laptop for audio work

[lunatrick]

I'm about to buy a lmusic laptop (pc) thinking of a sony vaio with the following spec :-
Model Name

SONY VAIO FR395EP

Microprocessor
Intel® Celeron® 2.60 Ghz Processor

Motherboard chipset
ATI RS200M+

Standard Memory
256 MB (upgradeable to 1024 MB)

Cache Memory
128 KB (on die)

Hard Disk Drive
40GB

Optical Drive
CDRW/DVD Drive

Floppy Drive
1.44 MB Floppy Disc Drive

Display
15" XGA TFT colour display Max Resolution 1024 × 768

Graphics
ATI Radeon IGP 345M Video Memory Up to 128 MB

Multimedia
Analog Devices AD1981B • 16-bit CD-quality stereo sound • AC 97 2.3

Interfaces
2 PC Card Slot(s) • 4 pins i.Link port • MemoryStick slot • 3 USB port(s) • Audio/Video out • Headphones out • Microphone in • Ethernet port • Parallel port • VGA monitor out

PC card Slots
2 PCMCIA type I, 2 PCMCIA type II or 1 PCMCIA type III Cards and Cardbus support

Modem
Built-in modem V.90, K56 flex, Fax / Modem

NetWork
10Base-T/100Base-TX

Lithium-Ion Battery
PCGA-BP2NX up to 2 hours

Dimensions(WxHxD)
329 x (42-57.4) x 274.5 mm (with 15-inch panel)

Weight
3Kg+

Software
Windows XP PRO

Warranty
1 year (extendable to 3 years with VAIO plus warranty pack)

has anyone come across any scare stories about the sonys in terms of audio production or do you recommend a different maunfaucturer?

advice would be welcome (also there is a special offer on with this one where you get a free 2mega pixel camera ;) )

[Barely Human]

How much is that all coming to? I wouldnt know about sony latops mate. I know most of thier stuff is cheap crap, but ive never heard anything bad about the laptops. I have a Dell latitude, 3gig pentium with 512 ram, and ive never had a problem with it. I know thier are some isuse's with dell and motu cards, so if your planing on running one, then dont get a dell.

[lunatrick]

package above is £900 inc vat, I realise I'm compromising a bit with the processor, but can't really stretch any further money wise. Also is comes with a free 256 meg upgrade which is cool...

[Barely Human]

Doesnt sound too bad then for that money mate! Make sure you get the extended warrenty, and also get a spare battery! You'll get about 20 seconds out of a full battery when your cpu load is high! ;)

[g]

if you're doing music work (i.e. processor intensive) you don't want a Celeron.

[Antinoise]

If its for audio.. make sure the Hard Drive is at least 5400rpm .. Its really best if its 7200rpm. It might cost a little more but your # of audio tracks will be limited if its a regular 4200rpm drive.

[DJZeMig_L]

Yep Celeron is not so good at all.. drive speed is an issue, Check that U have firewire.. think I saw an I.Link port so that should b it... also USB 2!!

Z

[Stuart]

I use a G4 Power book