15 Best Laptops for Music Production 2022

Producing on one of the best music production laptops can make a world of difference in a musician’s creative process, no matter what genre you prefer.

Today, laptops are a vital part of any studio, be it professional or home, and the powerful software these machines can house can, with the right setup, transform almost any space into a portable studio.

Simply connect peripheral music equipment such as microphones, amplifiers, speakers, and instruments, and even the most amateur musicians can start recording, editing, and exporting compositions in no time.

Plus, with a plethora of music production software to choose from, you don’t have to wrestle with interfaces and production styles that don’t quite fit your creative process.

Our selection of the best laptops for music production below has been handpicked from the wide variety of machines on the market, using our expertise, industry contacts, and experience of reviews.

What you need to know about Laptops for Music Production

Music production can take a toll on computers, but how much power you need depends on your usage. For example, low-latency multitrack recording requires more power than recording a podcast with one or two inputs.

Mixing 100+ channel sessions with countless plugins requires more brain power than minimalist productions. The best advice is to get as much performance as possible so the laptop can grow with you over the years. Here are the key specs to keep an eye on:

  • Processor: Multi-core processors delegate power for multitasking. It’s uncommon these days to see processors with fewer than 8 cores.
  • Memory: RAM. If you intend to use a lot of plugins and virtual instruments, choose the highest RAM you can afford. A good minimum for music production is 16GB.
  • Storage: Choose an SSD for fast recording, playback, and file capture. Music production software and files can take up a lot of space, so you probably won’t need less than 256GB (which can fill up quickly).

    You can always expand with external drives if needed, which is a good idea for backups anyway.
  • Connectivity: What peripherals do you have? Make sure the laptop has the appropriate ports, or consider expanding its connectivity with dongles.

There are a few factors to consider when choosing the best laptops for music production. Music production may not be as demanding as video editing or 3D design, but it still requires certain things, which means that not just any of the best laptops will do it.

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The best laptop for music production, for one, should have a robust processor, as you need plenty of power and fast performance to run DAW (digital audio workstation) software like ProTools and Logic.

While a powerful graphics card isn’t required, it does require a lot of faster RAM, since that’s what you need to handle all those big audio tracks and plugins.

And plenty of storage space is just as important so you can keep all those samples and audio files with you without having to carry around extra hard drives.

Many portable devices can cross these things off the list, but you should also consider your budget and portability, which may limit your options.

From affordable options for the budget-conscious to premium options for those willing to splurge, here are our top picks. Be sure to check out the included price comparison tool to find the best laptop deals.

What Makes a Laptop Good for Music Production?

The best laptops for music production are ready to be hammered under heavy use as they have a fast CPU and plenty of RAM and storage space.

Since digital music production is also a highly visual craft, a large screen with high screen resolution also helps make a laptop good for music production.

At the very least, a laptop shouldn’t be overloaded with too many applications or too much media – when it’s full of files, don’t be surprised if you experience hiccups and lag.

And while USB-C ports have the versatility to support breakout boxes that provide access to multiple inputs and outputs (I/O), you’ll want more than one to allow for easy configuration and reduce theoretical bottlenecks.

Can any laptop be used for music production?

Any laptop (even kids’ computers) can be used for any type of music production, be it just recording external and internal sounds or using a simple sequencer.

Whole albums were made 10, 20, 30 and 40 years ago, when laptops weren’t as powerful.

Even entry-level MacBooks come preloaded with a software program called Apple GarageBand that can be used for music production, while free software programs like Audacity can be downloaded by both Mac and Windows users to produce and edit music.

However, if your laptop has a slow processor with little RAM and storage space, it can be a bit lengthy and frustrating process when trying to use the latest software, so you may have to work on smaller projects or opt for older program versions.

How to choose the Best Laptop for Music Production

Choosing a laptop that can handle CPU-intensive audio production work can be difficult. Some options focus heavily on battery life.

Others place a high value on performance and prefer higher-end processors (CPUs) to ensure operations run smoothly.

Add to that differences in screen sizes, aesthetics, and a host of other variables, and we can easily see how hard it is to justify buying one model over another.

There are certain qualities you’ll look for in a laptop, whether it’s for music production or video editing. Namely, they are looking for the ideal point of performance, performance, and price.

Ultimately, when we talk about performance in this context we mean how fast the laptop can process things and how fast it can access, write and change stored data.

 If you’re a sample-based producer and have gigabytes of stored loops and one-shots, you should focus on a machine that offers super-fast access to your stored media.

And while they’re a bit more expensive than traditional hard disk drives (HDD), the only real option these days is a laptop equipped with a solid-state drive (SSD).

Solid-state means there are no moving parts – so nothing can go wrong or fail – but with fast data transfer speeds so you don’t have to wait for that pesky progress bar.

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Best Laptops for Music Production

1. Apple MacBook Pro 14″

The best all-rounder, but you’ll pay for the privilege

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: M1 Pro
  • Graphics: M1 Pro
  • RAM: 16GB – 32GB
  • Screen: 14” Liquid Retina
  • Storage: 512GB – 8TB

Pros

  • As powerful as you’ll find anywhere
  • Reliable
  • No Touch Bar

Cons

So expensive.

If you’ve used Apple MacBook Pro models in the past, you’ll be aware of the bold industrial design, Retina displays, and optimized combination of in-house hardware and software to create a highly desirable, highly capable music production laptop.

So when you look at the 2022 Apple MacBook Pro 14″, you might feel a little underwhelmed – we certainly were. It doesn’t have a flashy new design or a much-improved screen.

But what happened out of sight in the body of the machine, however, has been completely improved.

Utilizing the latest M1 Pro or M1 Max chips, the 14-inch model now has enough processing power and peak performance to satisfy even the most demanding creative professionals.

Configurable to include some frankly insane specs like up to 64GB of RAM and 8TB of SSD storage, this is a music production laptop like no other.

Yes, it’s expensive – if you max out the configurator on Apple’s website, you can pay around £/$6,000 for the highest-spec version, but if you can afford it, there’s literally no other machine out there that does capable of doing what this laptop can do.

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2. Dell XPS 13 OLED (2021)

Still one of the best Windows laptops for music production

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: 11th Gen Intel Core i5 – i7
  • Graphics: Intel Iris Xe
  • RAM: 8GB – 32GB
  • Screen: 13.3” FHD (1920×1200) or OLED (3456×2160)
  • Storage: 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD

Pros

  • Sleek, grown-up design
  • Quite an unbelievable screen

Cons

  • Still expensive
  • More ports would be welcome

Another year, another addition to the impressive Dell XPS range. Touted as the ideal laptop for on-the-go creatives who don’t feel like logging into the Apple Walled Garden, and as the closest Windows alternative to an Apple MacBook Pro, the Dell XPS range has built a solid reputation thanks to its slim design, beautiful screens, and powerful specifications.

The XPS range offers a similar level of style, quality, and performance as the MBP but uses Windows as the operating system.

From the looks of it, other than looking at high-end, elite gaming laptops, you won’t get a much better package for the money.

The 2021 vintage packs an updated 11th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processor along with an additional 4K OLED screen.

This might not be the eye-popping headline feature a music maker will choose, but if you want the laptop to serve other purposes, like watching movies or general amazement, then the Dell XPS 2021 OLED might be the perfect option.

There’s a beefier 15-inch model further up the line, but for most people, the XPS 13 is a pretty compelling package.

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3. Apple MacBook Air M2

This could be the music production laptop you’ve been waiting for

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: Apple M2
  • Graphics: Apple M2
  • RAM: 8GB – 24GB
  • Screen: 13.6” Liquid Retina (2560 x1664)
  • Storage: 256GB – 2TB SSD
  • Dimensions: 30.41 x 21.5 x 1.13cm
  • Weight: 1.24kg

Pros

  • Lightest and thinnest Apple laptop
  • Silent and powerful
  • Lovely screen and speakers

Cons

  • Not a huge step up from the M1 for audio

Apple’s latest M2 MacBook Air feels like a new chapter for Apple users and one that will take making music on your laptop to another level.

At just 1.24 kg, the MacBook Air M2 is Apple’s lightest device and at just 11.3 mm thick it’s also the thinnest. The all-new colors are great too (we went with the light gold Starlight, although the Midnight option was tempting).

The sound that emanates from the Air’s four speakers (which also support spatial audio) is so much better than a small device like this should be capable of.

The Air’s battery life is good, although at a claimed 18 hours it doesn’t quite match the 20 hours with a new M2 13-inch MacBook Pro.

You also only get two Thunderbolt USB 4 ports on the MacBook Air compared to three on the 2021 MacBook Pro. If you want to connect more than one monitor and said port, you might need to think outside the box a bit.

The M2 MacBook Air is beautiful, powerful, and just about the best quiet notebook, you can buy for music production.

A final footnote is that several websites have reported that the base model Air M2 (with a 256GB drive) is to be avoided as it suffers from the same speed issue as the M2 MacBook Pro 256GB (due to its chip configuration), so make sure you specify yours up to at least 512GB.

Otherwise, it’s safe to say that after more than 20 years of music production on laptops, the Air M2 is the music production laptop we’ve been waiting for.

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4. Apple MacBook Pro M1 13”

Apple MacBook Pro 2020

The next stage in the evolution of a music-making laptop

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: Apple M1
  • Graphics: Apple M1
  • RAM: 8-16GB
  • Screen: 13.3” Retina display (2560 x 1600p)
  • Storage: 256GB – 2TB

Pros

  • Incredible performance… potentially
  • Astounding battery life

Cons

  • Aging design
  • Still only two Thunderbolt 3 ports

Reading the mainstream tech media’s general reviews of the latest Apple silicon laptops, you’d be forgiven for thinking we’ve experienced a paradigm shift.

Apple’s new in-house M1 chip appears to be miles ahead of the competition, promising unprecedented gains in speed, performance, and battery life.

It does this by combining the CPU, GPU, and memory into one chip, significantly reducing power consumption and providing a vastly optimized computing experience.

While a powerful machine is part of the equation, we also depend on the hardware playing well with the software packages we use in our work.

As you’d expect, Logic Pro X and Garageband users can immediately benefit from all of these additional tweaks, but for Live, Cubase, Pro Tools, and co. users the picture is less clear.

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5. Apple MacBook Air M1

Apple MacBook Air 2020

M1 variant is now a serious contender for music production

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: Apple M1
  • Graphics: Apple M1
  • RAM: 8GB – 16GB
  • Screen: 13.3” Retina (2560×1600)
  • Storage: 256GB – 2TB SSD

Pros

  • Light as a laptop could possibly be
  • Cheaper than the Pro range

Cons

  • A bezel only a mother could love

It used to be that if you were a serious music maker, anything under Apple’s MacBook Pro line simply wouldn’t cut it for the processor and RAM-intensive tasks put upon it by audio production.

With the new M1 chip inside the 2021 Apple MacBook Air, however, we’ve been convinced that this argument can largely be put to bed, at least for the majority of home producers.

Add into that the inherent benefits of the Air – slim form factor, weighs the same as a crisp packet – and you’ve got a pretty formidable production machine, particularly if your workflow involves traveling around. 

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6. Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition

Gaming specialists branch out into creative

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: 8th Gen Intel Core i7
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
  • RAM: 32GB
  • Screen: 15.6” OLED 4K Touch
  • Storage: 1TB SSD

Pros

  • Enormously powerful
  • Apple-tier design flourishes

Cons

  • Overkill for many

Think of a gaming laptop, and you probably imagine garish colors, RGB lights all over the shop, and enough power under the hood to light up a continent.

With the Razer Blade 15 Studio, however, we have a monstrously powerful laptop with its origins in the gaming world, but with its sights very much set on creative pursuits.

There are some nice visual touches, from the customizable RGB backlighting on the keys, but otherwise, this is a strong, slick studio beast that demands attention. 

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7. Microsoft Surface Laptop 2

A seriously capable laptop for music production

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: Intel Core i5-i7
  • Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620
  • RAM: 8GB – 16GB
  • Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SSD

Pros

  • Competitive power level
  • Lovely new black color scheme

Cons

  • No Thunderbolt 3 option
  • Too few ports for its size

Microsoft’s second attempt at a pure laptop is an absolute winner in our opinion, and while it’s not a major overhaul of the original Surface Laptop, it does offer improvements in every area we were hoping for, including updated hardware that brings profound performance benefits.

This laptop finally delivers what Microsoft intended with the original: a pure, powerful Windows 10 laptop experience.

If you don’t like the 2-in-1 nature of the Surface Book 2, but love Microsoft’s premium build quality and design, then the Surface Laptop 2 is the laptop for you.

A worthy addition to the roundup of the best laptops for music production.

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8. Samsung Notebook 9

A beautiful Apple laptop alternative

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: Intel i7-8550U
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce MX150
  • RAM: 8GB-16GB
  • Screen: 15-inch 1,920 x 1,080 LED
  • Storage: 256-512GB SSD

Pros

  • Excellent performance
  • Insane battery life

Cons

  • Squishy Keyboard
  • Very little

While it might not have the best keyboard in the world, the Samsung Notebook 9 is still one of the best laptops you can buy.

Packed with more horsepower than the MacBook Pro but at a much lower price point, Samsung has created a laptop that has as much substance as it has style.

Plus, in addition to its killer specs, it’s light and thin, making it one of the most portable 15-inch laptops you can buy today.

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Also see, Best Laptops For Live Streaming | Every Budget

9. Asus Rog Strix Scar III Laptop

One of the best laptops if you’re doing serious production work

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: Intel i7
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB
  • RAM: 16 GB (base)
  • Screen: 15.6” Full HD
  • Storage: 1TB SSD

Pros

  • Monstrous performance
  • Upgrade potential
  • Cool under pressure

Cons

  • Not the most discreet.

At the higher end of the gaming PC spectrum – not a bad place for music producers when it comes to sheer power – there are some serious studio contenders.

The Asus Rog Strix Scar is proof of that; With an Intel i7 processor and a base configuration of 16 GB RAM, you know this device can handle any audio production task you throw at it.

Scottish electronic producer Hudson Mohawke is a well-known fan and with good reason. Once you ditch the garish color scheme and “edgy” gamer branding, you have an immensely capable, lightweight computer that rivals many traditional desktop configurations.

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10. MSI GF63 Laptop

This gaming laptop heavyweight packs a big punch for musicians

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: 9th Generation Intel i5
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
  • RAM: 8 GB (max 64 GB)
  • Screen: 15.6” Full HD display/120 Hz
  • Storage: 256 GB SSD

Pros

  • Performance in the right areas
  • Upgradable RAM slots

Cons

  • Battery life could be better

MSI is one of the most respected names in gaming PCs, so assume their flagship mid-range offering has some decent internals.

The MSI GF63 is the ideal blend of performance and aesthetics, and its thin form factor and cooling capabilities would make it an excellent laptop for anyone using their laptop for live performance or as a portable studio.

In terms of performance, it comes with a 2.4GHz i5 processor which is solid enough to handle most tasks. However, we liked the upgrade potential; It comes with 8GB of DDR4 RAM but can accommodate up to 64GB, so the potential for future-proofing your system is clear.

As your live sets or studio sessions grow, so can your laptop.

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11. Microsoft Surface Pro 7

The best laptop for music production for those wanting 2-in-1

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: Intel Core i3 – i7
  • Graphics: Intel Iris Plus
  • RAM: 4 GB – 16 GB
  • Screen: 12.3” Full HD
  • Storage: 128 GB – 1 TB SSD

Pros

  • Aesthetically breathtaking
  • Touch versions of desktop apps

Cons

  • Not a lot of spec for the money

As Microsoft’s response to Apple’s dominance, the stakes were high when the Surface Pro series was released. With Apple’s grip on creative professionals being so tight, the Surface Pro had a lot to live up to.

And with the Microsoft Surface Pro 7, it’s getting closer and closer to bridging that gap.

Granted, a razor-thin two-in-one will never be the production powerhouse that a dedicated PC or Mac would be, but as a device aimed at portability, it’s near-flawless.

The biggest stumbling block will be the price; for a fully tricked-out version with an Intel i7 processor and 16GB of RAM, look north of $2,000.

But as a premium device that can handle music and anything else life can throw at you, it’s a solid option. A full day of battery life is also not to be sniffed at either.

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12. Asus ZenBook Flip S UX370 Laptop

An absolutely incredible 2-in-1 laptop

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: Intel Core i7-855OU
  • Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620
  • RAM: 16GB
  • Screen: 13.3-inch full HD touchscreen
  • Storage: 512GB PCIe SSD

Pros

  • Super thin and light
  • Powerful core components 

Cons

  • Not the cheapest convertible
  • Fingerprint magnet

Asus has struck gold with the new refresh of its ZenBook Flip S 2-in-1 laptop. We were so impressed with the Asus ZenBook Flip S UX370 that it made its way into our list of the top 10 best music production laptops to buy right now.

With a new 8th Gen Kaby Lake-R processor powering the device, plenty of RAM, and a super-fast PCIe SSD on select models, this is an absolutely stunning addition to our list of the best laptops for music production.

Its 2-in-1 design means you can use it as both a laptop and a tablet, and while it’s not as affordable as some devices on this list; If you have the budget then you will be really happy with this awesome device.

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13. Acer Swift 3

The best budget Ultrabook

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: Dual-core Intel Core i3 – i7
  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620
  • RAM: 4GB – 8GB DDR4
  • Screen: 14-inch full HD (1920 x 1080) ComfyView IPS
  • Storage: 128GB – 256GB SSD

Pros

  • Powerful for the price
  • Stellar battery life

Cons

  • Boring looks
  • Down-firing speakers

While up until this point you were convinced that “budget ultrabook” was an oxymoron, Acer turned that common misconception on its head with the Swift 3.

That’s because the company has taken the all-aluminum chassis of the Acer Swift 7 and crammed in some cheaper components for everyone to enjoy.

It doesn’t run macOS, but the Acer Swift 3 outperforms the age-old MacBook Air in every other way, including its near-can’t-beat price.

Of course, in the process of crushing the competition, Acer has had to make a few trade-offs to keep the price so impressively low.

So while you can’t expect much from an Ultra HD display or quality onboard sound, the performance benchmarks alone give the Surface Laptop some bang for the buck.

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14. Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Alan Walker Special Edition

This unique collaboration makes for a music production laptop

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4GB
  • RAM: 16GB DDR4
  • Screen: 14-inch, IPS, 2,560 x 1,440, 120Hz
  • Storage: 1TB Samsung M.2 SSD

Pros

  • Great CPU performance
  • Good battery life

Cons

  • Expensive

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Alan Walker Special Edition is quite a unique music production laptop as it was developed in collaboration with the popular YouTube DJ.

Not only does this mean that it has exclusive colors compared to the regular Zephyrus G14 laptop, but the actual box it comes with can be used as a controller for mixing or as a synth pad connected via USB-C with a dedicated app is connected.

This means you can start creating right away, but if you’re thinking this is a gimmick or you already have your own gear then you’ll find this laptop is still an excellent investment, with plenty of ports and some decent specs, meaning it will handle any music production app with ease, however.

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15. LG Gram 17 (2021)

Another 17inch laptop that can handle music production

SPECIFICATIONS

  • CPU: 11th-generation Intel Core i7
  • Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
  • RAM: 16GB LPDDR4X
  • Screen: 17-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS LCD
  • Storage: up to 2TB NVMe SSD

Pros

  • Excellent battery life
  • Large, high-quality display

Cons

  • Expensive

The LG Gram 17 is another good choice for a music production laptop that offers a large screen. This makes working with multiple tracks and complex arrangements much easier, as you can see more of your project at once.

Like the Dell XPS 17 above, the LG Gram 17 defies the notion that 17-inch laptops have to be big and bulky. In fact, the LG Gram 17 is actually lighter than many smaller laptops.

Performance is good and battery life is excellent. It doesn’t have the premium feel of the XPS 17 but is wonderfully portable for its size.

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Which CPU is best for music production – Intel, AMD, or Apple?

Essentially, a faster processor (or CPU) means two things; your computer can handle more tasks that are thrown at it, and it can “process” those things much more quickly.

You may only see small differences; maybe an audio file will render a minute faster on the faster of two processors, but over time it clearly adds up.

There are two main players in the CPU world. Intel is the big name with a huge market share. Intel’s offering ranges from the i3 – the weakest – to the i9.

However, the most common among mid-to-high-end laptops are the i5 and i7 variants, and within that sphere, you have different speeds, measured in gigahertz, as well as the option to turn on Turbo Boost when placing the computer under heavy load.

The other name to watch out for is AMD, which makes the Ryzen processors. These follow a similar nomenclature to the Intel versions i.e. R3, R5, and so on, and are popular with the gaming crowd.

However, there is another way that should be considered. Apple has a strong heritage of making machines designed for creative purposes, and just as the rest are catching up, it’s flipping the script again.

You may have seen newer Apple devices with what’s known as an M1 chip inside. This essentially combines many of the laptop’s internal components onto a single chip, resulting in incredible performance and overall system efficiency.

This has since been implemented further on Apple’s latest devices with the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips.

The good news is that these gains will absolutely benefit manufacturers, as they offer best-in-class performance and processing power while offering longer battery life and other optimizations.

Simply put, Logic Pro X users on an M1-based computer are at the forefront of the DAW pack right now. The bad news, however, is that many third-party software brands haven’t yet made the necessary switch to get the most out of it.

More are catching on, with big names like Ableton and Akai offering full native support, but others – like Native Instruments – are still working to tweak their catalogs to take full advantage.

The best advice we can give is to do your research – all major developers know about M1 and are probably working on native support, so it depends on your current setup and desire to rock the boat.

If you can and don’t expect any major problems, we highly recommend checking out these new types of MacBooks.

Building a career in software development? Check out the 15 Best Laptops For Programming

How much RAM does your laptop need for music production?

As for RAM, as mentioned before, you can ignore the “minimum specs” listed on the major DAW websites. Anyone trying to run a multitrack Ableton Live session on a laptop with 4GB RAM is braver (or more patient) than us.

That’s because RAM is effectively your machine’s short-term memory. For audio applications, especially those with a lot of recorded audio, a higher amount of RAM means your audio playback will be buttery smooth and glitch-free since the computer doesn’t have to “grab” the audio from the hard drive every time it wants to play it.

If you’re buying now and eyeing the next few years, we’d recommend that 8GB of DDR4 memory is the bare minimum you should be looking for.

Ideally, you’d want 16GB, as that can handle much larger arrangements, although that extra resource comes at a cost.

It’s also worth checking if your chosen laptop can be upgraded with additional RAM in the future. Apple laptop fans won’t have that luxury due to their sealed case, but laptop PC users might.

How much storage do I need?

Storage comes a close second. For audio applications, especially those with sample libraries that stream audio from the hard drive, you should use a solid-state drive (SSD).

The benefit of these drives is fast data transfer, which means files load faster, despite being slightly more expensive than their hard disk drives (HDD).

For applications in music production, however, the additional effort is definitely justified.

However, it’s not uncommon to see a combination used — a hard drive for storing files, photos, and videos, and an SSD for tasks that require faster responses.

The alternative is to use external hard drives; SSDs, especially those that take advantage of USB-C technology, are more than capable of delivering the transfer speeds needed for music production.

How we test laptops for music production

When we run our tests to find the best music production laptops, there are definitely a few criteria we look for and it’s not always what you would expect.

Any normal person looking at a laptop could check out the screen, the movement on the keyboard, or even – shock horror – its visual appeal.

All of those things are nice to have, sure, but when you’re looking for something to produce music on, there are other factors that should take precedence. And they are not always the most visible.

For example, the CPU and memory of a laptop can be found in the spec sheet, but not all 16GB/Intel i5 laptops are the same. So to find out how a music production laptop performs, there’s one big test that separates the wheat from the chaff.

It comes in the form of a massive Ableton Live session, with more plugins, MIDI tracks, and software synths than would ever be considered necessary.

Simply loading this set, browsing the timeline, making various changes along the way, and finally exporting our final audio, soon tells us if the laptop on test is worthy of our readers’ studio setups. It’s a simple test, but fairly infallible.

FAQs

  • Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
  • Asus ROG Strix Scar 15
  • Dell XPS 17
  • MacBook Pro 16-inch
  • Surface Laptop Studio

HP Pavilion – This HP laptop is one of the best music production laptops loved for its vital processing components.

8 GB is plenty for the majority of music production processing. 16 or 32 GB can help if you plan to work with the large sample libraries that are needed to emulate acoustic instruments realistically.

If you’re doing between one and twenty tracks, an i5 would probably work for you. With 16 to 32 Gig of ram depending on the types of plugins and virtual instruments, you are using.

When you get above the 20-track level, like 100- 120 tracks, an i7 is a great processor.

Conclusion

Laptops are a companion of flamboyant electronic music producers. But the truth is, portable computers can be an equally important companion in recording situations for professional and amateur singer-songwriters, classical music arrangers, country crooners, and so on.

The best laptops for music production may traditionally be dominated by MacBooks, but they’re not the only option – welcome news for buyers on a budget intimidated by Apple’s hefty pay-to-play price tags.

If you feel the urge to learn music production of any kind at any level, a laptop is one of the most important investments you can make, whether you have professional aspirations or not.

References

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