Best Music Production Laptop – Everything You Need to Know
Music production is a science in its very own right. Not only do you need software that is professional and will permit you high-quality sound, but you’ll also need something that is very durable and portable. A lot of music producers these days have their own portable studios, coming in the form of a handy laptop.
You’ll need your laptop to be able to perform a diverse array of functions: whether it is getting down some bass in the studio or recording all instruments when they are live on the stage. To do this with the best sound quality and without any audio delay, you’ll need something with some of the best design specifications.
Another feature that you’ll have to consider with your laptop is how durable it is. You’ll need to make sure that you have an aluminum casing, which will be able to withstand plenty of droppages, as well as a decent cooling system that will be able to handle the high temperatures that can occur when you are overclocking your machine.
So where can you find some of the best laptops for your music production needs? What features do you need to give you optimum sound quality? What materials should your laptop be made from to withstand high temperatures and moisture that you can find circulating in the air at gigs? How much will you have to pay for a decent music production laptop?
Well, if you do want another laptop for your home recording studio or to record your band’s live tracks, then you should keep reading this article.
We’ve listed some of the best recording and audio production equipment that you can currently find on the market. We have a buyer’s guide and some frequently asked questions that will hopefully help you pick out the equipment that is most suitable for you.
List Of Best Music Production Laptops
Apple MacBook Pro (16 Inch)
When it comes to sound, the visual aspect of your equipment cannot be overlooked. Luckily, with this 16-inch display, you’ll get some of the most stunning HD graphics that you can imagine. This will help you track the progress of your waveforms, so you can more accurately pinpoint any discrepancies on your audio track – introducing the Apple MacBook Pro (16 inch).
Not only that, but this laptop really has great audio output, enabling you to pick out the different instruments, which will be very important when you are mixing and trying to get the levels of your track exactly right. This also has a great keyboard that will enable you to more easily pick out the hot keys.
Pros:
- This is a great laptop for a whole host of musicians, whether you are a DJ or you play guitar in a band. This is a great machine for running software like Ableton or Adobe Audition.
- The design is very sleek and lightweight allowing you to carry it from the studio to your live gig with very few issues.
- This comes with a great set of speakers with high-definition audio surround sound. This is great for anyone who wants to practice with panning or having certain audio elements really buried in the mix.
- The screen is amazing too, giving you the ability to be able to check your waveforms and adjust even the smallest elements on your audio track.
Cons:
- This unit is one of the most expensive that you can currently find on the market, so if you are new to the music production game, you might want to find something a little cheaper.
- Ninth-generation 8-Core Intel Core i9 Processor
- Stunning 16-inch Retina Display with True Tone technology
- Touch Bar and Touch ID
- AMD Radeon Pro 5500M Graphics with GDDR6 memory
- Ultrafast SSD
Dell XPS 13 9310
This next laptop has some of the best battery life currently on the market, allowing you to mix in more stressful situations for much longer. Not only does this come with a durable carry case, but the construction of the laptop itself is very durable and easy to carry – introducing the Dell XPS 13 9310.
This laptop really does perform well, even when you have multiple programs open at any one time. If you are editing video as well as sound, then you can have both audio software and video software open at the same time, giving you that extra flexibility when you are editing, allowing you to keep track of your levels.
Pros:
- This comes with a 10th generation Intel core, which is an industry standard when it comes to audio and video production. You’ll experience no lagging or audio dropout with this laptop.
- This has plenty of RAM, which will enable you to store hundreds of audio tracks, which is simply amazing if you are looking to produce a professional career in audio production.
- You can customize the desktop of your laptop, which is great if you like your layout to look a certain way. When it comes to versatility, then you can’t beat this one.
- The battery life – you can have this one running for long periods of time, even pushing the processor to the limit, and you’ll still have plenty of juice left. This will be important if you are making field recordings and are nowhere near a powerpoint.
Cons:
- This laptop is one of the most expensive that we have on this list. If you are planning on making some recordings of yourself at home, there are cheaper methods available to you.
- 13.4" UHD+ (3840 x 2400) InfinityEdge Touch Anti-Reflective 500-Nit Display with HD Webcam
- 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports 1 headset (headphone and microphone combo) port
- 4-Cell 52Whr Battery | Wifi 6 AX 1650 + Bluetooth 5.1 | Backlit Keyboard with Integrated Fingerprint Reader | Windows 10 PRO
- Intel Core i7-1185G7 11th Gen (1.2-4.70Ghz) with IRIS Xe Graphics | 1TB PCIe SSD | 32GB LPDDR4 RAM
Razer Blade 15 Advanced Gaming Laptop
This laptop has been made especially for content creators and audio producers, giving you all the workflow space and the processing power that you’ll need to manage numerous different projects at any one time. This has a very lush visual display, giving you everything that you need for a high-quality music production experience – introducing the Razer Blade 15 Advanced Gaming Laptop.
This has great storage, giving you the ability to mix numerous tracks at the same time. This is perfect if you are dealing with a big-budget music production or you want that high-quality sound. This is also a great laptop for rendering both video and audio at the same time, the powerful processor is more than capable of handling the job.
Pros:
- This is one of the most powerful machines that we have on this list, giving you everything that you need for a decent audio output and fast rendering times.
- Numerous producers have complimented this machine for its power and speed, almost doubling the rendering time of a lot of the lower-end laptops.
- This comes with ample storage that will enable you to file away hundreds of music tracks.
- This comes with an NVIDIA graphics card that will enable you to really push the processing power to the limits.
Cons:
- This is another very expensive unit, so if you are trying to tighten the purse strings, then we would recommend you pick up another laptop.
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series Graphics for Stunning Visuals: Built on NVIDIA’s award-winning 2nd-gen RTX architecture, these GPUs provide the most realistic ray-traced graphics and cutting-edge AI features for the most powerful graphics for gamers and creators
- Intel 11th Gen 8-Core CPU for All-out Gaming Performance: Run the heaviest AAA titles and creation tasks without breaking a sweat, and activate Intel Turbo Boost Technology for a jolt of speed that brings the i7 processor up to 5.1GHz.
- Next-gen Displays to Meet Your Needs: Go with ultra-fast 360Hz FHD for competitive gaming, OLED UHD for creative work with 4K clarity, or a 165z QHD display for the best of both worlds.
- Vapor Chamber Cooling for Maximized Thermal Performance: The laptop quietly and efficiently dissipates heat through the evaporation and condensation of an internal fluid, keeping it running smoothly and coolly even under intense loads.
- Advanced Connectivity for Greater Convenience: With built-in WiFi-6 and a UHS-III SD card slot, you can cut down on adapters and travel light.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
Next up, we have another amazing laptop with plenty of design features such as a 15-inch screen, an impressive processor and a decent graphics card. This laptop won’t succumb to any lag or other audio latency issues that can really ruin the quality of your sound and make your final mix sound anything other than professional – introducing the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3.
This laptop is great for DJs who are looking for a device that will play their sounds live without delay and with crystal clear feedback. This laptop can be augmented with plenty of software, you can even kit this laptop out with your very own digital turntable. If you are looking for a device to load thousands of samples on, then this is the one for you.
Pros:
- This comes with amazing battery life, so if you are recording in the great outdoors or maybe at a festival where things can get slippery, then this is a very reliable machine to have.
- This comes with an Intel device, so you can be sure that it will be compatible with other devices.
- This has plenty of RAM, giving you plenty of storage space and power that you’ll need to run many different audio streams at any one time.
- This comes with an amazing Radeon graphics card, which is very important for your visual displays and reducing the overall lag on your machine. This will be crucial if you are playing samples live.
Cons:
- This laptop is a very hefty model, unfortunately, it does not come with that many ports, which will really limit you if you are looking to connect devices such as a turntable or a digital sampler.
- Clean, elegant design — Thin and light, starting at just 2.79 pounds, Surface Laptop 3 is easy to carry
- Choose from rich tone-on-tone color combinations: New Sandstone, plus Matte Black, Cobalt Blue, and Platinum
- Improved speed and performance to do what you want, with the latest processors – Surface Laptop 3 is up to two times faster than surface Laptop 2
- More ways to connect, with USB-C and USB-A ports for connecting to displays, docking stations and more, as well as accessory charging
- All-day power on the go, with up to 11.5 hours of battery life, plus standby time when you’re away. Go from empty to a full battery with fast charging - up to 80% in about 1 hour
Apple MacBook Air Laptop
This next laptop is probably the most reasonably priced of all the laptops that we have on our list. This is perfect if you have never attempted music production and perhaps are studying music technology. This is a great first laptop to help you learn the ropes of music production – introducing the Apple MacBook Air Laptop.
This comes with pretty decent battery life, so if you are away from your nearest plug socket, then you won’t have to worry about it losing juice halfway through an important recording session. This comes with one of the latest Intel processors, which is perfect if you are looking to run numerous programs at once.
Pros:
- This comes with all the basic features that you’ll need to keep up with the speed of a lot of other high-end laptops that you can get on the market.
- This comes with an improved keyboard that will allow you to quickly master all the shortcuts that you could possibly need.
- This is a great starter laptop for people who are looking to grasp the basics of music production. It has an easy-to-use interface that can be easily customized.
- This laptop is very sleek and easy to use. You can also transport it very easily, making it one of the best laptops for any producer who is regularly on-the-go.
Cons:
- The battery life of this laptop is not that great, meaning that if you are looking to produce well into the night, then you might have to look at one of the more expensive models.
- All-Day Battery Life – Go longer than ever with up to 18 hours of battery life.
- Powerful Performance – Take on everything from professional-quality editing to action-packed gaming with ease. The Apple M1 chip with an 8-core CPU delivers up to 3.5x faster performance than the previous generation while using way less power.
- Superfast Memory – 8GB of unified memory makes your entire system speedy and responsive. That way it can support tasks like memory-hogging multitab browsing and opening a huge graphic file quickly and easily.
- Stunning Display – With a 13.3 inch Retina display, images come alive with new levels of realism. Text is sharp and clear, and colors are more vibrant.
- Why Mac – Easy to learn. Easy to set up. Astoundingly powerful. Intuitive. Packed with apps to use right out of the box. Mac is designed to let you work, play, and create like never before.
Microsoft Surface Pro 7
This next laptop is great for anyone who wants to produce very high-end quality music. You can operate multiple tracks on this laptop with a processor that is very fast. This is also a brilliant laptop for editing video, which often requires a lot of RAM and Intel Core graphics – introducing the Microsoft Surface Pro 7.
This is great for editing very lengthy and complicated tracks, allowing you to have multiple programs open at any one time. This has a wonderful design and display, portable and sleek, it will allow you to travel up and down the country recording in various different places. Don’t worry, this also has plenty of storage space for your tracks.
Pros:
- This comes with a super-fast processor, which is perfect for editing both sound and video. Running numerous programs at the same time will be very important for maintaining great sound.
- This also has decent RAM, which will be very important for running your processor at optimum speeds, even when you have many programs on the go at once.
- This comes with a Thunderbolt design, allowing you to be able to hook up various different musical instruments.
- You’ll be able to easily set up your sound software with this laptop, all you have to do is insert the CD or download it and it will be done simply and easily.
Cons:
- This is another very expensive unit, so if you are a student with a very limited budget, then you might want to consider a more basic unit.
- Next-gen, best-in-class laptop with the versatility of a studio and tablet, so you can type, touch, draw, write, work, and play more naturally
- Faster than surface pro 6, with a 10th gen intel core processor – redefining what’s possible in a thin and light computer.
- More ways to connect, with both USB-c and USB-a ports for connecting to displays, docking stations and more, as well as accessory charging. Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0
- Standout design that won’t weigh you down — ultra-slim and light surface pro 7 starts at just 1.70 pounds
- All day battery life up to 10.5 hours, Plus the ability to go from empty to full faster — about 80 percent in just over an hour
Buyer’s Guide
There are a few things that you’ll be looking for when you are shopping for a laptop for music production. A graphics card will not be of the highest importance, but a processor certainly will. Here are some features that you’ll be wanting to look for with your next laptop:
How Decent Is The Processor?
You’ll definitely be wanting a good processor, as this will be the thing that determines how much audio latency that you have, as well as how quickly the final project renders. The last thing you’ll want is for your laptop to freeze when you are mixing down a track you have spent many hours on.
How Much RAM Does It Have?
RAM is very important when it comes to keeping your processor running at an efficient speed and the two often come in tandem. You’ll also need plenty of storage, especially if you are thinking about mixing bands as opposed to solo instruments. You’ll also need decent RAM to stop your laptop from stuttering.
If you are going to need additional space to store your tracks, then we would suggest that you buy an additional SSD storage drive. The solid-state drive is very fast and you’ll be able to store a lot more information on one of these.
How Portable Is It?
This might be something that is often overlooked, but it is a key feature. You’ll need to make sure that your laptop is lightweight and easy to transport from one place to another. Having a slender design will certainly help you to place it on the overhead storage compartment on the train or plane.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Least Amount Of RAM You’ll Need For Music Production?
You’ll need at least 16GB of RAM in your laptop for it to be able to handle the complex rendering and often multi-track rendering that comes with music production. Having multiple tracks on the go at once is an unavoidable aspect of music production.
You are going to be working with RAW files, which are in themselves very large. To be able to process all of these files efficiently without them becoming damaged or corrupted, then you’ll have to have at least 16GB of processing speed.
What Is The Best Material For A Laptop To Be Made From?
Ideally, you’ll want a laptop that is a composite from a few different materials. Aluminum is probably the best material for a laptop to be made from, as it is very durable, but also lightweight. You’ll want something that you can store easily and also comes with a design that is very well ventilated.
It is very important that your laptop is able to stay very cool, as these things are very prone to overheating. If your laptop does start to get a little hot, then you’ll notice that you’ll be experiencing a lot of stuttering issues.
