Are Gaming Laptops Good for Music Production?

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Are gaming laptops good for music production? The original purpose of gaming computers was to power high-end graphic games, hence the name gaming computer. But what about using them as a music production machine? If you’re like most people, you may be thinking, isn’t it the same thing? Well, yes and no! A gaming computer has the power to run complex music software that can help you make great music, but not everyone needs or should have such a powerful machine to accomplish this task. Due to their powerful hardware specifications, gaming computers can be used to produce music. Gaming computers can produce a lot of sound. A gaming computer can be used to produce music if you lower the fan speed and manage the sound levels. Read on to find out if gaming laptops are good for music production.

A Gaming Computer for Music Production

Gaming computers are GPU-oriented. They have more RAM and a higher horsepower. A gaming computer’s only problem is its ability to make a lot of noise. Gaming computers can make a lot of noise, which could affect audio quality when recording with open mics. This may not be a problem if electronic music is your thing. The microphone is not usually required to create electronic music. Therefore, external noises such as fan noises or noises from the computer are not a problem. 

You should make sure that your computer and room are not noisy if you are recording vocals. This can cause interference with your recordings. A studio microphone is essential for recording vocals if you are a singer.  What are the key features of a laptop that can be used for music production? How do you determine if it is a good one? These questions and more are answered in the following.

Specifications needed for Music Production

Are gaming laptops good for music production? Here are some specifications that are needed in a laptop for music production.

  • A powerful processor (at least quad cores with 2.5GHz)
  • A minimum 8GB RAM (16GB or more) would be ideal
  • Minimum 1TB SSD Storage (Solid State Drive Storage)

Powerful Processor: Are gaming laptops good for music production?

Gaming computers come with powerful CPUs. Powerful CPU is required for music production, mixing, recording, and mastering making it run much faster and smoother.

A powerful processor is vital because your computer’s processor can cause problems when recording if it is not strong enough. The GHz unit is a way to measure the power of your CPU. It measures the frequency of the processor. A laptop is stronger if it has more processors. A processor with a speed of 4.0GHz is twice as powerful as a processor with a speed of 2.0GHz. Consider the number of cores that a CPU has. A CPU with more cores will run multiple programs faster. To ensure that your music software runs efficiently, you should get at least quad cores with 2.5GHz.

Read also: Gaming Laptop vs Business Laptop

RAM

RAM is another important aspect to be aware of. Although RAM is a temporary memory that your computer uses, it is not the same as the hard drive. The hard drive stores and archives 99 percent of the files on your computer. Because it temporarily stores the codes required to run programs, computer RAM affects how fast your computer runs programs. A RAM with enough power to handle multiple tasks simultaneously is the key to smooth music creation. RAM is measured in gigabytes. A computer that has at least 8GB RAM is required for smooth operation.

A gaming PC or laptop comes with RAM of 8GB or more which is perfect for music production. When DAW is opened and plugins are added it needs more RAM. If more options are used more power is needed so more RAM is needed.

Storage & SSD

Gaming computers come with SSDs, which are essential for music production. Music production requires the creation of many types of files like samples, project files, software, etc. Producing music requires a lot of storage space. You should consider a larger storage capacity, such as 1TB. You will never run out of space if you have more storage capacity. An SSD is a standard feature in most new businesses. A solid-state drive flash memory drive is faster than older hard drives. This is something that you should make sure your computer has. It’s faster than older hard drives. This will make your computer boot up much quicker and allow you to open programs faster. Older hard drives can be slower but they’re great for backing up files because they’re so cheap.

Lifespan: Are gaming laptops good for music production?

Gaming laptops last longer than regular computers as gaming laptops come with powerful CPU and RAM so you would not be required to buy new PCs often. When you buy a gaming PC you are sure that it will last longer i-e for many years. Another advantage is that as it is a gaming computer it can be used for other applications as well. You can play video games as well, and watch YouTube channels. In other words, you can use it for any purpose.

Drawbacks of using a gaming laptop for music production

Gaming laptops can be a great option for audio/music production. However, there are some drawbacks to using your gaming computer to create music. There are some reasons you might not want your gaming laptop to be used for music production. A gaming laptop will usually have an upgraded graphics card, but you won’t use it for audio/music production. A gaming laptop that has upgraded graphics might not be used to produce music. They are not intended for music production so you might hear a fan when recording. This could affect audio quality. Another drawback is a lot of internal storage space will be required to use a laptop for music production and gaming. This can lead to issues down the line.

While you could probably use your gaming laptop to produce music, it’s not financially feasible to have two computers.

Laptops for Music Production and Gaming

Gaming laptops have higher specifications than regular laptops, which can make them very useful for music production.

These are the top laptops for gaming and music production.

The Acer Nitro 5 computer is quite solid, especially for its low price. Another solid option for a music/gaming laptop is the Razer Blade 15. The Lenovo Legion 5 is a little higher up in the RAM ladder than our previous suggestion, and it has received mostly positive reviews. The Asus ROG Strix G17 is a 8-core processor with 64GB RAM. It’s a certified beast! Although the ASUS CUK ROG Scar 17 laptop is quite expensive, it comes with a 14-core i9 processor as well as 64GB of RAM. This is a lot of power for a laptop.

NameBrandHard Disk SizeCPU ModelRAM
Acer Nitro 5Acer256 GBCore i516GB
Razer Blade 15Razer256 GBCorei7-10750H8GB
Lenovo Legion 5Lenovo1TBRyzen 532GB
Asus ROG Strix G17ASUS2 TBRyzen 7 4800H64 GB
 ASUS CUK ROG Strix Scar 17Computer Upgrade King2000 GBCore i964 GB

These computers have advanced specifications, including their RAM and CPUs. You can use them to create music and play games.

Optimizing computers for music production

These are some tips to optimize your computer for music production.

  • One way is Multithreading. It allows you to distribute digital signal processor loads (DSPs) via DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) when multiple audio channels are being recorded. 
  • The sound card takes time to transfer data from the DAW into a computer during a music recording session. Buffer size is the time taken to process this data. To prevent any latency when recording audio, reduce your buffer size. 
  • Send each track to a reverb via bus. This will make it easier for your CPU to work. You can only create one effect per audio track. If you wish to add a reverb effect to your audio tracks, consider using a bus. 
  • Sidechain compression is the same. You don’t want your computer to perform a large backup while you are recording, as this could cause interruptions in your work. Instead, schedule manual backups. You can also use software to schedule these backups so it only backs up data when you aren’t using your computer.
  • Optimizing your I/O will greatly improve the efficiency of your computer. You can optimize your I/O by disconnecting cables from equipment that you aren’t using such as webcams and scanners. Use Thunderbolt or eSATA for external drives. 
  • Ethernet is faster than Wi-Fi. Consider a router compatible with 802.11 and 5GHz networks if you have Wi-Fi. These small adjustments can help to reduce data tailback.

Customizing/Building PC for Music Production

In personal computers, there is a lot of customization we can do. Depending on your needs, you can tweak them however you want so that they’re perfect for what you need. If you have a specific graphics card in mind or have any special requirements, it’s easy to do it on a PC as opposed to buying a complete package and having no say in what makes up your computer. Additionally, gaming computers will often have more storage space because people like storing their games on their hard drives; if all your files are digital and small enough (say from synthesizers), then having a bunch of extra hard drive space can come in handy.

Basically: you can customize them how YOU want, which is great! Also, since gaming computers aren’t specifically made for music production, many people find that their sound cards and audio interfaces aren’t optimized for professional use. This is another reason why many professionals recommend building your machine rather than just buying one off-the-shelf. The best part about doing it yourself is that you’ll get exactly what you want–and chances are, it’ll be cheaper than paying someone else to build something custom. Also remember: just because they’re designed with gamers in mind doesn’t mean they won’t work well for other purposes too!

Conclusion

Are gaming laptops good for music production? Gaming laptops can be a great choice for music production, as the requirements for gaming are very similar to those for music production. Gaming laptops must have large processors, powerful processors, large storage capacities, large screens, and a long battery life. These are the essential features of a laptop that is used in music production. Because it contains everything you need to make good music, a gaming computer is great for music production. You don’t require a graphics card on a gaming computer. You would not have issues like slow performance, software crashes, or any other problems like this.

PC Gurru website, led by Rashid Ali, a seasoned professional with over 10 years of experience. Explore articles, tips, and expert guidance on PC Gurru practices, testing, and industry trends.

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