Music XPC C4

[urozhay]

Have any body used Music XPC C4 Laptop? What can you say about it?

[itsplayed]

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but the C4 isn't a laptop. Are you looking for a laptop or a desktop unit? Anyway at $1900.00 the C4 is way overpriced and very limited.

[urozhay]

Ye, sorry, that was MusicXPC Professional M3. I couldn't find cheaper laptop with the same characteristics. What would you recomend?

[itsplayed]

Although it looks like a very good laptop, I do have a couple of reservations with it. Like it's choice of using a 5400rpm drive, it's ENE 712 PCMCIA controller, It's choice in using a VIA 1394 controller and it's shared video ram.
I don't like to advertise for anyone but I'll show what a good laptop should be like, you can compare then shop around......
http://www.adkproaudio.com/systems/laptop.cfm

[urozhay]

Thank you. Really the price is almost the same, but they give 7200 rpm, I know that will help when recording live. Can't understand the other parameters you mentioned, can you briefly explain what they mean?

[itsplayed]

Yes I can and your welcome, the chipset that is being used on the XPC machine is the 915GM which uses part of the system memory to run the graphics card....this is not a good thing for audio and is pretty self explanitory. Here, the i915PM chipset is best.
Another thing you need to look out for is the controller chips used for both the PCMCIA and firewire ports. Here the TI chipsets are the best for compatability/funtionality reasons when interfacing with either PCMCIA or Firewire soundcards.

[itsplayed]

...By the way, have you decided on or do you have a soundcard/audio interface yet?

[itsplayed]

My error on my last post. I meant to say that.....Another thing you need to look out for is the controller chips used for both the PCMCIA and firewire ports. Here the Texas Instruments and Agere chipsets are the best for compatability/funtionality reasons when interfacing with either PCMCIA or Firewire soundcards as well as other devices.

[urozhay]

Thank you. That information was useful, although not everything was clear to me. The thing is right now for recording I'm using an old Pentium 4 desktop computer ( w/ SAW Basic software) which doesn't have any special sound card, and because all sorts of upgrades would cost a lot of money I just decided to buy a laptop which also would be good for recording live gigs. Would appreciate any advices on that.

[itsplayed]

In reality, a desktop PC would be far cheaper, more powerful and much better at running your DAW. Notebooks just don't make good DAW's when compared to a desktop. So don't buy a notebook to replace a desktop. Buy one in addition to it. A smart move would be to buy a bundle (MoBo/CPU/Ram) and replace your existing one. If you want portability as well invest in a rack mount PC case.

[urozhay]

I thought that modern laptops are as much powerful as desktops. Ok but I never heard anything about bundle Mobo/CPU/Ram. Is it supposed to be instead of processor? Does it have the same ports and speed?

[itsplayed]

First of all, not all laptops are created equal and in fact very few work well with audio. If your looking for a replacement to a desktop PC the closest you will come with a laptop are the AMD X2 units, but these also come with a very high price tag. Don't expect a laptop to put up performance numbers equal to that of a desktop PC....you'll be dissapointed if you do.
That said, you can do some respectable recording with the right laptop and audio interface but again it will come at a cost. If your stuck on the idea of using a laptop, find one that uses either the intel Sonoma or AMD X2 processors, has dedicated video ram and uses TI controller chips for both PCMCIA and Firewire ports, although Richo has also worked well here. Trash the idea of a USB soundcard and choose either a firewire or PCMCIA soundcard. A great choice here are either RME's Fireface or lower budget EMU1616M.

[urozhay]

RME's stuff is pretty expensive for me, I thought about Presonus Firepod 8 channels would be enough for a normal live recording. I was gonna ask you if recording with a multitrack recorder and bringing record to a desktop computer for processing, would be the same in quality as recording with laptop + some firewire interface? Appreciate your help

[urozhay]

And what way would be better moneywise?

[itsplayed]

Yes, a stand alone multi-track recorder is a very good way to go for convenience as well as cost. Such as the Korg D3200 and TASCAM 2488 which will allow you to import/export wave files with your PC.

[urozhay]

Thank's a lot. One more question. Let's say if i recorded 16 tracks with multitrack recorder and exported to my PC, I still gonna be able to work with each and every track separatly right? I mean if I'd like to compress one track and add some effect to another.

[itsplayed]

Yes, but whether or not this can be done through one operation I'm not sure. In other words you may only be able to export one track at a time into your DAW. Seek the product manual to be sure.

[urozhay]

Danke schon!:D