Think this would be enough machine?

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rickryan.com

rickryan.com

DJ Extraordinaire
ODJT Supporter
Dec 9, 2009
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Hendersonville, TN
www.rickryan.com
Spend, spend, spend. I've been brought over to the dark side of VDJ, now it's time to upgrade machines. I loaded and tested it on my son's AMD A8/win8 computer last night and it ran like a champ with only 10%-15% cpu utilization (without having to do system tweaks). I'm thinking an i5 processor would be plenty and am considering switches brand to this:

Toshiba Satellite L55-B5338

i5, 750 gig HD, 8gigs ram, win8.1 and has RGB and HDMI video out for projectors. 6 bills and I could pick it up at Sams Club at lunch today. Anybody care to chime in on opinions?

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/toshiba-15-6-nb-intel-core-i5/prod15170620.ip?sprodId=prod15170620
 
I always buy the best available within reason so it doesn't get outdated too fast, and i always buy in pairs so I have two identical laptops in case one should have an issue,
 
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steve149 said:
This is a better deal .. not sure how long it will last ... http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/z-series/z50/?sb=:000001C9:00012E33:&AID=10383968&PID=1225267&SID=6ddf00e8895640debec73d31ba89e932&CJURL=http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/z-series/z50/?sb=:000001C9:00012E33:&PUBNAME=Slickdeals+LLC&NID=CJ

use coupon code USP156278.. net price $599.

Faster processor (i7) .. better graphics .. slightly smaller HD (512Gb)

update .. it's showing 1Tb drive now .. not sure.
Click to expand...

Only 4 gigs of memory, no RGB output and I'm not real familiar with Lenovo. I know it's in all the big box stores but I've just never had personal experience with it. I think a lot of the Lenovo cannot upgrade memory if I remember correctly. The i7 version of that Toshiba runs $750. I'm gonna probably go by Sams Club at lunch and look at them.
 
Maybe I clicked the wrong link ...

This one http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/z-series/z50/?sb=:000001C9:00012E33:&AID=10383968&PID=1225267&SID=fa117aa3f27b4f2abd6f381c5f435610&CJURL=http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/z-series/z50/?sb=:000001C9:00012E33:&PUBNAME=Slickdeals+LLC&NID=CJ#tab-customize has 8Gb RAM, i7-4510U (current 5th gen), NVIDIA GeForce 820M 2GB graphics, HD display, 1Tb HD and Dual band Wireless-AC WiFi. Lenovo bought out the IBM PC line years back.

Coupon code must not be valid, but price is $649.
 
rickryan.com said:
I got a couple of those but not sure why they call them "active". There is no external power supply. I'm guessing it pulls power from the USB port.
Click to expand...
Power comes from the HDMI connector .. not all provide enough power, so that adapter has a micro-USB input for connection to a USB port. Here's another option with an attached cable .. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LIHRFPW?psc=1
 
I've been moving toward HDMI output .. only issue I have is with karaoke, since my singer monitor (17" LCD) and the audience monitor (older 32" TV) don't have HDMI .. only VGA.
 
I work on -hundreds- of computers every year, and we pretty much sell only Thinkpads. They rarely -ever- come in/back with hardware issues, but we see PLENTY from the consumer side. Wait, we did have one come back with a bad screen. The grandkid nailed it from across the room with a ball. :eek:

I can't recommend the T-series enough, though. Business quality, rock solid, and better than anything at Sam's/Best Buy/wherever. If you're just interested in playing the number game, you're going to find higher specs for cheaper with any consumer offer, but you get what you pay for. I do recommend swapping out for an SSD though (or better yet, get a refurb/off-lease that comes with one already. You can find i5+SSD for ~$300-350 on the off-lease market).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...Code=as2&tag=bw073-20&linkId=475QGUOM3SLA34EB

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...Code=as2&tag=bw073-20&linkId=KDSDXSITGR7FLMWU
 
Pretty cool deal, awdj.

Steve, aren't new TVs in that size range less than $200 now? I am kinda curious though, so your current setup has a screen for the singer(s), another screen for the audience (larger) and I presume your own laptop screen? How are you driving 3 monitors? Are you just duplicating the 2 externals or do you have lyrics for the singer and singer list going to the audience?
 
Gotta say I love the bigger screen, especially with VDJ. I probably went overboard with my machine, but I plan to keep it as primary for at least 3 years, I swapped out the primary drive and put in a SSD and bought a 1TB drive for the secondary to store the music and karaoke, etc...
It was one of these: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00COQIKB4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Got to say I have not even seen it break a sweat yet.
 
rickryan.com said:
Pretty cool deal, awdj.

Steve, aren't new TVs in that size range less than $200 now? I am kinda curious though, so your current setup has a screen for the singer(s), another screen for the audience (larger) and I presume your own laptop screen? How are you driving 3 monitors? Are you just duplicating the 2 externals or do you have lyrics for the singer and singer list going to the audience?
Click to expand...

Yes .. duplication of the 2nd screen. Was using a passive VGA splitter, but there are artifacts on the screen from the long VGA cables (25') .. bought an active one, but haven't tried it. I'll go with new monitors once the 32 dies. It's fine and still looks good. Only issue is I need to have only the 17" on when I boot up, then attach the 32. The 17" only has 1280x1024 resolution, whereas the TV will sync to whatever it sees, so I let the laptop see the 17" and use that res.
 
Even a cheap (~$<10) powered VGA splitter should be just fine. We use them all the time in classroom use, and we have one to drive our 100' VGA cable and they work fine. Just be aware that in that price range, not all splitters will pass the plug-and-play (or EDID) info, so if possible look for that because it's helpful.
 
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awdj said:
Even a cheap (~$<10) powered VGA splitter should be just fine. We use them all the time in classroom use, and we have one to drive our 100' VGA cable and they work fine. Just be aware that in that price range, not all splitters will pass the plug-and-play (or EDID) info, so if possible look for that because it's helpful.
Click to expand...

with the splitter I had, I was getting jitter (or judder, i forget which is which) at the bottom of the screens .. the direct cables were fine, but not off the passive splitter. It wasn't bad .. I've used it quite a bit, but I wanted better.
 
I like the Toshiba Satellites. I also like the Lenovo T series .. and the almighty Mac. Sony Vaio's used to be really good too.

:D
 
A relative with a Toshiba has a failed touch pad with only 1 year of use. I know a lot of people say good things about their Toshiba but, the feel of the machines has always left me wondering about their over-all quality.

Your indicated machine does not show any specs related to the graphics card or memory - which means it is likely Intel Integrated Graphics using shared memory. Not a good choice if you intend to do any kind of video. The first thing I check on a machine is the hardware specs (control panel or system information) for the graphics adapter. If it's Intel - it's out of consideration for DJ use.
 
I use a pair of 17" Toshiba laptops with VDJ7 and VDJ8. I have used them for almost three years now. They are I3, with 6 GB ram and 512 GB HD. I never had an issue with them, but I never gig with them connected to the NET. My nephew was playing once and hooked to the NET and ran into issues where VDJ was wanting to register the controller and kept shutting down after 10 minutes.

I registered it and unhooked it from the NET and he had no issues again.
 
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