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Topic: laptop or desktop uner $800

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so im shopping for a new dj pc and trying to decide but its proving harder than i thought. main issue is finding the "latest/greatest" with usb 2.0

seems drivers aren't playing nice w/ usb 3.0. at least not the mix track pro. one of the ones i looked at was the rain event a2, not too portable for a mobile dj but not a big deal as far extra set up time. the specs are juicy. i don't see much talk on here re rain computers though (im surprised)

i had my heart set on the mac mini (don't knock it the latest one is damn powerful little machine) BUT all usb on the mac mini are usb 3.0.

then theres laptops/netbooks. same thing, latest ones are now all coming w usb 3.0. any recomdations on a laptop or mini desktop w/ some good specs under $800?

two that i liked were

http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/laptops/NP350U2B-A01US

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Acer-Aspire-5830TG-Notebook.52957.0.html

any input or advice would be great
 
Posted Sat 17 Nov 12 @ 12:23 pm
ps

check out the rain specs

Rain Event A2 Quad Core Mini Audio Computer Specifications

Processor: 2.6GHz AMD ‘Llano’ Quad-Core Accelerated Processor
Memory: 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 Dual-Channel SDRAM (Up to 16GB)
Hard Drive: 500GB SATA III 7200RPM High Performance Drive [16MB Cache]
Total Storage: Up to 2TB
Video: AMD Radeon HD 6410 Graphics Processor
Video Out: 1 x HDMI, 1 x DVI-D
Audio: 3 x Audio Ports (Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone)
S/PDIF: 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out
Optical Drive: StormDrive Dual Layer CD/DVD Writer
USB 2.0: 4 x USB 2.0 Ports
USB 3.0: 2 x USB 3.0 Ports
PCI Express 2.0: 1 x PCIe [x16] (low-profile)
LAN: 1 x Gigabit Ethernet Port [RJ-45]
PSU: 200 Watt Power Supply
Quiet Cool: Intelligent Cooling, Balanced Component Architecture
Input: USB Keyboard and Optical Mouse
 
Posted Sat 17 Nov 12 @ 12:37 pm
Rain is a great brand, I heard they were designed for music. I only know of one person using a Rain for DJ'ing and its been good up until he attempted to play videos.
I would say no to the Samsung, but thats just me.
Asus & Sony have some nice models in the $800 range.
Are you doing videos & what kind of hardware are you using?
 
Posted Sun 18 Nov 12 @ 8:47 am
at the moment im using a mixtrasck pro, djm250 mixer, and an American audio dual cd player for backup. my pc was stolen recently. The rain is really tugging at me as it looks on paper at least to be a pretty powerful pc. i dont do video, my thing is mostly bars, parties,weddings etc....
 
Posted Sun 18 Nov 12 @ 11:20 am
I'd say either Asus (my first choice) or Sony........ Also I prefer Intel or AMD but thats just me.
 
Posted Sun 18 Nov 12 @ 1:41 pm
Lucas, you do realize the Rain your'e looking at is a desktop? I thought $800 sounded a little low for one of their laptops.
 
Posted Sun 18 Nov 12 @ 2:25 pm
oh ya i know lol, i really prefer a laptop but the specs on the rain are so damn tempting. it would add 5-10 more minutes to my setup time and increase the "what if something goes wrong factor" (monitor/mouse/keyboard)

its really frustrating with this usb 3.0 thing but ive narrowed it down to about 3 computers.
 
Posted Mon 19 Nov 12 @ 10:37 am
Its your money but I wouldn't want the hassle of a desktop. The specs are good but the only real difference I see is a few extra USB's.

If the USB3 is a concern to you, there are allot of models out there that have both.
For a few hundred bucks more you can get a MSI GE60, 2 USB3 and 2 USB2..... high specs, everything but a backlit keyboard. And it will play videos should you ever have the need.

Find a retailer that has 18 month financing same as cash and your'e good to go!
 
Posted Mon 19 Nov 12 @ 4:31 pm
ya ive decided on a notebook. so far i have it down to a highly sped out hp envy or a early 2012 or late macbook pro w usb 2.0 ports.
 
Posted Wed 21 Nov 12 @ 1:21 pm
I wouldn't be too quick to jump on the HP ones right now. There have been some driver issues. Great machines but they are loading their machines up with a lot of crap from third party guys. (Beats etc.) You can strip some out but again... a bit of a pain. I really think you should look at the high end ASUS machines. They are pretty much the cleanest and truest installs going right now and the specs are amazing if you spend the right amount of dough. I really have to give them props on build quality etc. I've had them all for the most part and being a mulit op we have spent some serious coin on machines... So far ASUS get's my overall vote. Just my two cents. :-)
 
Posted Thu 22 Nov 12 @ 3:46 pm
thanks, i'm always changing my mind! :)

i like asus alot as well, ill check them out.
 
Posted Thu 22 Nov 12 @ 7:39 pm


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