Sign In:     

Forum: General Discussion

Topic: Best laptop to purchase for VirtualDJ (no mac)
Looking for a laptop but I don't like Macs. I'm using the latest version of VDJ and I have a license
 
Posted yesterday @ 12:17 am
Recommended System Requirements (imo at least double the RAM):

https://virtualdj.com/wiki/Minimum+system+requirements.html

Optimize running (basically run as little over VirtualDJ as possible, always use the drivers the hardware manufacturer provides, remove bloat, don't run antivirus, etc):

https://virtualdj.com/wiki/PC%20Optimize.html


Notebookcheck list of their DPC tests (take with a grain of salt, do your own testing where possible)

https://www.notebookcheck.net/DPC-Latency-Ranking-Which-laptops-and-Windows-tablets-offer-the-lowest-latency.504376.0.html

XMG's article on why DPC latency is important and whay things vould be contributing to spikes, there tests amd laptop recs)


https://www.xmg.gg/en/news-deep-dive-audio-laptops-xmg-dpc-latencies/

Note, XMG seems to do well in both cases for tests (Notebookcheck and their own), and they did make a DJ specific laptop in the past not sure about availabilities either, especially in the current economic climate.

There are responses to similar posts from Windows users on the forums as well, so maybe do a search and check what they recommend.

Otherwise, maybe use these lists to narrow down options, and be prepared to test and potentially return laptops. Also, having DPC spikes doesn't necessarily mean unbearable operation with VirtualDJ - if you don't get dropouts at properly adjusted latency/buffer size for your soundcard for your performances then that is good enough.
 
Modern Windows 11 Laptops most recently an Intel i7 12th. - 14 Generation have massive latency problem and are therefore unusable for Audio.

User recommend Mac , AMD Ryzen 7 or ARM CPU
 
Some of the higher end i7 and i9 are OK, but the consumer level Intel processors found in most laptops are overly aggressive on power saving hence the problem.
 
 
I think the first post I put pretty much covers the DPC problem, why it exists, and some checks from XMG and Notebookcheck. That doesn't mean these newer Windows laptops cannot be used - you would have to dive deeper into the hardware combinations and still have to check yourself, as your use case and experience is the final say.

OP specifically said they didn't want to go the Mac/MacBook route (iMac/MacBooks aren't necessarily the only answer for realtime audio, but is often a good one based on the average specs/setup of a iMac/MacBook).