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Subject: which ms os?

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Original Message 1/13 08-Feb-02 @ 05:05 AM - which ms os?

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right, so i got my lappy picked out. i get a choice of win 2000 or xp (98 not an option for myriad reasons). two factors i'm most cencerned with - stability and overhead. i've heard a bunch of positive comments on 2000 running on laptops, and positive reviews of xp in general, but i'm concerned i won't be able to trim the latter down enough, that is, xp might chew up all my ram. which of the two os can i really trim? and how stable are each of them prospectively based on your experience (especially if you use logic)?

craig, i know you gave a positive review of xp so perhaps you have some advice.

my specs:
1.13 ghz p3
512 ram pc-133

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Message 2/13 08-Feb-02 @ 05:29 AM - RE: which ms os?

influx

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and he calls it a god damn lappy. sheesh

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Message 3/13 08-Feb-02 @ 04:11 PM - RE: which ms os?

rhyze

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Did you provide info on your proposed audio hardware choices on another thread?

You need to determine what hardware you'll be using before purchasing your laptop, not just because of the operating system but because of the hardware itself. Find out from the laptop's manufacturer what chipset they use on the MoBo and if it's compatible with your hardware plans. Then check to see if the hardware manufacturer has drivers for your proposed OS. Your lappy's specs sound great but it's hard to tell without knowing about your audio hardware.

Mick

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Message 4/13 08-Feb-02 @ 04:24 PM Edit: 08-Feb-02 | 04:27 PM - RE: which ms os?

rhyze

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Are you the guy to whom I "suggested" doing a search? Your OS question hasn't been really been addressed in the past which is why I answered but, if this is that same guy and you've already picked a laptop....

If you think three days of research on the subject is enough then you could be setting yourself up for real problems, expensive ones. I know of what I speak. I know you won't listen though because you are obviously dead set on spending your money (burning a hole I presume). If you luck out, more power to you.

Cheers,

Mick

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Message 5/13 08-Feb-02 @ 06:26 PM - RE: which ms os?

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okay, so i was trying to be brief, but i see that i'm coming across as unclear. first, i originally asked the question about which laptop over a week ago (so perhaps i'm a different guy), and i had done some research prior to that (checked out the rme site, for example). since then, i've checked that the hardware i plan on using has drivers for the aforementioned os's, have called emagic and asked for recommendations of systems and chipsets they recommend for logic, the emi 2/6 and amt8 (they said intel chipsets good, via chipsets bad), and posted on a number of other message boards regarding peoples real world experience using the laptops (and external hardware) i was examining (sony vaio gr300 series and dell inspiron 8100). i listened to you dad (rhyze)! :-)

so, all the external hardware i'll be using (soundcard and midi interface) have working drivers for both 2000 and xp and work with the chipset (see below), so take hardware compatibility as a given. both models i'm looking at have the intel i815EM chipset, which all the users i've talked to, as well as emagic, find works really well, both have 1.13 ghz cpu at 133 mhz bus speed (which the rme site commented was integral to matching desktop performance), firewire for the external drive (which many users recommended for hard disk access speed as well), usb ports for the soundcard and midi interface, and maxed out at 512 mb ram. the last spec is the reason i asked the question above. i'm wondering two things.

1. all things being equal, which os, 2000 or xp, is generally the most stable?

2. all things being equal, which os can i most trim down to use the least amount of system resources, so i have plenty of overhead for logic?

3. added question, the only area i haven't been able to get info has to do with internal hard drives. what sort of questions should i be asking about hard drives in order to ensure good performance (drive speed? avg access time? data transfer mode?) and what brands do people reommend?

-paul

p.s. influx, lappy lappy lappy time!!

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Message 6/13 08-Feb-02 @ 06:50 PM - RE: which ms os?

99devils

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1) Both OSes are very stable

2) Win2K is slightly less greedy than Windows XP. However, XP has higher limits on the number of audio and midi devices you can use. In practice, I don't think it makes enough of a difference to notice.

3) You want the highest ATA mode you can get (ATA-100 or ATA133), and a 7200rpm drive is usually preferred, although that is somewhat less important. You have very little choice in laptop drives compared to desktop drives, so you may not have much choice here.

In all honesty, unless you're getting really whacky with track count, you should be OK on the disk side. I just recorded some vocals the other night for a tune I'm working on. 50 mono tracks of playback while recording 2 mono tracks. Disk usage in Sonar was about 20-30%. Make sure you format your disk with large cluster sizes (I'm using 64k I think). The switch is /z in windows 9x but in XP/2k it's /A.

-Craig

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Message 7/13 08-Feb-02 @ 07:12 PM - RE: which ms os?

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okay, this worries me. sony support couldn't answer my question regarding rpm or transer rate, but the brochure i have seems to suggest ata-66. i can't find any info on the dell site regarding either of these specs, but i think i remember reading ultra ata-66 for the inspirons on the rme site. any advice on where to get that info for both brands? (i searched last night and couldn't find it)

-paul

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Message 8/13 08-Feb-02 @ 08:20 PM - RE: which ms os?

rhyze

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Nicely done. I wouldn't be too concerned about the internal hard drive because you'll be using the firewire drive as you audio drive. Use the internal drive for your OS and programs only. The internal hardrive should work OK if you are using mostly loops or simple arrangements at the coffe house ;^)

Good info about the RME needing a 133mHz FSB, thanks, I'm planning on researching the MultiFace card in a few months.

It sounds to me like you have everything sorted but I would make sure to get a reasonable return policy on the lappy, as well as the other gear.

Cheers,

Mick

PS Sorry to sound harsh put I've posted extensively about laptop audio, I've done some serious research over the past year and a half including talking to some guys who were posting a feature I worked on. These guys are some of the best in the world. I'm lucky to meet the people I meet and try to share the info but few seem to want to search and I'm not in the mood to be redundent.

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Message 9/13 09-Feb-02 @ 04:20 AM - RE: which ms os?

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you didn't sound harsh rhyze. i was just playing with you. in all seriousness, i appreciate the advice (same goes for all who responded).

the reason i was asking about internal drive specs was because i can't afford to get the external firewire drive right away, so i need an internal drive that will let me write for a while before then.

thanks again to all, and any other bits of wisdom people have would be greatly appreciated. once i get the laptop, i'll probably be back asking for optimization suggestions.

-p.

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Message 10/13 09-Feb-02 @ 12:55 PM - RE: which ms os?

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no I WOULD be concerned about the C: drive cos that's the drive your H/D proggie cache's too (unless you change your cache drive that is) - ata 100 makes a massive difference as does 133 fsb & ram.

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Message 11/13 09-Feb-02 @ 09:41 PM - RE: which ms os?

influx

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I dont think that anyone makes ata100 drives for laptops, do they? and theyre usually 5400RPM or so, no?

Uberzone uses a laptop with reason and cubase for messin around on the road and he can get lots of tracks

inspiron 8100 I believe

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Message 12/13 09-Feb-02 @ 10:25 PM - RE: which ms os?

toast

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There are a lot of ata100 (not ultra ata) drives for laptops but most are only 4500rpm. There's a couple 5400rpm drives out there but there a lot less common. If you want specs try doing a search for laptop hard drives instead of looking for info from the maker of the laptop. Most of the places selling hard drives will give you transfer rate, speed etc.

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Message 13/13 18-Feb-02 @ 06:45 PM - RE: which ms os?

99devils

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Most of the Dells and Gateways and the like use hard drives from other manufacturers like IBM. You may want to check with the manufacturers of OEM laptop drives for specs.

-Craig

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