So, if you want to take music production or podcasting seriously and also don’t want to spend too much on the device, you will need a good laptop that can not only record music but can edit as well without causing any problems.
In this article, we will show you the 10 best laptops for music production that will help you create beautiful and awesome music and the buying guide of this article helps you to find the best one for yourself..
Not every laptop can be used for music production. Laptops powered with CPU quick single-core performance is the most important part of audio processing.
This allows you to get your work done faster and mix your creation in one single file without you worrying about losing any important stuff.
In this article, we are going to focus on the best laptops for music production and podcasting that will help you select the right one for you.
Here’s The List of The Best Laptops For Music Production
DELL Inspiron i3583
The Dell Inspiron i3583 is available with a 15.6-inch HD touch-screen laptop with Intel i3-8145U 8th generation, 8 GB DDR4 SDRAM, 128 GB mSATA SSD, Windows 10 Home S mode and great additional features for a great sound like MaxxAudio Pro Wave connectivity.
8 GB RAM with 128 GB SSD storage memory is reasonable to store your music recording files. mSATA SSD storage allows you to browse recording software or applications without any lagging.
It is a nice, good quality, fast and multitasking touch-screen laptop. Overall, this machine has a very good quality at the latest price range that comes with a touchscreen display.
Specifications of DELL Inspiron i3583
| Processor | Intel i3-8145U |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4-SDRAM |
| Screen Size | 15.6 inch |
| Panel Type | LED |
| HD Type | HD |
| Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| Touch Screen | Y |
| Storage | 128 GB mSATA SSD |
| Wi-Fi Standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) |
| Operating System | Windows 10 S |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics |
| Weight | 2.1 lbs |
| Dimensions | 15.00 x 10.20 x 0.80 inches |
| Battery Backup | 9 hrs & above |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers |
| Camera | VGA |
| Headphone Jack | combo jack |
| Ethernet LAN | Y |
| Numeric Keypad | Y |
| Keyboard backlit | N |
| Bluetooth | Y |
| Optical Drive | N |
| USB C Port | N |
Pros
- Good value machine
- Touchscreen laptop
- For connectivity it has Bluetooth 4.0
- Waves MaxxAudio Pro support
Cons
- HD resolution
- Optical drive absent
ASUS ZENBOOK UX333FA-AB77
This 13-inch ultrabook ASUS ZenBook UX333FA-AB77 is intended for people who want a powerful laptop with great performance. There are a number of successful ultrabooks from ASUS’ ZenBook Series and this laptop follows the same series features to cater to all your needs required for music production.
They have introduced a new feature “ErgoLift” in the ASUS ZenBook UX333FA-AB77 that hinge raised the keyboard of the notebook by about 3 degrees when you open the laptop.
The touchpad included the numeric value that saves your time when you do calculations. The 13.3-inch display is perfect for streaming Netflix and Hulu and other videos with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a 95% screen-to-bezel ratio.
For a music composer, this Intel Core i5-8265U processor with 16 GB DDR3-SDRAM, and 12 GB PCI Express SSD has a lot of power.
Specifications of ASUS ZENBOOK UX333FA-AB77
| Processor | Intel Core i5-8265U |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR3-SDRAM |
| Screen Size | 13.3 inch |
| Panel Type | LED |
| HD Type | Full HD |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Touch Screen | N |
| Storage | 512 GB PCI Express SSD |
| Wi-Fi Standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Pro |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics |
| Weight | 2.60 lbs |
| Dimensions | 11.90 x 7.40 x 0.70 inches |
| Battery Backup | 9 hrs & above |
| Speakers | dual speakers |
| Camera | VGA |
| Headphone Jack | combo jack |
| Ethernet LAN | Y |
| Numeric Keypad | Y |
| Keyboard backlit | Y |
| Bluetooth | Y |
| Optical Drive | N |
| USB C Port | N |
Pros
- Attractive yet distinct design
- Excellent 1080p screen
- Strong all-round performance
- Long battery life
- Great value
Cons
- Weird keyboard layout
- Small touchpad
ASUS VivoBook S15
One of the best laptops for music production that comes with strong speakers and relatively comfortable keyboard, the VivoBook S15 offers great performance at a reasonable price.
The VivoBook S15 is pretty compact 14.1 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches but not the lightest (3.75 lbs) in its class. On the left side of the VivoBook 15, there are two ancient USB 2.0 ports, while the right side houses a USB 3.1 Type-A port, a USB-C input, an HDMI, a microSD card slot and a headphone/mic jack.
In storage, it has 512 GB PCI Express SSD and 12 GB DDR4-SDRAM for you that ensures you don’t lag while recording your music track.
Specifications of ASUS VivoBook 12GB
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 3700U |
| RAM | 12 GB DDR4-SDRAM |
| Screen Size | 15.6 inch |
| Panel Type | WLED |
| HD Type | Full HD |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Touch Screen | N |
| Storage | 512 GB PCI Express SSD |
| Wi-Fi Standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon RX Vega Graphics |
| Weight | 3.75 lbs |
| Dimensions | 14.1 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches |
| Battery Backup | 5 hrs & above |
| Speakers | dual speakers |
| Camera | VGA |
| Headphone Jack | combo jack |
| Ethernet LAN | Y |
| Numeric Keypad | Y |
| Keyboard backlit | Y |
| Bluetooth | Y |
| Optical Drive | N |
| USB C Port | Y |
Pros
- Fast overall performance
- Sleek chassis
- Improved ScreenPad 2.0
- Unique colors
Cons
- Poor battery life
HP 14 4AG12UA
HP 14” laptop does not have a very bright or colorful display with an HD 1366 x 768 pixels resolution but is quite bright with slight contrast that makes the viewing experience much better than that offered by your average budget laptop.
On the right side, you are offered the power jack, RJ-45 Ethernet, HDMI 1.4 ports, two USB 3.1 ports, and headphone Jack. On the left, it has a security lock slot and an SD card slot.
The HP 14 Laptop features an Intel Core i3-8130U, 4 GB RAM, a 500 GB HDD and an Intel UHD GPU that is enough and allows you to record your music tracks in your voice.
Specifications of HP 14 Silver Laptop
| Processor | Intel Pentium 5000 series |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4-SDRAM |
| Screen Size | 14 inch |
| Panel Type | SVA |
| HD Type | HD |
| Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| Touch Screen | Y |
| Storage | 500 GB HDD |
| Wi-Fi Standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics |
| Weight | 3.32 lbs |
| Dimensions | 8.89 x 12.76 x 0.78 inches |
| Battery Backup | 9 hrs & above |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers |
| Camera | VGA |
| Headphone Jack | combo jack |
| Ethernet LAN | Y |
| Numeric Keypad | Y |
| Keyboard backlit | Y |
| Bluetooth | Y |
| Optical Drive | N |
| USB C Port | N |
Pros
- Solid performance
- Comfortable keyboard
- 8 GB DDR4 RAM
- Good battery life
Cons
- HD display
DELL 15.6-5000-i5
DELL 15.6-5000-i5 has a 15.6-inch 1080p display which is surrounded by a thick bezel and a plastic deck with a faux brushed-metal design. Inspiron offers a fair share of ports, such as HDMI output, Ethernet jack, headphone jack, 3 USB 3.0, and an SD card reader. Dell 15.6-5000-i5 is able to record rather complicated stuff, about anything in a home recording studio that you want to record.
It comes with a 4.1 x 3.1” touchpad, but the plastic used in it is a little bouncy but is nice and spacious. The power button contains a fingerprint reader and the keyboard is an island-style black collection of keys.
It has 128 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD memory storage, which is good enough to record audio from several tracks.
Specifications of DELL 15.6-5000-i5
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1035G1 |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4-SDRAM |
| Screen Size | 15.6 inch |
| Panel Type | LED |
| HD Type | Full HD |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Touch Screen | N |
| Storage | 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD |
| Wi-Fi Standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics |
| Weight | 4.04 lbs |
| Dimensions | 14.96 x 9.99 x 0.94 inches |
| Battery Backup | 5 hrs & above |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers |
| Camera | VGA |
| Headphone Jack | 3.5 mm jack |
| Ethernet LAN | Y |
| Numeric Keypad | Y |
| Keyboard backlit | Y |
| Bluetooth | Y |
| Optical Drive | N |
| USB C Port | N |
Pros
- SSD + HDD massive storage
- FHD display
Cons
- No type C port
- Poor battery backup
HP 17.3″ Touchscreen Laptop
Software used for music production takes a lot of space on your laptop, especially when you add too many plug-ins with them. HP 17.3″ touchscreen laptop is packed with a powerful AMD Ryzen 5 R5-3550H Processor, RAM 8 GB, and PCI 256 GB SSD that ensures you don’t lag while you use music production software and plugins.
Music production screen size varies depending on how mobile you want it to be. The large 17.3-inch HP laptop will allow you to view more of your schedule. The faster your workflow faster you will scroll down your timeline. That means your music can be produced faster.
Specifications of HP 17.3″ Touchscreen Laptop
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 R5-3550H |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4-SDRAM |
| Screen Size | 17.3 inch |
| Panel Type | SVA |
| HD Type | HD+ |
| Resolution | 1600 x 900 pixels |
| Touch Screen | Y |
| Storage | 256 GB PCI |
| Wi-Fi Standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics |
| Weight | 9 Pound |
| Dimensions | 16.33 x 10.72 x 0.96 inches |
| Battery Backup | 7 hrs & above |
| Speakers | dual speakers |
| Camera | VGA |
| Headphone Jack | combo jack |
| Ethernet LAN | Y |
| Numeric Keypad | Y |
| Keyboard backlit | N |
| Bluetooth | Y |
| Optical Drive | N |
| USB C Port | N |
Pros
- HD+ display quality
- SSD storage
- 17.3 inches huge display
- Touch screen display
Cons
- No USB C type port
Dell Inspiron 15 5593
The Inspiron 5593 is a laptop that gives every composer the best and balanced recording experience.
For music production, 16 gigabytes is the minimum requirement. Dell Inspiron 15 5593 has 64 gigabytes which is much better if you use a lot of sample-based devices.
The laptop uses the RAM to access data quickly instead of accessing it from the hard drive each time. This makes it very fast to use. The laptop is equipped with 8 GB of DDR4 RAM and 256 GB of SSD so that you can use other plugins with your software for music production.
Specifications of Dell Inspiron 15 5593
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1035G1 |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4-SDRAM |
| Screen Size | 15.6 inch |
| Panel Type | LED |
| HD Type | Full HD |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Touch Screen | N |
| Storage | 256 GB SSD |
| Wi-Fi Standard | 802.11ac |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics |
| Weight | 6.02 lbs |
| Dimensions | 19.41 x 13.07 x 2.91 inches |
| Battery Backup | 7 hrs & above |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers |
| Camera | VGA |
| Headphone Jack | 3.5 mm |
| Ethernet LAN | Y |
| Numeric Keypad | Y |
| Keyboard backlit | N |
| Bluetooth | Y |
| Optical Drive | Y |
| USB C Port | Y |
Pros
- It has USB type C port
- FHD display
- Fast SSD storage
Cons
- No backlit featured keyboard
- It has integrated graphics
Apple MacBook Pro MLUQ2LL/A
This silver 13.3-inch MacBook Pro from Apple is designed to replace the MacBook Air. It is faster and much more powerful, yet 0.59″ thinner than the past generation and 3 lb lighter.
This system is powered by the 2.0 GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core processor which provides an intense speed of up to 3.1 GHz, while the 8Gb 1866 MHz DDR4 RAM and the 256 GB SSD enables smooth multitasking on the laptop.
The speakers have been completely redesigned to give sound twice its predecessor’s dynamic range, allowing up to 58% more volume and 2.5x loud bass to boom upwards.
This Apple laptop provides up to 3 times more power, which means that the MacBook Pro is a good choice to mix or create, edit videos on site or watch a movie on the move.
Specifications of Apple MacBook Pro MLUQ2LL/A
| Processor | Intel i5 Quad Core |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4-SDRAM |
| Screen Size | 13 inch |
| Panel Type | LED |
| HD Type | Full HD+ |
| Resolution | 2560 x 1600 pixels |
| Touch Screen | Y |
| Storage | 256 GB SSD |
| Wi-Fi Standard | 802.11a |
| Operating System | macOS Sierra |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Graphics 540 |
| Weight | 3.02 lbs |
| Dimensions | 0.59 x 11.97 x 8.36 inches |
| Battery Backup | 9 hrs & above |
| Speakers | 2x 2W Speakers |
| Camera | VGA |
| Headphone Jack | 3.5 mm |
| Ethernet LAN | Y |
| Numeric Keypad | Y |
| Keyboard backlit | Y |
| Bluetooth | Y |
| Optical Drive | N |
| USB C Port | Y |
Pros
- Light in weight
- USB C port present
- SSD storage
- FHD display
Cons
- No optical drive
DELL Latitude E7470
Are you just looking for mobility around the studio? If so, it is unlikely that you’ll care so much about a heavy beast of a laptop or battery life, which is more often a problem with laptops that gives you more power and maximum performance. Dell Latitude E7470 is the one you should go for as it gives you 9 hours of battery life.
A good quality widescreen display of 14-inch is a minimum requirement for any kind of music production. The advantage of this that you can have your tracks on your first screen and the mixer on your second screen. DELL Latitude E7470 has a 14-inch screen with HD resolution that is quite good for music mixes.
Specifications of DELL Latitude E7470
| Processor | Intel Core i5-6300U |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4-SDRAM |
| Screen Size | 14 inch |
| Panel Type | LED |
| HD Type | HD |
| Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| Touch Screen | N |
| Storage | 256 GB SSD |
| Wi-Fi Standard | Infrared |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| Graphics | 2 MB Intel UHD Graphics |
| Weight | 3.30 lbs |
| Dimensions | 15 x 19 x 5 inches |
| Battery Backup | 9 hrs & above |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers |
| Camera | VGA |
| Headphone Jack | 3.5 mm |
| Ethernet LAN | Y |
| Numeric Keypad | Y |
| Keyboard backlit | N |
| Bluetooth | Y |
| Optical Drive | N |
| USB C Port | N |
Pros
- Sleek, attractive design
- Sophisticated chassis
- Comfortable keyboard
Cons
- Rear ports hard to reach
- No USB C port
HP Envy 17t Premium
The Envy has a beautiful, 17.3-inch FHD screen with luminous, dynamic color and crisp detail. The panel makes 209 percent of the color range of sRGB. The luminosity was also superior, an average of 276 nits.
In terms of storage, it has a 512 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD that can store more audio track data so that you don’t have to connect the external hard disk to store your important and personal music.
A stylish grill with a checkered triangle design runs across the top of the keyboard. The sound bar contains two speakers from Bang & Olufsen, producing sound enough to fill one small room.
Specifications of HP Envy 17t Premium
| Processor | Intel i7 Quad Core |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4-SDRAM |
| Screen Size | 17.3 inch |
| Panel Type | IPS |
| HD Type | Full HD |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Touch Screen | Y |
| Storage | 512 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD |
| Wi-Fi Standard | 802.11a |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Professional |
| Graphics | 4GB NVIDIA GeForce MX Series |
| Weight | 6.14 lbs |
| Dimensions | 16.38 x 11.14 x 0.92 inches |
| Battery Backup | 7 hrs & above |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers Bang & Olufsen |
| Camera | FHD |
| Headphone Jack | 3.5 mm |
| Ethernet LAN | Y |
| Numeric Keypad | Y |
| Keyboard backlit | N |
| Bluetooth | Y |
| Optical Drive | Y |
| USB C Port | Y |
Pros
- Strong general performance
- Excellent FHD display
- Bang & Olufsen audio
Cons
- It has drop-hinge design
- No touch option with 17.3 inches screen
Best Laptops For Music Production: Buying Guide
Things To Consider Before Buying
Budget
There’s nothing worse than spending hundreds of dollars on something only to find out later that it doesn’t meet your needs or expectations.
When it comes to laptops, there is no reason why you should spend more money than you absolutely have too.
The good news is there are plenty of great laptops under $500 available that can do an excellent job as a music producer’s machine.
If you are looking at higher-end laptops ($1000+), then make sure the price is justified by increased performance or reliability – otherwise stick with lower-end options that offer better value for money in terms of performance per dollar spent.
Screen Size
Screen size is one of the most important factors to consider when buying a laptop for music production because it can affect how much you can see and therefore how easy it is to complete tasks such as mixing and mastering your music.
As a general rule, larger screens are better as they allow more information to be seen without any reduction in quality or clarity. Always look at the size of your screen in comparison to other laptops that are available so that you get something that will suit your needs as well as possible.
RAM
RAM, or random access memory, is the temporary workspace where all of your computer’s current activities are stored while you are using them and lets you have multiple programs running simultaneously without any loss in performance or speed during use.
The more RAM that a laptop has then the better it will be at handling multiple tasks at once without slowing down or having any lag in between actions being completed by your computer, which makes it ideal for those who want to run lots of programs simultaneously while they work on their music production projects on their laptop computers.
SSD Drive Or HDD Drive?
If you are going for a laptop for music production and want something fast, then you’re going to want an SSD drive on your computer.
The reason being is because an SSD drive will load things up much faster than a standard hard drive would.
This means that if you are doing any sort of software work or using programs like Ableton Live, then this is probably going to be a necessity for your computer as well as make things run a lot smoother for you in general and give your computer the performance boost it needs so everything doesn’t seem so slow when working with music software or other programs on your computer.
Processor
The processor is another thing that should be looked at when getting yourself a new laptop or upgrading the one that you have already for music production purposes and even just general everyday use as well for general tasks like surfing the internet, watching videos, editing pictures, etc..
A good laptop for music production should have at least an Intel i7 processor, preferably one that’s between the years of 2011-2015 when Intel released its Haswell chip architecture (i7 4xxx) or Skylake chip architecture (i7 6xxx). And if possible, go with a laptop that has either a Core i7 7700HQ or Core i7 7820HK processor for even better performance at a higher price range.
Keyboard
Always look at the keyboard before buying any laptop because some keys may be closer together than others, making it difficult when typing out notes in your DAW or other music software programs like Ableton Live or FL Studio etc..
Weight
Weight is the last thing to consider when buying a laptop for music production, and it’s not usually a problem as they are all pretty light. Having said that, the lighter they are the more likely they will break, so you have to find a good balance between weight and quality.
Portability
If your goal is to be able to carry around your laptop with you wherever you go then this is going to be a big factor in choosing the right one for you. While most laptops are quite portable some are better than others and some also offer more features than others when it comes to portability.
Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to read my article on the best laptop for music production.
I hope you’ve gained some knowledge from this article on what to look for when buying a laptop for music production. If you have any questions about laptops, feel free to contact me.
