Laptops Suck - Part 4
Yet again I was cruising the many online communities for DJs the other day when I seen a good topic for part four of the “Laptops Suck” series. Granted there were a number of other threads on other bulletin boards with similar issues, but at least this guy was attempting to get more information in order to make the right choice - so I added my two cents worth. Of course there has been no shortage of the half-baked advice that usually gets passed along ad-nauseum as if it were the Gospel of Peter himself too. Anyway, this installment addresses issues with stuttering audio and video on a laptop - enjoy!
One of the biggest culprits or causes of stuttering is the very nature of the beast called laptops - very limited resources. That is not enough RAM, embedded audio that sucks, embedded video that sucks, installed software that makes your CPU/chip-set suck, unnecessary devices that gobble up precious system resources and the need for a whole host of external devices - which is usually connected by USB ports and is yet another culprit that ultimately makes your laptop suck. In other words, laptops are much more limited in many vital areas that other types of computers are not (i.e. RAM, audio, video, storage, etc.), thus the reason that most laptops suck for DJing and/or producing in general.
No I am not saying that you cannot use a laptop, nor am I claiming that all laptops suck - just the vast majority of them. Why you ask? The answer is quite simple actually - please allow me to explain.
As we all know, laptops are small, compact, lite-weight and very portable devices which for all intents and purposes, lend themselves very readily to the concept of Mobile DJing. After all, who wants to be like those dinosaur DJs from way-back in the day who lugged around equipment that weighed as much or more than what they did? Gone are the days of sound systems heavy enough to anchor an aircraft carrier as well as requiring enough hands to move all the gear (that could double the size of the work force that built the pyramids of Giza).
The first thing that we must all keep in mind is that all that compactness and smallness comes at a cost. In order to make laptops as portable as they are a compromise is needed in the form of less power or functionality - especially in the realm of audio and video to name just two. Embedded audio sounds like crap for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that space on a laptop motherboard is at a premium, so manufacturers only put in just enough to make the laptop speakers sound passably OK - which is considerably different than even the cheapest DJ sound system. Embedded video is basically in the same boat as audio, so the manufacturers only put in what they have to in order to get by video-wise. And sending instant messages on AOhell is a lot less graphically intensive than mixing the latest dance videos on a 60′ projector screen for several hundred teenagers!
FYI: In case you were wondering, “Embedded Audio/Video” means that these components are built into the motherboard or more specifically, the chip-sets attached to the motherboard. While advances in micronization of chip-sets continues to amaze us, the fact remains that these devices - no matter how small or powerful they may be - use up precious system resources such as RAM, CPU time, etc.
Now keep in mind that using the average laptop was not a good idea before Windows Vista came along, it is even less of a good thing now - considering just how resource intensive Vista is in the regards of RAM gobbled up just to run it and the additional strain that it places on the video of any systems due to the fact that it is also the most graphically intensive operating system ever unleashed on unsuspecting victims… er, I mean the PC-using public.
Anyway, this all adds up to the fact that at the very least, any laptop used for DJing is in dire need of an external audio device! Other problems begin to pop up at this point because the average response is to use some sort of audio device that plugs into a USB port - another one of my favorite things to recommend against using for a host of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that USB uses up system resources and CPU time too. The smartest way to go - which is a bit of an oxy-moron when talking about laptops - is to use either a PCMCIA audio card or one that attaches to the system via a Firewire/IEEE 1394 port.
As far as video goes, well there is no easy solution with laptops. Your only course of action is to beef up your system RAM to the maximum allowed and then configuring your embedded video adapter to use the biggest ported section of system RAM allowed. Just realize that if you are using a laptop with Vista installed, most of your limited video capabilities are going to be tied up just running the OS. Of course much of this can be avoided by buying a high-end laptop - which will cost between $2,000 - $3,000 - or avoiding it altogether by getting yourself a tower or rack mounted system with the cajones to get the job done right!
Keep on spinning!!!
Tags: computer dj, digital dj, laptop dj, laptops suck, stuttering audio, stuttering video
