Laptop Suggestions for Cubase 10?

[SimonD]

Hi,
I'm totally new to PCS and the idea of specing of a laptop, but have been impressed with the PCS .
My question is- does anyone have experience of running cubase .
Im thinking of going something like the below and trying to keep budget 500 -600?
Any advise or tips very gratefully recieved! Thanks!

hassis & Display
UltraNote Series: 14" Matte Full HD IPS 60 Hz 45% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor i5-8250U (1.60GHz, 3.4GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS (CPU Dependant) - 1.7GB Max DDR4 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
1st Storage Drive
480GB ADATA SU650 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 40W AC Adaptor
Battery
UltraNote IV Series 44WH Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Sound Card
Realtek 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 1 x USB 3.0 PORT + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
14" ULTRANOTE III SERIES UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days

 

[Oussebon]

The spec seems fair for your uses, and at this budget level you'll be hard pressed to find anything much better.

If you can go £13 higher, I'd suggest the SX6000 M.2 SSD from the M.2 SSD Drive menu. It's a lot faster, and it also lives in the M.2 slot, keeping the 2.5" bay free for future upgrades of either an SSD or HDD.

Depending on your usage, an -H series CPU (rather than -U series as above) would be preferable. These can run faster at the 'cost' of using more power, and can have more cores. The cheapest chassis PCS have with one of these in is the Cosmos, which is outside of your budget.

We can't advise on competitors' specs of course, but you may be able to find a laptop with the more powerful i5 8300H for ~£600 from another store . Probably with less RAM or storage or some other compromise, but you can probably DIY upgrade RAM and storage in most laptops.

Most chassis with an -H series CPU won't be as svelte as those with -U series CPUs.

 

[SimonD]

Thank you for the advice- much appreciated!

 

[markh]

Agree that if upping the budget for a laptop with an H-series processor is an option, then it'll be able to handle heavier Cubase usage (lots of tracks, plugins etc) with much more ease. U series processors are intended for lighter workloads.

Really it depends what you're doing within Cubase - if you want the option of VST plugins, multitrack recording, or hooking Cubase up to other programs in future, then it'd make more sense to invest in a more powerful machine. For lighter use the above spec will probably be fine, especially as you've added 16GB RAM.

 

[SimonD]

Thanks Mark, my usage at the moment would be on the light side , a few plug ins, guitar, vocals. I will check out the H series ,and this maybe a next stage laptop perhaps?
Thanks for the advice!