Just bought a new laptop

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My primary rack mount PC would have to die first, before i would have to use the old PC, then I have CD's for back up, and my I-pod.
there's a snow balls chance in hell that i'd be left with no music at my event.

And the whole Video, Karaoke, and live sound thing means nothing to anyone but me....But, the majority of the issues i see with people trying to run video's and such, Is that they don't have enough Computer horsepower to do it correctly. Running a cheapie computer for something like that is asking for nothing but problems.

But hey...If you want to run your $400 lappys and you can make it work, then all the power to you.

Precision, I hate to say it this way but you're a machine snob and seemingly pretty clueless as well. Assuming your "honkin rack mount" is a custom-build, it's probably not near as hardened as many of those $400 lappys you keep dissing. I have triple redundancy (at least) at all gigs and also have never been without music, even for a minute. If it works for you then great but dude, you're spouting stupidity. I'd far rather have a fresh O/S build than a 6-year old one but to each his own.
 
Precision, I hate to say it this way but you're a machine snob and seemingly pretty clueless as well. Assuming your "honkin rack mount" is a custom-build, it's probably not near as hardened as many of those $400 lappys you keep dissing. I have triple redundancy (at least) at all gigs and also have never been without music, even for a minute. If it works for you then great but dude, you're spouting stupidity. I'd far rather have a fresh O/S build than a 6-year old one but to each his own.


Precision is not spouting stupidity Rick -- he's comfortable with his choice, and can upgrade at will.

While I prefer a decent lappy (not your normal $400 Wally Mart special), I can understand those that still want a full rack unit. You can essentially change anything out, and run the latest OS. You have a ton more options, but it's also more work, and requires the knowledge to handle the hardware and software installations.


Based upon what I've read and heard, I suspect he does more than just your run of the mill DJ gig, and probably has good reason to have an adaptable system.

I have one as well, but I haven't needed to use it in a while, and while fully ready to go -- it just collects dust now. I only do the local bar a few times a year now, and an occasional party for a friend. Lappys and a netbook backup work fine for that stuff.
 
Precision is not spouting stupidity Rick -- he's comfortable with his choice, and can upgrade at will.

While I prefer a decent lappy (not your normal $400 Wally Mart special), I can understand those that still want a full rack unit. You can essentially change anything out, and run the latest OS. You have a ton more options, but it's also more work, and requires the knowledge to handle the hardware and software installations.


Based upon what I've read and heard, I suspect he does more than just your run of the mill DJ gig, and probably has good reason to have an adaptable system.

I have one as well, but I haven't needed to use it in a while, and while fully ready to go -- it just collects dust now. I only do the local bar a few times a year now, and an occasional party for a friend. Lappys and a netbook backup work fine for that stuff.

My point wasn't with his choice of equipment. My point was his spouting insults of others' choices, without knowing of which he speaks. He uses a rack system, therefore, he thinks all "real DJs" must do the same. He then thinks he's at the top of the heap to spout insults at the guys using laptops (of a specific variety). That is stupidity.
 
My primary rack mount PC would have to die first, before i would have to use the old PC, then I have CD's for back up, and my I-pod.
there's a snow balls chance in hell that i'd be left with no music at my event.

And the whole Video, Karaoke, and live sound thing means nothing to anyone but me....But, the majority of the issues i see with people trying to run video's and such, Is that they don't have enough Computer horsepower to do it correctly. Running a cheapie computer for something like that is asking for nothing but problems.

But hey...If you want to run your $400 lappys and you can make it work, then all the power to you.

Where in hell did anyone say they were using a $400.00 laptop to run video?
 
My point wasn't with his choice of equipment. My point was his spouting insults of others' choices, without knowing of which he speaks. He uses a rack system, therefore, he thinks all "real DJs" must do the same. He then thinks he's at the top of the heap to spout insults at the guys using laptops (of a specific variety). That is stupidity.

Next he'll be telling us how far to spead our speakers.....
 
Precision, I hate to say it this way but you're a machine snob and seemingly pretty clueless as well. Assuming your "honkin rack mount" is a custom-build, it's probably not near as hardened as many of those $400 lappys you keep dissing. I have triple redundancy (at least) at all gigs and also have never been without music, even for a minute. If it works for you then great but dude, you're spouting stupidity. I'd far rather have a fresh O/S build than a 6-year old one but to each his own.

You sir are sprouting stupidity if you think i'm running a PC with a 6 year old build....I'm well aware of how to maintain my equipment, And have had only (1) issue in the last 7 years....Which i fixed in about 5 min. And as far as being a "machine snob" no i'm not....I simply do my homework and buy what gets the job done and then some...not what's the bare minimum, and the cheapest.

And as for your idea that i think "all Real Dj's" need a rack mount like mine is very unfounded....All i'm trying to tell you guys is
to Spec the machine for what YOU need it to do....not buy something cheap and "HOPE" it will work.

I had no doubts that my rack mount would do it's job. it was over built to do effortless, And that's exactly what it does.
 
You sir are sprouting stupidity if you think i'm running a PC with a 6 year old build

I can only based my statement off the info you provided:

That would mean that my normal, purpose built, dj machine would have to have a major malfunction, which i haven't had in the 6+ years i've been digital.

As for me, I've had ZERO issues in 3 years. As an (day gig) IT professional, I certainly have specd the machine I needed and take exception to your broad brush, generalized statements. Quite simply, you're wrong in this discussion and won't admit it. You were the one who started spouting offensive statements. Don't be surprised when it comes back at you.
 
And i am not the one asking about my laptop, and "crossing my fingers" on wither or not it will be a good machine for it's intended purpose.

You seem to really love cheap gear...Hope it works for you when you really need it.
 
And i am not the one asking about my laptop, and "crossing my fingers" on wither or not it will be a good machine for it's intended purpose.

You seem to really love cheap gear...Hope it works for you when you really need it.

You seem to have a reading perception problem. I never asked anything. I TOLD about the laptop that I purchased and the great deal I got. As someone who's made their living as a computer programmer for the past 25 years, I'm quite confident I can pick a machine. The build quality on this box is very good. Lots of heat dissipation inside the box, the memory, hard drive and wi-fi modem is easily accessible. I'll guarantee you it's much more road-worthy than any homemade, rack unit.

You have COMPLETELY mis-interpreted "crossing my fingers". Everything was well-tested and specd but I always "cross my fingers" when I'm bringing out new gear. As is, the new laptop has been very successful and I'd use it over some homemade rack unit, any day of the week. To each his own.

But feel free to keep sticking your foot farther down your throat.
 
Oh and by the way - the above post is just a joke! But you guys get all fired up when it comes to comparing your stuff!:trirolleyes: Makes me want to scream "JERRY JERRY JERRY"
 
I'll guarantee you it's much more road-worthy than any homemade, rack unit.


I think that might be where you are wrong. I've gone both routes and the Rack Mounts are definatly more durable for road use than any laptop. BTW I am currently running laptops mainly for convinence

If you are running video, or launching the space shuttle you really need power but for simple audio pretty much any run of the mill machine with a decent soundcard (and most of the onboards are OK nowadays) will do it for you.

The first machine I ran on the road was an AMD K6-2 500 with 128 meg of ram back in late 98 with a Beta copy of Win 2K and Mixmeister 3. aside from upgrading to MM 6 and win XP/Vista there really is no change and I am running a machine many times faster. Why? Because I can
 
Rick I want to be the first to give you kudos it should run Winamp properly without a hitch. You can uncross your fingers.
 
I think that might be where you are wrong. I've gone both routes and the Rack Mounts are definatly more durable for road use than any laptop. BTW I am currently running laptops mainly for convinence

If you are running video, or launching the space shuttle you really need power but for simple audio pretty much any run of the mill machine with a decent soundcard (and most of the onboards are OK nowadays) will do it for you.

The first machine I ran on the road was an AMD K6-2 500 with 128 meg of ram back in late 98 with a Beta copy of Win 2K and Mixmeister 3. aside from upgrading to MM 6 and win XP/Vista there really is no change and I am running a machine many times faster. Why? Because I can

We'll have to agree to disagree. Years ago, I built custom-build machines for clients. There's no way you can convince me the mounting points and hardware on an open-ended machine are anywhere near the tolerance level of pretty much any modern laptop. Additionally, my laptop rides in a backpack that's padded. It's not bolted into a rack that bounces around in the back of a van or trailer so it'll have much less impact to the stress points. Finally, while a rack unit works for Mr. Precision, I need something I can grab and run to multiple setup locations per gig (ceremony, cocktail hour, reception) although, not to backtrack on myself, it's so inexpensive that I now use a netbook for ceremony and leave my main laptop setup at the reception area. It's magnitudes easier to reconfigure on the fly. Now if you're using a CPU-intensive software product, I'd suggest it be tested on this type platform first but for Winamp, or I suspect Rockit (Rick has done a magnificient job of making it easy on the CPU) you're not even coming close to tapping the machine.

@jon - Not "should work". It "does work flawlessly". The fingers are un-crossed by now. This new single-core box with Win7 works better than my older AMD dual-core with Vista (for my application). :triwink:
 
IMO, this is not about what's better or agreeing to disagree. This is about who likes what better. RR, for your purposes, a lappy suits you fine. For the others, what they're using suits them fine. There are no wrong answers here if you are happy with what you're using and it's working for you. Personally, I'm much more a fan of the desktop - more room, less heat, easier to upgrade, easier to repair, etc. My road system is a higher end laptop and used for the convenience of a smaller system than a desktop / server. It's not that it's better - it's just more convenient.
 
If you are a disc jockey it is a waste of time to argue with computer people. This debate always breaks down into two camps:

Computer geeks with an interest in DJing - who's priority is the computer hardware or software and not the actual DJ work. Computer people readily adjust or compromise their DJing to accommodate the needs of their preferred machines and softwares.

vs.

Disc jockeys with need for a computer who prioritize their job requirements ahead of computer specs or any given software. A disc jockey will not compromise his talent to accommodate a machine or software. This is why the number of software and interface methods is so varied - because the machines and sofwtares have to meet the varied demands of individual DJs - not the other way around.

Computer people always use the wrong set of priorities because they don't approach the issue from the needs of an actual disc-jockey. Instead - they evolve entirely around the power of their preferred hardware rather than the power of the person standing behind it.

I'm a disc jockey - so I will tell you right up front that convenience, portability, compatibility, interchange and simplicity trump EVERYTHING when it comes to computer specifications. All gear is replaceable.

Computers are too cheap and technology moves too fast to worry about upgrades. I don't care how easily the machine is upgraded because I don't intend to give CPR to outdated hardware and software. It is as disposable as any old CD player.

IMHO rack mount computers belong racked in the club's closet where nobody touches or moves them. They do not belong in a DJ road case. Why not just carry a box of bricks? :)

Is your desktop more powerful than a given laptop? Who cares! Everest is the tallest mountain but nobody works there! :)

BTW: when you die - there will be no mention of your CPU or OS. :( They might on the other hand; talk about your work.
 
Bob that mentality is ignorant to those who have perfected rack mount PC options.I myself use a laptop and have just upgraded things to enhance that option. I do however recognize the benefit of a rack offering . Different strokes for different folks. upgrades are more opportune in many cases with a PC. I am guilty of buying the DEAL of the DAY Lappy. My current unit a ATHLON which runs hotter than my previous Intel units. I dont do video so am set with no issues. I will upgrade properly soon.
 
If you are a disc jockey it is a waste of time to argue with computer people. This debate always breaks down into two camps:

Computer geeks
vs.
Disc jockeys


You missed "Computer geeks who only want the right tool for the job". I couldn't care less about fitting the job to the tool. It works the other way for me. Other than that minor issue, very good observation on your part.