Dedicated PC Laptop for Axe-FX II XL recommendation

L

LearnedHand

New Member
This is my first question. It is a newbie to Fractal. I have a Mac laptop for personal stuff, and a PC laptop for work-related stuff. I just received an XL as well as the MFC-101 and I am going through the learning curve. I had the opportunity to use the Fractal program utilities on both my Mac and PC. I prefer to use my PC with Axe-Fx edit. I rather not be using my PC that I use for work (which is a "powerhouse PC"), so I am looking for an alternative PC laptop to use.

So I am asking the forum members what would be the minimum specifications for a PC laptop (Microprocessor, Memory, Hard Drive, I/O (USB), Screen size, etc.) to be dedicated to the XL for updating, backup, creating presets and scenes, etc. I would like to stay with using the Windows 7 or XP operating systems because I am not had success with Windows 8 or 10.

Thanks
 
What's wrong with the Mac?
XP is no longer supported, and I wouldn't touch Win8 with a barge pole..
I ran win7x64 for quite some time and upgraded to Win10x64 last August.
No issues with drivers, AE, Bot or any FAS software - and I can assure you, I install a lot of it.

If you HAVE to go windows, go Win10. You'll need a MINIMUM of 8 GB ram (I'd say 16 to be safe), i5 processor (or AMD equivalent) or better and as much disk space as you want. BTW - the ram/cpu recommendations are for Windows, not FAS software. You may still have issues with USB v3 ports.. some work, some don't.

I'd try with my Mac first - if it were me.
YMMV
 
+1 on just using the Mac as well. All the pros I work with use MacBooks of various ages as dedicated editing and backup machines for their Fractal gear. Everything from old, plastic shell MacBooks up to shiny new MacBook Pros are commonplace.

If you really want to get a new machine, and go Windows, I'd look at Surface Pro. Lots of nice things to say about its touch screen interface, size, weight and the keyboard it comes with. Much lighter and smaller than a laptop too.
 
LearnedHand said:
This is my first question. It is a newbie to Fractal. I have a Mac laptop for personal stuff, and a PC laptop for work-related stuff. I just received an XL as well as the MFC-101 and I am going through the learning curve. I had the opportunity to use the Fractal program utilities on both my Mac and PC. I prefer to use my PC with Axe-Fx edit. I rather not be using my PC that I use for work (which is a "powerhouse PC"), so I am looking for an alternative PC laptop to use.

So I am asking the forum members what would be the minimum specifications for a PC laptop (Microprocessor, Memory, Hard Drive, I/O (USB), Screen size, etc.) to be dedicated to the XL for updating, backup, creating presets and scenes, etc. I would like to stay with using the Windows 7 or XP operating systems because I am not had success with Windows 8 or 10.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Welcome back my friend to the Show that Never Ends :) . . . We're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside.
 
Okay, Okay, I will go back to using my Mac laptop. I am just more comfortable using a mouse with single and double clicks over a trackpad.

They both work fine with my XL. It is just my preference to use a tethered mouse with left and right mouse buttons.

Thank you for the responses.
 
I have a a 2008 Toshiba Sat that came with Vista. It has a AMD Turion X2 and I up'ed the RAM from 3 to 4Gig (Max'd) and put a SSD with Windows 10 (64bit). Its my dedicated Axe Machine. It runs great, especially for a machine I nearly threw away.
 
FWIW, I have a HP Envy x360 that I got for $500.00 new on Black Friday that is an i5. Windows 10, Backlit keyboard, nice trackpad 3 usb 3 ports, 1 TB hd, 8 Gig ram and it runs Axe Edit and Fractal bot perfectly. IMO you don't need that powerful of a computer for either of those. I also muti-track with it! Don't be afraid of Windows 10, it is actually a nice step up from my Win 7 machine.
 
I recently asked the guys what they recommend for me to use in a live situation for emergency for my axe fx. I got a Nextbook with 11 inch scree with detachable keyboard so you can use touch screen.

It was $227 at Walmart, runs win 10 and runs fractal bot and axe edit without a problem. I use it exclusively for my axe fx MKII and my XL+. I personally do not think you need more than that.

I have all my backups on there as well as my cabs and various firmware versions. The nextbook is powerful enough to do lots of other things, but for axe fx only, it's been perfect. Good luck in whatever you decide.
 
For answering the question, and give you an idea of a config which works perfectly, I just can say that I use this PC laptop for two years now.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-17r-se-7720/pd

I have the version with SDD drive + Blu ray

It looks great, it is powerful, and it works perfectly with the Axe FX II and in any other situation (video, photos, etc..)
I have windows 10 on it, without any problems.
(I like personally a lot this OS)

Only cons, it is BIG and heavy in comparison with smaller laptop.
It is more built to stay on a desk as to be used in the subway daily !
 
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