Fastest laptop for audio in max/msp ?

Alexandre's icon

I would prefer a mac...

The global Geekbench Score looks about 60% better on
a 2.66Ghz i7 MacBookPro ( http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/210968 )
than my 2.4 Ghz core2duo MacBookPro ( http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/286728 ),
but when i look down in the page on the "Floating Point Performance", specially "multi-threaded" ones (in blue) it look like some msp stuff inside a poly~ (Floating Point & multi-threaded) should make a difference of a factor of two (or 100%).

But...

There are even some laptops that use 'desktop processors'*, and it looks like it's again 2-3 times faster than the fastest 2.66Ghz i7 MacBookPro on most of the 'multi-threaded/Floating-Point' tests (in blue) Although the lasts 'sharpen/blur-Image' tests seem slower.
- Intel Core i7 X 920 2.0 Ghz : http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/214726
- Intel Core i7 975 3.33 Ghz : http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/141005 ( http://www.clevo-europe.com/default_zone/fr/html/Prod_Buy.php?product=WII7-1FDMF90 )

And this one is a 6-core on a laptop (!) : http://www.clevo.fr/contents/fr/p262.html - Intel Core i7 980 X 3.33 Ghz : it would then maybe run around 4 times faster than the fastest MacBookPro...

There are about 2000€ and 3000€...
I'm curious how fast they are with max/msp... ?
(and more specially with resonators~)

I'm curious about this idea of having 'desktop processor' in a laptop.
If it's only an autonomy problem i don't care, but how stable, hot, noisy are theses laptops ?

Seriously, if it's really 8 times faster - for audio in a poly~ - than my actual 2.4 Ghz core2duo MPB, i wouldn't mind so much going on Windows. (Or maybe i'll wait for a faster multitouch laptop** to use with MaxMultitouchFramework)

Alexandre's icon

Anyone who tried very fast PC laptops with max ?

AudioLemon's icon

I got a desktop replacement a few years ago and I replaced it with a desktop.

My experience with laptops is that they fall to bits. This was worse with my desktop replacement. The desktop replacement laptop was heavy, bulky, hot, the power adapter broke after a year and it slowly fell apart. It was expensive (over €2000)and I was ultimately very unhappy with it. For power use I think a desktop is the way to go. I have a 24" monitor, quad core, 4 GBs ram and it was about €900 2 years ago. Still going strong and for my needs very quick. I also have a cheapy €500 laptop for portability.

I can't speak of the models you link to or your personal needs but I would not buy an expensive laptop again.

Alexandre's icon

Thanks for the comment.
Could you tell the reference of the laptops you are talking about ? (just for know, for comparing)

dthomas86's icon

I work in a mac store so I would be biased towards the mac operating system rather than windows. Just go with what you can afford but as the saying goes once you go mac you wont go back. A basic macbook can cope perfectly fine with audio are you wanting to do a lot of DSP work? Because if so then this will definitely eat up cpu.
I know you can get a lot faster clock speeds and processors in pcs for a lot cheaper price but they are not running the Mac OSX, just the hassle finder the right drivers on PC are a nightmare and I have found my work load to be a lot faster on a Mac rather than when I had a PC.
I am not trying to be biased or anything I used to be a oc user for a while and saw no reason moving to mac because they are 'costly' but compared you can pay nearly a thousand for a decent windows laptop but the os lets it down, where that money could be spent on a mac.
Don't get me wrong I still need to use a PC for certain things like using Neuendo in Uni and such. And if there are applications that only work in windows you can always partition your mac's hdd to run windows.
At the end of the day its your money and you have to make the decision, but now I use a mac on a day to day basis I can never think of moving over to PC again.
But as I have stated you could get a pc with the fastest's cpu, latest processors etc but its the os that kind of lets it down in the end.

AudioLemon's icon

"Thanks for the comment.
Could you tell the reference of the laptops you are talking about ? (just for know, for comparing)" - Alexandre

There is no comparison in terms of specs. This was a few years ago. It was some kind of Acer that at the time matched desktop specs. I am just saying I like having a desktop just for when I need more horse power and a laptop for a bit of messing about web/family and as a kind of a scratchpad for ideas. Well spec'd desktop/cheap laptop works for me but I don't know your requirements.

KaaKaa's icon

i would prefer a desktop mac like the mac pro series, its easier to update the hardware. and we all know notebooks are not really mobile...

Alexandre's icon

> "are you wanting to do a lot of DSP work?"

Yes, A LOT. (hundreds, maybe thousands of resonants filters for a special sub-additive synthesis + others stuff)

> "we all know notebooks are not really mobile"

My Idea of "mobile" is not yet to play in the train or on the beach (i don't care about the battery time) but to be able to travel rather easily with my computer. I'm not gonna take a train with a big desktop computer plus the desktop screen.