Best Laptop for DJ – There is a lot of info to consider before you buy a laptop for DJ use. The manner in which you DJ and the tools you use will factor heavily in on your decision. Finding something with suitable specs can be overwhelming if the terms used are little more than jargon to you.
With a bit of luck, our buyers’ guide will have helped to break down what to look for in a decent laptop for DJing into easy to understand information to assist you in your search for something suitable for you.
OVERVIEW
If buying a laptop is uncharted territory then you may still find yourself a little lost, so to summarize the most important points;
Research your software and hardware requirements, think about your input and output needs, buy the best processor your budget allows for and remember you can never have too much space to store your songs in. Lastly, buy something well-built with something adequate to carry it in.
ROUND UP
There are plenty of capable laptop options out there thanks to the progressive nature of the technological age we are fortunate to live in. If you keep all of the key points we have discussed in mind when you search for your purchase, you will undoubtedly find something that more than meets your music mixing needs.
back to menu ↑1.Apple Macbook
Features
- Intel Core M 1.1 GHz, Mac OX X 10.10 Yosemite, Intel HD Graphic 5300
- Internal Memory: 256GB, 8GB RAM
- 12.0-inch TFT LED-backlit Active-Matrix Retina Display with IPS Technology, 2304 x 1440 pixel resolution (~226ppi pixel density)
- 78-Key Full Size Keyboard, Multi-touch Gestures, Force Touch Trackpad
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2.Dell XPS
Features
- 15. 6" 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) OLED InfinityEdge anti-reflective Non-Touch 100% DCI-P3 400-Nits Display
- 9th Generation Intel Core i7-9750h (12MB Cache, up to 4. 5 GHz, 6 Cores)
- 16GB DDR4-2666MHz, 2x8G
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5
- Sd card reader, Thunderbolt, USB 3. 0
- Windows 10 Home 64bit English
- 6-Cell 97Whr integrated
- 256GB M. 2 PCIe NVMe solid state Drive
- Fingerprint reader
- System Ram Type: Ddr4 Sdram
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3.Razer Blade
Features
- More Power, More Cores: The 8-Core 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10875H processor provides the ultimate level of performance with up to 5. 1GHz Max Turbo.
- Studio Ready: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super with Max-Q Design (8GB GDDR6 VRAM) graphics is up to 25% faster than the original RTX 20 Series with more cores and higher clocks.
- Vivid Visuals: The 4K OLED touch display delivers blazing fast 1ms response time and a wide color range covering 100% of the DCI-P3 space, while the HDR 400 True Black ensures deep blacks and vibrant colors.
- Thin and Compact: The CNC aluminum unibody frame houses incredible performance in the most compact footprint possible, while remaining remarkably durable and just 0. 7" thin.
- Innovative Cooling: A unique vacuum sealed, liquid filled, copper vapor chamber spans the heat generating components and is the key to getting maximum performance and user comfort in a compact, thin design.
- Connectivity technology: HDMI
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4.Microsoft Surface
Features
- Intel Core i5 8th Gen 8250U (1.60 GHz) with Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620, 128GB SSD Drive and 8GB RAM
- 12.3in PixelSense 10-Point Touchscreen Display, 2736 x 1824 Screen Resolution (267 ppi)
- USB 3.0, 3.5 mm headphone jack, Mini DisplayPort, 1 x Surface Connect port, Surface Type Cover port, MicroSDXC card reader, Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) | Bluetooth 4.1
- Ultra-slim and light, starting at just 1.7 pounds, 5MP Front Camera | 8MP Rear Camera
- All-day battery life, with up to 13.5 hours of video playback, Windows 10 Home 64-bit
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5.Lenovo Yoga
Features
- THINNEST AND LIGHTEST: At less than 2 lbs, it's the world's thinnest and lightest 2-in-1 windows tablet *Based on Lenovo’s internal analysis as of 8/18/16 of 10.1” or greater 2-in-1 computers (sold with keyboard)
- HIGH PERFORMANCE: This portable computer has a 64GB SDD hard drive and 4 GB LP DDR3 of RAM, plus an epic 13 hour battery life on one charge
- PRODUCTIVITY: Instantly digitize your notes with the Real Pen stylus or transform your device into a notebook computer with the Halo keyboard that appears only when needed
- THEATER-LIKE MULTIMEDIA: This 10 inch tablet has a Full High Definition crystal-clear touchscreen display plus built-in dual speakers perfect for binge-watching TV and movies on-the-go
- ENDLESS OPTIONS: Do more with one notebook - type, take notes, browse the web, even draw
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6.DELL OEM
Features
- NVIDIA PhysX technology NVIDIA SMX Engine NVIDIA Adaptive Vertical Sync NVIDIA Surround Microsoft DirectX 12 API (feature level 11_0)Support
- NVIDIA 3D Vision Ready NVIDIA CUDA Technologic Express 3.0 Support OpenGL 4.4 Support OpenGL Support NVIDIA FXAA Technology NVIDIA TXAA Technology NVIDIA Pure Video HD Technology Requirements: 300 Watt or greater power supply with minimum of 20 Amp on the +12 volt rail. PCI Express, PCI Express 2.0 or PCI Express3.0 compliant motherboard with one graphics slot.
- Windows 8 32/64bit, Windows 7 32/64bit,Windows Vista 32/64bit, Windows XP 32/64bit Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 Video Memory: 2GB DDR3 Max Resolution: 2560 x 1600 Output: DVI, VGA, HDMI. DIMENSIONS: Height: 2.709in - 68.8mmLength: 6.6in - 167.75mm
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7.ASUS ROG
Features
- Powerful 6th-generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2.6GHz. 16GB RAM; 1TB 7200RPM Storage.
- 15.6 inches Matte IPS FHD display. 1920 by 1080 resolution. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M gaming graphic card.
- GameFirst III technology prioritizes the flow of the game data across your network.Refer user manual below
- Feature the latest USB3.1 Type-C port for more convenient connectivity options. Input : 100 -240 V AC, 50/60 Hz
- 100 solder points for durability and solid-feel, one piece keyboard with 1.8mm of key travel, gives you responsive keystrokes when typing and entering commands; The slide-off upgrade panel offers instant access, fit an M.2 SSD, a bigger hard drive or upgrade memory.
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8.Alienware AW13R2
Features
- Intel Dual Core i5-6200U 2.3 GHz Processor
- 8 GB DDR3L SDRAM
- 500 GB HDD + 8 GB SSD Hybrid Drive Storage; Optical Drive Not included
- 13 Inch FHD (1920 x 1080 pixels) LED-lit Truelife Screen
- Windows 10 Operating System; Epic Silver Chassis
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9.HP ENVY
Features
- 15.6" Full HD IPS Anti-glare Micro-edge WLED-backlit Touchscreen (1920 x 1080) Display
- AMD Ryzen 5 4500U 2.30GHz Hexa-Core Processor up to 4.0GHz, AMD Radeon Graphics with Shared Graphics Memory
- 8GB high-bandwidth RAM to smoothly run multiple applications and browser tabs all at once; 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive allows to fast bootup and data transfer
- 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Combination Audio Jack, 1 x Multi-format SD Media Card Reader
- HP Wide Vision HD Camera with Integrated Dual Array Digital Microphone, HP Audio Boost 2.0 with Bang & Olufsen Dual Speakers, Backlit Keyboard, Fingerprint Reader, Wireless-AX and Bluetooth Combo, Windows 10 Home, 4.41 Pounds
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10.MSI GF63 Th
Features
- Display: 15.6 inches Fhd (1920 x 1080), IPS-Level 60Hz 45 percent ntsc thin Bezel 1920x1080 16:9
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 [Max-Q] 4G GDDR5
- Processor: Intel Core i7-9750h 2.6 - 4.5GHz
- Memory: 16GB (8 gram x 2) DDR4 2666MHz 2 Sockets; Max memory 64GB
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
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Best Laptop for DJ – BUYER’S GUIDE
As far as laptops for DJ use are concerned the spec demands aren’t particularly high in relation to most modern devices. However in a live situation the faster the better you don’t want a system that can’t keep up with the workload. So the first key thing to consider is the processing power, this should be at least dual core and i5 or higher, but in all honesty unless budget really is a huge constraint you probably ought to skip anything with a below i7 processor on-board, as technology rarely takes a step backward and you might find future products less compatible in the long-run .
RAM requirements are typically fairly low for the majority of DJ software. You are going to need a minimum of 2GB of high-speed RAM around 1600MHz, but we recommend 8GB to effectively cover your software demands at their peak performance. On a side note if you produce your own tracks or remixes and use any additional digital audio workspaces you will require a minimum of 8GB possibly more if you are prone to sample-heavy productions.
If you don’t work with records, then to manage your extensive libraries you are going to find your self in dire need of some meaty onboard storage. Realistically this should be solid state drive storage as it can be retrieved far quicker and as we have previously mentioned speed is key. Audio tracks don’t typically have huge file sizes and the majority of new laptops will have plenty up for grabs.
If you work with an Audio Interface and/or turntable, you will need to make sure that the specs above meet the requirements of your equipment.
If you are a DJ/Producer working at home on edits or remixes you may care about the speaker quality of the laptop itself, but it is advisable to source a high end set of zero latency headphone monitors and performance DJ speakers anyway. Many AI and turntables use USB ports to connect, so you will have to consider your input/output requirements thoroughly before you buy, though you can buy USB hub ports to help extend your laptops connectivity abilities. Once again, remembering that speed is key USB connections should be USB C/3 or thunderbolt preferably as they are much faster and higher bus powered.
Whilst some of the most important factors you need to think about before buying a laptop for DJing are based heavily on its internal components one major thing to add to your tick list is durability.
If you are going to be traveling around with your laptop as a mobile DJ, it will need to be well-made and of sturdy construction. It would also be wise to consider suitable carry case solutions to protect it during its transit. This is especially true in the case of some of the thinner options such as the Dell thin and light, the Lenovo Yoga, or either of the MacBooks.
From our DJ Laptop reviews, you can clearly see (in relation the knowledge included in our buyer guide info) just why some of the gaming laptops have made our list. The requirements for a fully immersive high FPS gaming experience necessitates very similar specification requirements as audio production and DJing demands of a computer unit.
back to menu ↑Frequently Asked Questions
back to menu ↑Cheapest Laptop For DJing?
The cheapest laptop which is more than sufficient for DJ use from those we have reviewed today Is the Dell 15.6 Gaming Laptop which is very reasonably priced given its specs.
The Lenovo retails at a lower price but is not really going to be fit for function.
back to menu ↑Best Windows Laptop For DJing?
Of those we have taken a gander at in this article, 7 run a windows operating system. We suggest the Best Microsoft Windows Laptop for DJ use would be the Dell XPS 13. As we have previously discussed the specification requirements aren’t typically very high for DJ software. Of course, the amount of space you require will be entirely dependent on the manner you DJ in. We feel with its appealing low price the XPS 13 offers the best value for money, it tops the stats of the Microsoft Surface Pro and MacBook Air and undercuts the cost by about 20-25% if you shop around. It has a reasonable amount of RAM and SSD storage the processor is an up to date i5 so should be able to deal with most workloads.
If you are measuring the best Laptop in terms of the fastest with the biggest storage then we would say go for one of the upgraded i7 Dells instead but beware the price increase.
back to menu ↑Best Mac Laptop For DJing?
The Apple MacBook Retina Display makes for one of the best Mac Laptops for DJing, it operates with pretty fast performance and has sufficient storage. Input/output could be an issue as it only has the one so depending on your requirements you may have to get a USB port hub of some kind.
back to menu ↑WRAP UP
For any DJs or traveling musicians reading this, weight – and portability – is likely to be another major factor. After all, some of the highest spec, beefiest laptops in the world also weigh a fair amount, and your shoulders will quickly tire of lugging those behemoths around.
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