Laptop vs. Rackmount PC

Brian - Cost considerations made me go rackmount. I had an Extra P4 sitting around. I also had a laptop (actually it's work's laptop, but it might as well be mine. I didn't feel like spending a grand or so on a new laptop, so I went with the rackmount.
I had my tower strapped into my Gator 10x6 case...i found the case very haevy and bulky.....weight alone nmadfe it difficult for one person....So i picked up a rack case on ebay for $65 bucks and a SKB 4u Xcase ($140.00)

Laqtop pro's
- lightweight, easy to move around
- can be taken to client meetings (although with a back up laptop, I have that luxury)

Cons

- expensive
- lightweight, mobile (easy to steal, drop)
- eggs in one basket (difficult to service, cannot buy an lcd, motherboard..cheaply)
- limited hard drive space
- heat

Rackmount Pros

- looks frickin' cool in a rack
- unlimited drive space
- redundancy (raid)
- easy to service/upgrade
- versatility (two onboard cd players)
- inexpensive
- looks more "pro" than a laptop *******

Cons

- weight and size


***** let me qualify this statement. One of the issues we have as an industry is the prol;iferation of those with laptops downloading their music, renting gear and hanging a shingle out as a DJ.
I went to a gig recently...Here was the DJ with his laptop sitting on the table, a Numark USB 2 channel mixer, an xternal drive an old peavey amp and two PR 15's....That's it

With everything sitting on the table...it reeked for me....sorry it looked amateur hour. Wires everywhere. With guys like that, for us to be taken seriously, is difficult.

I probably will have a second laptop within a year and may ditch the rackmount. My intent is to have the laptop inside the 6u part of my Gator, and use the external keyboard or DAC and the large LCD. I'll still have the old laptop on the case wing as back up and song search.....

Don't take this the wrong way. Laptop is the ideal way. If you use a laptop, integrate it into a set up that looks like you you're seriouis about your business....

If we want to be treated as professionnals we need to look and act as one.

Laptop are crashing through $1000 and dropping to as low as $500. The specs are nothing to write home about but none the less to play a single Mp3 all you need is a Pentium 1 @ 133MHz. Those four and five space rack mount cases are built like tanks and just as heavy. This is not casting aspersions just thinking aloud. If I were to use a rack mount PC and had to move it, I’d consider a one space rack mount, even given the limitations. It would be nice if a good PCI sound card could be shoe horned in on a riser card though. The single rack space PC has less metal in it so you don’t have to feel a part of the strong back / weak mind set. Some have a reasonable depth that uses micro ATX motherboards.

I guess what I’m saying is, less is more. In a week or so I should be posting my new rack / console that was meant to be compact and is compact but heavier than intended. Well any way my take on redundancy is forget RAID have a whole ‘nother PC. One small PC in the rack and another, a laptop on my shoulder when I walk in.

Less is more but have two? I guess that is a contradiction.

at my job we recently designed a DJ system with a p4 3.0 processor in a 1U case. It was very lightweight, the DJ wanted an octopus card I think M-Audio makes it... It really is a nice nice card for those who are considering it. Also we used a configuration where using VDJ having the ESI U46DJ used, it worked wonders. Additionally, the user was using PCDJ FX and it worked like a charm. We even did extensive testing and ripped using pcdj fx (very processor heavy) in the scorching hot Southeast Texas sun. The black case caused it to get hot pretty much.

Balanced....wrt laptops...the pricing is fropping. Noted a Compaq yesterday....dual core...2 gigs of ram, 1000 gig drive...899 cdn. Toshiba's are running 599 cdn w the Pentium M's, 60 gig drivs and 512 megs of ram.

Had I not had the P 4, I likely would have went the second laptop route...

Going into a 1u case imho is akin to a laptop. Service becomes difficult (propretary parts)...drive space is limited.......Do you really save that much weight?
Yes My 4 u pc is heavy..but in it's own 4 u case it is sooo much more manageable that having it in the Gator gase, which I may ditch for an 8 x 2 solution,

HP makes a "mini" PC with a Pentium M processor; it has a gig of ram, 250 gig hd, and measures 4 x 8 x8 roughly...so it is small. If one could rack mount these.

With the Cortex and the new Denon units coming, I can see myself here some say...

I don't think I'll ever ditch the rack case though.....

It ain't heavy its my 'puter

thatmusicguy said:

...the pricing is fropping. Noted a Compaq yesterday....dual core...2 gigs of ram, 1000 gig drive...899 cdn.

Going into a 1u case imho is akin to a laptop. Service becomes difficult (propretary parts)...drive space is limited.......Do you really save that much weight?
Yes My 4 u pc is heavy..

Click to expand...

The price is fropping? Is that Canadian slang? Southpark has shown us that we should "blame Cananda" and that the top of Canadian's heads sort of pop off when they talk but "fropping" ? Ohhh dropping! Never mind. (Roseann Rosanannadanna - SNL) Ask me, I'll 'splain if you don't get it.

You know, this stuff gets so personal. There is just something about one of those 4+RU PCs that just offends me and yes it is sorta limiting to have one RU, it is a weasel step inbetween a laptop and a full PC. Still you can get a 3.5 inch drive and maybe more. Or look at it this way, full redundancy, two rack spaces and two independent computers in 2RU. With drives hitting 750GB you no longer need three or four drives in one case. That appeals to me more than any other large one chassis configuration. If you are "just" playing music... Different strokes...

I'm just finishing a project that was supposed to be light. It ain't light enough so that may partially explain the aversion to the heavier rack mounts. Hey man, lighten up - you cool?

I dunno this post might have ended up looking like the ravings of a mad man.

Hey..I'm cool.......
Again like everything it boils down to personal preference.....Is a 4u rack mount ideal....dunno?

I guess my real point is.....

dammit..this forum needs a spellcheck!!!!!

Seriously...no matter what you use....present yourself like you mean business and are serious about it....look professional (even though I'm told I can't...I'm part time)........

Aren't we all a bit mad?