Best Laptops for Serato DJ

DJs that use software like Serato DJ need bulletproof laptops! Your laptop is essentially your partner in DJing. It stores your music database and helps you mix your tracks with visual cues and waveforms, hotkeys, shortcuts – the list goes on! It’s crucial to select a laptop which excels in its Serato DJ-based role.

Of course, there are a bunch of extremely important factors that should be considered every time you are in the market for a brand new laptop capable of handling Serato DJ flawlessly. But before we delve right into details, let’s outline some of the viable options available out there.

NameProcessorDisplayRAM/Storage 
Apple MacBook 12″1.2 GHz Intel Core m3 Dual-CoreIntegrated Intel HD Graphics 6158GB of 1866MHz LPDDR3 RAM | 256GB SSDPRICING
Dell XPS 13 93701.8 GHz Intel Core i7-8550U Quad-Core
13.3″ 3840 x 2160 IPS Touchscreen16GB LPDDR3 | 512GB SSDPRICING
MSI G65 Stealth2.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8750H Six-Core15.6″ 1920 x 1080 144Hz Display32GB DDR4 | 512GB NMVe SSD
PRICING
2018 Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro2.6 GHz Intel Core i7 Six-Core15.4" 2880 x 1800 Retina Display16GB of 2400 MHz RAM | 512GB SSDPRICING
Apple 13.3″ MacBook Air (Mid 2017, Silver)2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 Dual-Core13.3" 1440 x 900 Glossy Display8GB of 1600 MHz LPDDR3 RAM | 512GB SSDPRICING
Microsoft Surface Pro 4
2.6 GHz Intel Core i5-7300U (Dual-Core)2736 x 1824 Screen Resolution (267 ppi)8GB of RAM | 256GB PRICING
Acer Predator Helios 3002.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8750H Six-Core17.3″ FHD 1920 x 1080 144 Hz IPS Display
16GB of DDR4 RAM | 256GB SSD + 1TB HDDPRICING

What to Look for in a DJ Laptop Suitable for Serato DJ

So, we all probably know that intensive modern computing tasks like running Serato DJ require one key thing: power.

However, that isn’t the only thing you need to factor into your choice when picking a laptop for DJ purposes. A laptop’s power or performance is determined mainly by its RAM and processor but other components from screen to batteries play very important roles that you can’t neglect in favor of raw power alone!

Here’s a breakdown of what to look out for in general when choosing a DJ laptop:

RAM

A computer uses RAM – random access memory – to quickly store and access data about programs that are currently in use. RAM is extremely important for Serato DJ as it’s an intensive program which runs a lot of system processes simultaneously. A greater quantity of greater quality of RAM will help Serato DJ to run smoothly for the duration of a set.

Minimum requirement for Serato DJ: 4GB.

Most laptops come with at least 8 to 16GB of RAM. RAM memory isn’t all that matters though, RAM comes in various forms like DDR3 and DDR4. DDR4 is the best current type of RAM but DDR5 is forecast to come out in 2019.

Processor

Processors are the mainstay in terms of laptop performance. Serato DJ requires a decent amount of processing power just to run, but to run it stably for hours on end requires a processor much more powerful than its minimum requirements.

Minimum requirement: i3: 1.07GHz, i5: 1.07GHz and i7: 1.07GHz

One thing to note is that Serato DJ has been plagued with issues when running on AMD processors. This has been generally resolved but Intel processors are still recommended over AMD when it comes to running Serato DJ.

Screen

Quality screens not only display Serato DJ’s interface more clearly, but they also use less battery and are viewable in both extreme sun and when there are lasers and lights flashing everywhere around you.

Minimum requirement: 1280 x 720.

Storage

Storage devices come in one of two forms: SDDs and HDDs. HDDs are your classic moving hard disks – they’ve been around for quite some time now! SDDs are found more commonly now than ever – many laptops come with SDDs in place of HDDs. SDDs are quicker in terms of read and write speed.

Minimum requirement: 4GB

1. Apple MacBook 12″ (2016)

MacBook 01

Apple PCs have long been a favorite choice for music-related tasks and that isn’t set to change soon. The biggest barrier to owning a high spec Mac is usually price – we all know that they aren’t cheap. The Mac OS is clean and streamlined which suits creative uses well and with legendary build qualities and components, Macs make powerful roadworthy machines for DJs and producers.

There’s no hiding the fact that Macs are the most popular laptops when it comes to music production. They fit the bill almost perfectly: they’re perfectly formed in their metal cases, have brilliant screens, excellent battery life, etc. What’s not to like? Well, the price is quite prohibitive and for the higher spec machines, things get expensive very quickly.

However, for the money you do get a future-proof roadworthy bit of kit which is both portable and powerful – it wraps everything up in one neat package for DJs of all types. The 12” MacBook Air is pretty small and very light making it a great compact choice for travelling DJs. The specs are easily powerful enough to run Serato DJ with ease, though you’ll probably want to look at the models with the more powerful i5 or i7 processors.

Apple MacBook 12″ Highlights
 
  • 1.2 GHz Intel Core m3 Dual-Core
  • 8GB of 1866MHz LPDDR3 RAM | 256GB SSD
  • Integrated Intel HD Graphics 615
  • 12″ 2304 x 1440 IPS Display
  • USB 3.0 Type-C Port
  • 802.11ac Wi-Fi | Bluetooth 4.2
  • Force Touch Trackpad
  • Stereo Speakers | Dual Mics
  • Slim, Compact Design
  • macOS High Sierra

2. Dell XPS 13

Dell have always been a leader amongst Windows operating system manufacturers and the XPS range delivers top-spec power at reasonable prices when compared to top-spec Macs. They pack wonderfully crisp screens, awesome hardware and a rock-solid build quality which should hopefully withstand a few (but not too many) knocks!

The Dell XPS range has been churning out performance laptops for quite some time now but this is a real showstopper. It packs awesome specs with an amazing screen, powerful specs and ample storage options. You’d ideally have to look at the 16GB Ram options but any of these machines will get the job done quite easily.

Dell XPS machines aren’t cheap but their built quality is phenomenal and they’re simply a pleasure to use. The XPS 13 is a smaller version but there is a 15.4” version too, named the XPS 15. Both are similar in spec and build.

Dell XPS 13 9370 Highlights
 
  • 1.8 GHz Intel Core i7-8550U Quad-Core
  • 16GB LPDDR3 | 512GB SSD
  • 13.3″ 3840 x 2160 IPS Touchscreen
  • Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620
  • SD Card Reader
  • Thunderbolt 3 | USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C
  • 802.11ac Wi-Fi | Bluetooth
  • Windows 10 Home (64-Bit)

3. MSI GS65 Stealth

MSI G65 Stealth 1

MSI are known for their gaming laptops but that doesn’t prevent them from fitting the bill for DJs too. They’re powerful, reasonably priced and will allow you to run Serato DJ alongside other programs without fear of crashes or stability issues. If you’re running Serato DJ alongside Ableton with Link then you’ll need one of these more powerful machines.

The standout of this laptop is its tremendous graphics card and whilst the specs are overkill for most Serato DJ applications, this laptop will walk over multitasking or Serato DJ use alongside Serato Video, etc. Also, with those sort of specs, you can be sure that your laptop will run the DJ software of the future quite comfortably without the need for an upgrade.

MSI aren’t known for their portable laptops but this one is actually surprisingly light with a great screen to body ratio and decent battery life given its components. It’s a seriously powerful machine for all computing tasks but it should run the most intense Serato DJ sessions with ease.

MSI G65 Stealth Highlights
 
  • 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8750H Six-Core
  • 32GB DDR4 | 512GB NMVe SSD
  • 15.6″ 1920 x 1080 144Hz Display
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB GDDR5)
  • 802.11ac Wi-Fi | Bluetooth 5.0
  • Thunderbolt 3 | HDMI | Mini DisplayPort
  • RGB Backlit Keyboard
  • Windows 10 Pro (64-Bit)

4. MacBook Pro (15-inch, mid-2018)

MacBook Pro 2018 01 1

The MacBook Pro has delivered a high-quality laptop solution for DJs since the famous 2012 version. In fact, even the 2012 MacBook Pro with its 2.4GHZ i5 processor and 16GB of RAM can comfortably run Serato DJ some 6 years after its release. The 2018 version is expensive but you get what you pay for – one of the most powerful laptops around right now.

This MacBook Pro is extremely powerful. It has the latest i9 processors, a mighty 32GB of RAM, tons of hard drive space and a dedicated graphics card. It really is the most powerful MacBook ever made and it will destroy almost any music production task you offer it. For Serato DJ, this MacBook will cruise no matter how long your set is and its crazy battery life will keep you going all night long.

This MacBook Pro is godlike for DJs. Being able to select a 4TB SSD is insane! There is pretty much no chance that you’d fill that up with music – you’d need almost 1 million tunes!

Apple MacBook Pro Highlights
 
  • 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 Six-Core
  • 16GB of 2400 MHz RAM | 256GB SSD
  • 15.4″ 2880 x 1800 Retina Display
  • AMD Radeon Pro 555X GPU (4GB GGDR5)
  • True Tone Technology
  • 802.11ac Wi-Fi | Bluetooth 5.0
  • Touch Bar | Touch ID Sensor
  • 4 x Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type-C) Ports
  • Force Touch Trackpad
  • macOS High Sierra

5. 13-inch MacBook Air

MacBook Air 01 1

There was always going to be a few laptops on the list! The 2015 MacBook Air is the original ultrabook – it’s powerful, slim and packs excellent battery life. And all for a reasonable price.

Macs don’t have to be expensive. The 2015 MacBook Air hasn’t aged badly at all. It still has cracking battery life, specs easily good enough to run Serato DJ, a people’s favorite MagSafe charger and the same lightweight chassis that recent MacBooks also feature.

Macbook Airs are sleek, stylish and powerful for their small sizes. The only limiting factor is the RAM but 8GB should still be ample to run Serato DJ and another side program like Serato Video.

Apple MacBook Air 13″ Highlights
 
  • 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 Dual-Core
  • 8GB of 1600 MHz LPDDR3 RAM | 512GB SSD
  • Integrated Intel HD Graphics 6000
  • 13.3″ 1440 x 900 Glossy Display
  • 802.11ac Wi-Fi | Bluetooth 4.0
  • Thunderbolt 2 | USB 3.0
  • 720p FaceTime HD Camera | SDXC Card Slot
  • Stereo Speakers | Dual Built-In Mics
  • Slim, Lightweight Design
  • macOS High Sierra

6. Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Microsoft Surface Pro 1

Running Serato DJ software on devices like this was once quite tricky. Recently, however, Serato DJ released a statement to confirm that the Microsoft Surface range are now indeed compatible with the latest Serato DJ software, so long as the minimum specs are met. This is awesome for those who really dig these sorts of computers. They’re small, light, enjoyable to use and provide flexibility which is awesome for a travelling DJ.

Two-in-one laptop tablets don’t often meet the specs for Serato DJ but the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 hits the targets easily with its impressive selection of Intel processors up to i7, RAM up to 16GB and large SSD options for storage. It’s a cool little device and it makes a change for Windows fans who don’t want to carry around a larger more conventional laptop. The Surface Pro 4 has now been usurped by the Pro 6 – both are well worth a look.

Microsoft Surface Pro Highlights
 
  • 2.6 GHz Intel Core i5-7300U (Dual-Core)
  • 8GB of RAM | 256GB SSD
  • 12.3″ PixelSense 10-Point Touch Display
  • 2736 x 1824 Screen Resolution (267 ppi)
  • Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620
  • 4G LTE | 802.11ac Wi-Fi | Bluetooth 4.0
  • 5MP Front Camera | 8MP Rear Camera
  • USB 3.0 Type-A | Mini DisplayPort
  • microSD Card Slot
  • Windows 10 Pro

7. Acer Predator Helios 300

Acer Predator Helios 1

Acer have built a solid reputation for their powerful Windows-based machines available at budget prices. The Helios packs a great spec into its simple no-nonsense design. It’s slightly bigger and clunkier than other laptops and its build quality isn’t up to the spec of the all-metal chassis XPS laptops and Macbooks. Nevertheless, it’s a powerful machine for a knockout price for its spec.

Here’s another power-driven laptop which will easily run Serato DJ at its most intense. This budget gaming laptop has awesome specs which will allow you to run Serato DJ alongside other programs with ease and without the risk of drops in performance. Its only limiting spec is its smallish SSD, which is probably not big enough to store massive tune databases.

Acer Predator Helios 300 Highlights
 
  • 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8750H Six-Core
  • 16GB of DDR4 RAM | 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD
  • 17.3″ FHD 1920 x 1080 144 Hz IPS Display
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 GPU (6GB GDDR5)
  • SD Media Card Reader
  • 10/100/1000 Mb/s Gigabit Ethernet
  • 802.11ac Wi-Fi | Bluetooth 5.0
  • Red Backlit Keyboard
  • All-Metal AeroBlade 3D Fans
  • Windows 10 Home

Conclusion

All of these laptops deliver the specs needed to comfortably run Serato DJ.

The right choice depends on your unique preferences, not just in terms of DJing but in terms of the other computing tasks that you’ll need to perform. Let’s be honest, it’s rare to be able to afford a laptop exclusively for Serato DJ – most laptops are used for a variety of tasks.

If we’re looking for the absolute best laptop for the job, you cannot beat the latest MacBook Pro. It’s obviously pricey but its specs make your eyes water, the battery life is to die for and the build quality is superb. It’s one of those machines that will serve you for years and years, so long as you look after it.

For value purposes, the 2015 MacBook Air can be purchased relatively cheaply these days and with more-than-reasonable specs for Serato DJ and an excellent screen and battery life, it fits the bill for traveling DJs looking for a bulletproof laptop solution for both work and play. If you’re looking for a budget machine then check out second-hand MacBook Pros from 2012. They’re available cheaply but they’re still really powerful machines and can easily run Serato DJ.

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