silent when running projects of my normal size at 96kHz
- fast SSD of >= 1 TB
- enough connectivity for my needs (DAC, backup and sample disks etc, etc)
- powerful enough to run large orchestral projects using Noteperformer

[Kwackman]

I don't have any Apple devices at home and have always used Windows and Android as OS.

Then, why bother to learn another OS. Stick to PC if that's what you're used to- for the record, I'm a dedicated long time Mac user!
That rules out Logic and GarageBand- but you still have choices, Reaper get good comments round this forum, I'm a happy Cubase user.

Windows does also have the advantage of running emulators

IMHO this is a bad idea. It's just another layer of unnecessary complication, and fault finding will be more hassle. Pick an OS and go with it!

[Arpangel]

I don't have any Apple devices at home and have always used Windows and Android as OS.

Then, why bother to learn another OS. Stick to PC if that's what you're used to- for the record, I'm a dedicated long time Mac user!
That rules out Logic and GarageBand- but you still have choices, Reaper get good comments round this forum, I'm a happy Cubase user.

Windows does also have the advantage of running emulators

IMHO this is a bad idea. It's just another layer of unnecessary complication, and fault finding will be more hassle. Pick an OS and go with it!

I'm running Reaper on a PC, and two Mac's, fine on my 3yo PC Win 10, fine on my 2013 iMac running High Sierra, not so fine on my 2023 M1 Macbook Air, until I changed it to open with Rosetta, and now it's fine, just thought I'd mention this.

[amanise]

Back when Dinosaurs ruled the Earth and Pterosaurs the skies, PC's were less than stable. Macs were more reliable, though always more expensive, and more capable at handling memory and processor intensive work. This made them better at things like audio processing, graphics design, and video. So consequently a generation of creatives took to them and their 'different' ways to Microsoft Windows. Back then - if you were serious about things artistic you bought a Mac as PCs were too crap to be of much use. Now though, PCs are less flakey, and can access more of their memory directly than they once could. Slowly, a lot of the creative software has been ported over and works well on the PC platform.

Here's the bit that gets me shot. PCs have a much wider range of general software available to them cheaply than Macs do - to this day . If you choose a PC, I would venture that you would be able to use it for many more things than you would a Mac - as well as your DAW software. If that's not the intention - then fine. Personally, I would rather open an artery than convert to a Mac now after <mutter mutter> years of PCs. I expect I'd feel the same way if things had been the other way around for me and I had started on a Mac. I think I would now be spending much more money on my general purpose software though.

I think if there's a conversion in my future it will be to Linux and Reaper - but the thought fills me with nearly as much dread. It has cost benefits though, but I'd probably have to switch to being an acappella folk singer for a while.

[Sam Spoons]

Another happy Mac/Reaper user here but if budget is a major consideration and given your use of Windows/Android rather than the Apple ecosystem I'd stick with what you know and go for a Windows machine. I would still recommend Reaper though as the full fat version* is only £60 for an individual licence. Some say the learning curve is steeper for Reaper than for some other DAWs, my only comparison is with Cubase many years ago and I don't recall that being any easier.

* There is only one version of Reaper, Ableton's full version is over £400 so you'd probably have enough change to buy the laptop if you went for a refurb. TBF Ableton does come with lots of VST instruments which Reaper lacks though there are plenty of free options out there.

[N i g e l]

My laptop has a touch screen, it is very handy for music.
Comes with a pen which makes drawing control envelopes and adding expression a lot easier than using a mouse.

modern laptops have a woefull lack of ports but you can get a USB to other stuf expander dongle for £10 - £20. This will expand your USB ports or add HDMI, ethernet etc.

[Dave Rowles]

I use mac and Logic. Just got an M3 Max and it's a pair of wings away from flying...

However, as others have said, your software is more important. We can go on about whether mac is better than windows, but in reality it's what works for you that makes sense.

After that, just get the most powerful one you can afford, balancing the need for other purchases.

Since moving to mac my machines have lasted 6 years before needing to upgrade, and in those 6 years I've not needed to add extra memory or mod my machine in any way. I always buy the top model I can afford.

[MOF]

I think I would now be spending much more money on my general purpose software though.

I bought Logic years ago, initially there were upgrade fees for each whole number increase but I’ve lost track of how many years ago it was that there were no more upgrade fees, ditto for the Mac OS.

[James Perrett]

Back when Dinosaurs ruled the Earth and Pterosaurs the skies, PC's were less than stable.

That only applies to certain music software where the programmers really didn't understand the platform. We used Voyetra's Sequencer Plus on the PC at the studio for a few years and it never gave any problems - and I mean never. SAW was the same. Cakewalk also seemed stable although I didn't use it quite as much because it turned out to be incompatible with the mixing desk I use.

Reaper is similarly stable - Justin understands how to write software that is more reliable than most of the other software that I've used.

As others have said, the choice of platform really comes down to what software you want to run. If you are a Reaper user you have the choice of Windows, Mac and Linux while other software will only run on one or two of those platforms. It is interesting that many non-music programs are now available for all three platforms so I wonder how long it will be until music software writers will get the message that there is a demand from Linux users (though Wine does appear to work well for Windows programs).

I would also add that I'm a big fan of refurbished laptops - I'm currently using a high spec 12 year old machine which still handles just about everything although it struggles a bit with some of the latest AI based software. My lad has a slightly newer version with an even higher spec which is certainly faster and handles all his 3D graphics programming. High end laptops are likely to stay usable for much longer than cheaper ones.

[jaminem]

Im a very very long time PC user that recently switched to Mac.
I see no difference in availability or cost of software between the 2 platforms.
Both have their quirks, Windows can be fussy over thunderbolt, Mac isn't. But Mac does want things run in legacy mode (RME drivers) whatever that is so both platforms have their frustrations.
Mac's do love to need adaptors due to the lack of ports and 'generally' a windows machine will have more but you still will probably need them, just less.
What Mac's don't really do is consistently give you messages about stuff that was running that stopped (even though you've noticed no difference and don't care)

I don't see much difference tbh. I have an M1 macbook and an M2 studio, and a Core i9 gen 10 in the studio. I'd probably stick with Mac now as once I got used to it I prefer it, but that is literally a preference.

The only thing that really caused me problems is opening Windows Cubase sessions on my Mac - they work, but my Native instruments plugins never survive the port between platforms. They're there but constantly crash cubase so I have to remove them before I move the project across. That's the biggest issue I've had.

I'd take the MacBook over a windows laptop if you can afford it (or buy refurbished like I did) as Windows laptops can still be a little fussy but its nowhere near as bad as it once was. But as long as you buy a Windows laptop that is proven to work in an audio environment, you'll be reet.

[Benci]

I love how this has inevitably turned into the good ol' Mac vs PC thing. It was bound to happen

[Kwackman]

I love how this has inevitably turned into the good ol' Mac vs PC thing. It was bound to happen

Most replies were not.
I wonder if we're being goaded?

[Sam Spoons]

I love how this has inevitably turned into the good ol' Mac vs PC thing. It was bound to happen

Well you did ask (from your OP :- "So, is it a Mac or a Windows unit?"). More interesting to me is that nearly everybody who has commented agreed that either will get the job done with only the few compromises each requires being different.

[Benci]

I love how this has inevitably turned into the good ol' Mac vs PC thing. It was bound to happen

Well you did ask (from your OP :- "So, is it a Mac or a Windows unit?"). More interesting to me is that nearly everybody who has commented agreed that either will get the job done with only the few compromises each requires being different.

Yup, so I'll end up sticking with Windows as the OS. I'll just get what is good specs-wise and in my price range. Thanks everyone.

[Wonks]

What is your maximum budget? That might decide whether you go Mac or Windows with a new machine, or the age or a used one,

Regardless of computer used, I’d say 16 GB RAM is now the minimum you want. Operating systems take up a reasonable amount of RAM, so if you assume that could be up to 4GB, then with 8GB that’s only 4GB for programs. With 16GB that’s 12GB for programs.

Of course with Windows you can always upgrade RAM and hard disk size later. With Mac, you pretty much get what you buy.

I’d certainly want an SSD for my system disk and I wouldn’t go too small.

[Drew Stephenson]

+1 to what Wonks said about RAM. Even if you're not using any heavy sample libraries it doesn't take much (sampled drums and a string arrangement) to eat into that processing headroom.

[The Elf]

I love how this has inevitably turned into the good ol' Mac vs PC thing. It was bound to happen

Not at all. Everyone has their preference, but what we've said is it doesn't matter which platform you choose, as long as it will accommodate the software you want to run.

Ableton Live is popular, but some of us ( ) don't get on with it, since it is biased towards pattern creation. I'm not saying it can't do linear, because it can, but pattern-based is its foundation and its forte - it 'pushes' you that way. If that's your game then you'd probably enjoy it. I speak as one who does own Ableton Live, but wouldn't choose it for the music I make.

But don't just go for a DAW based on what 'everyone else' seems to use - using that method I would have chosen the wrong DAW for myself several times!

[Wonks]

To make any serious music, you’ll need an audio interface and either decent headphones or monitors.

Most audio interfaces come bundled with one or two ‘lite’ versions of DAWs, and to start with, that may be all you need. So I’d hold off on deciding on a DAW until you’ve tried the bundled ones out.