Looking for QUIET laptop

[tochnik]

I'm looking to buy two identical laptops to use as Digital Audio Workstations. Primary concern is quiet, as they will be used in recording control rooms, and will sit right next to finicky producers who love silence. On the other hand, they must be snappy, we're using them with a MADI Express Card to record and play back as many as 64 tracks of 24-bit audio. Must also have a 17" display, so we can see all of these tracks/waveforms. I figured I would go for a reasonably fast processor with lots of RAM, but stay away from hi-power gaming GPU's which could add to fan noise.

Priorities:
Quiet
Must have 17" display
Must have eSATA

Here 're my answers:

General Questions

1) What is your budget?
$3k (per laptop)

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
a. Ultraportable; 12" screen or less
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
d. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
d.

3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in.
USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Asus looks good, otherwise don't care

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Pro audio recording & production work

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Taking it everywhere

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
No

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
Will be on AC power 98% of the time

9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No

10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
Must be Win XP Pro SP2

Screen Specifics

11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Widescreen

12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer? (more details below)
Standard
a. XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.
b. SXGA - 1400x1050 - Compromise resolution between XGA and UXGA.
c. UXGA - 1600x1200 - Very small text and graphics icons, you can fit lots of stuff on the screen.

Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
e. WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
f. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Wider viewing version of UXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
At least "e", but "f" if possible without adding to the noise


13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non glossy screen? (Read below on differences)
glossy/reflective

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Not really, only the lack of noise

15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
Buying immediately, was waiting for the Montevina processors, e.g. Asus M70VM-B1. If I can get 3 - 4 yrs out of it, I'll be happy.

Notebook Components

16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 500GB?
2 X 320 GB is OK

17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?
Blu-Ray, please

S0...question is, is the M70VM-B1 the right choice, or is there a better (or QUIETER!) one for my needs?

Thanks!

[robamb2002]

sounds like a sticky situation. you see, the machines with e-sata would be the NP5796(noise issues in the past), the NP8660(15" screen), the M70VM-B1(no montevina or high res screen), the G2SG-A1(no xp, montevina or blueray). I guess what I'm saying is you should find out what is a MUST and work with what you can live without. It sounds like the NP8660 has everything you would want except the 17" screen. but the M70VM-B1 would suit your needs very well. the intro of the ssd for sager products will also reduce noise/power consumption and may be worth looking into.

good luck and Happy Lappy Hunting

[kpauls]

You might be able to get a barebones NP5796 and put in a low-end MXM video card (9300M? maybe one of the Radeon 3xxx HD?)

You should also be able to use the Windows XP drivers to lower the GPU's operating frequency to keep those fans off!

[tochnik]

Thanks for the replies. Robamb2002, I'm a bit confused....from what I can see, the M70VM-B1 is offerred with...

Intel® P9500 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt

...among other Montevinas. I do understand that 1440 x 900 is the max resolution, I guess I can live with that. Question is....is it the consensus that this machine is REALLY QUIET?

Thanks in advance....:smile2:

[Brad@XoticPC]

In my humble opinion, because it's in the control room (and not in the sound booths) and because you don't want a desktop, the M70VM-B1 would make a great choice for this application.

Like robamb2002 said, SSD's would be very cool (literally) and totally silent - I personally think they're the future of mobile computing. That said, if you're going to store ridiculous amounts of uncompressed digital audio, you might be hard pressed to find anything solid state that would give you enough room.

The things that would make noticeable noise in a laptop are the hard drive (if it's cheap and poorly made), optical drive, and video card (through putting out heat to make the system fan work harder.) No matter what you get, as long as your hard drive doesn't sound like a marching band, it wouldn't be hard to make sure that the system runs coolly and quietly during recording or mixing - especially with that M70. Just my two cents.

If you haven't already, you can find Xotic's review of the M70VM-B1 here: http://www.xoticpcforums.com/showthread.php?t=673

[tochnik]

Thanks very much. I have ordered one M70VM-B1 from xotic, should arrive any day now. Will try it out & then hopefully order another.....