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Topic: Which laptop or which laptop NOT? - Page: 1

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I've read threads in the past where people commented on certain laptops which worked fine with VDJ, but for some reason I cannot find any of those threads today.

I used to DJ about 15 years ago, vinyl and CD at that stage. In 2006 I decided to get a PC to play music videos while having friends over for parties. I got a P4 3GHz machine with 512MB memory and a 256MB ATI video card with dual output. I am still using VDJ (7) and it works perfectly for video mixing (all videos are ripped music DVDs split into separate VOBs and named properly) The secondary DVI output of the video card is split using a HDMI splitter and I'm running two 40'' monitors on that. I'm also using a BCD2000 controller with it.

Recently I decided to start DJing again and bough a lot of equipment and a Gemini CRTL-7 controller. I still need a laptop though. I'm not bothered about onboard wireless/Wi-Fi/3G and all those crap. I basically want a machine that would be reliable and which must be able to run in a secondary desktop mode with full HD resolution, preferably with a DVI or HDMI connector, while the primary desktop can still be used to display the VDJ console (in a lower resolution e.g. 1024 x 768). Any suggestions to what or what NOT to buy or any links to such threads will be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
geposted Tue 07 Aug 12 @ 7:43 am
 
Yup go with an ASUS, end of story.............that's my opinion, I've had mine for a while and it's perfect!!
 
To be safe I would recomend anything with:
* 6GB Ram
* 2.1/2.6 GHz Processor

If it has better specs, yeah go for it!

Brands I recomend:
* Asus
* Dell
* HP
* Lenavo
* Samsung
* Sony
* Toshiba

(Yeah Mac is not on the list becaus of a reason, when buying a mac you pay for the brand, not the
hardware. E.g a mac costs 3 times more then my laptop, my laptop has twice as good hardware lol.
Though MacOSx is rated to be more stable then windows, who cares, I never runed in to problems)

My Toshiba laptop can run VDJ with 4gb ram and 2.1 but tracks tend to load a bit slow and got smal lags
from time to time (nothing to serious). Just make sure what ever you get to turn of all those Brand
releated application runing in the background (which basicly all laptops got lol)
 
asus, u can go either with the G series or any other series. it doesnt really matter but it has to b top notch specs or mbp
 
I would look for minimum core i5. Min 6gb ram. Hard drive 500gig and dedicated graphics Asus is a good way to go. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230237
I have MacBook pro 13. I run vdj in windows with video every weekend fir 5 hours, Never a hiccup. Only you can decide if it worth the premium price to go mac. For me it comes down to battery life I can do a 4 hour show , music not video , with my mac. Most other laptops give you 2 hours battery life.
 
Where do you gig at that you need 4 hours of battery life to DJ.?....at 3x the price for the rig..though they are light weight they're heavy on the price big time..
 
I do an outdoor gig at a bar, where I set up the nearest power source is 50 feet away rather than use long extention cords or I use battery and the audio engine aw1 to wirelessly send audio from my mixer works great. I do carry cords and cables if I would need to plug in but have done this all year without an issue
 
I was thinking of a beach party, I've done those and didn't want to plug my computer into the generator, but everything else was including the fans...
 
Thanks for all the responses. I was also keen on an Asus, since everybody I've spoken to, recommended it. I'll have a look at the reviews and links posted here. I'm not an Apple fan, simply because of their ridiculous prices and the fact that you have to use proprietary Apple accessories and apps etc.
 
appollo69 wrote :
I'm not an Apple fan, simply because of their ridiculous prices


ahaaaa.... but u can boot camp ur mac and run W7 or W8
 
The models in my price range and available here in SA are:
K53SD-SX241V
N53SM-SX121V
K55VD-SX032X
N56VM-S4060X

Can anyone confirm that my request in the initial post "must be able to run in a secondary desktop mode with full HD resolution, preferably with a DVI or HDMI connector, while the primary desktop can still be used to display the VDJ console (in a lower resolution e.g. 1024 x 768)." is available on any/all of these models. I've downloaded all the manuals and all of them states the following only: "LCD/Monitor Icons (F8): Toggles between the Notebook PC’s LCD display and an external monitor in this series: LCD Only -> CRT Only (External Monitor) -> LCD + CRT Clone -> LCD + CRT Extend. (This function does not work in 256 Colors, select High Color in Display Property Settings.) NOTE: Must connect an external monitor “before” booting up." Nothing is mentioned about HDMI and secondary desktop option etc. etc. I’ve came across an Acer laptop which switches off the laptop LCD when the HDMI is running in full HD - the other option is to run in "clone" mode where the HDMI output displays the same content and runs at the same resolution as the laptop LCD (1366 x 768), but no option for secondary desktop running full HD is available on that laptop. I don't want to buy a laptop and then discover that it cannot fulfil this requirement.

Can anyone confirm if their ASUS laptop can run secondary desktop in full HD while simultaneously running the VDJ console on the primary desktop (laptop LCD).

Thanks
 
If the gpu can run in that resolution you could use that config. But why do you want to use that resolution in the secondary screen? Because if you want to mix video is better use 800*600 (I use that resolution with full hd videos and looks fine). I think that if you use full hd in the secondary screen maybe you will need a high end laptop with core i7 (quad core) 8 gigas ram and nvidia 550 or above.

Sorry for my english, is not my natural language and only learned in school and watching english spoken tv.

Regards.
 
vjemmo wrote :
If the gpu can run in that resolution you could use that config. But why do you want to use that resolution in the secondary screen? Because if you want to mix video is better use 800*600 (I use that resolution with full hd videos and looks fine). I think that if you use full hd in the secondary screen maybe you will need a high end laptop with core i7 (quad core) 8 gigas ram and nvidia 550 or above.

Sorry for my english, is not my natural language and only learned in school and watching english spoken tv.

Regards.


I'm running secondary output in full HD @60Hz and primary output at 1280x1024 @72Hz on a six year old PC: P4 3GHz, 512MB RAM and 256MB ATI video card with dual output. It is working perfectly - I want to get a laptop now to do mobile gigs and currently use full HD 40'' panels. I want to get 2 x full HD projectors and then need to run full HD, so my laptop would need to support that.
 
Ok, but If you want to use two lcd screen you will need a video splitter with vga or hdmi inputs and outputs. If you could wait me until tomorrow i will tell you if my laptop works fine sending full hd resolution and mixing full hd videos with VDJ in the secondary screen.

Regards.
 
Works fine, no problems with that resolution and with full hd videos. Primary screen was in hd resolution and the secondary via hdmi in full hd.
Laptop Asus N53sm and Western Digital 1 tera usb 3.0 external hard disk.

Regards.
 
vjemmo wrote :
Works fine, no problems with that resolution and with full hd videos. Primary screen was in hd resolution and the secondary via hdmi in full hd.
Laptop Asus N53sm and Western Digital 1 tera usb 3.0 external hard disk.

Regards.


Thanks vjemmo - appreciated! I'm currently using a HDMI splitter at home, that is not a problem, just wanted to know if the laptop would output full HD on secondary desktop set-up. Now off to compare prices...
 
You're welcome.

Greetings.
 
Everyone's speaking specs here, but there are also a few other things to consider on a laptop for any pro purpose:

- Build quality: Your laptop needs to be sturdy as hell and repairable. Never go for consumer oriented laptop.. they are not made to last and are not made to be serviced. Some even have no way to be opened up undamaged once something happens.

- Service: Yes its more expensive but an three year onsite warranty plan on all parts is soooo advisable for professional users. I use a HP mobile workstation and have had several part replaced during the past four years. Not because they are bad, just because I literary use it 24 hrs per day on any location. Eventually your keyboard, fans and even screen will start to wear.. all was replaced without any fuss within 24 hrs of the call.

Good luck!
 
Yep. couldn't agree more, you get what you pay for, less money now,.....more headaches later....
 
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