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Best Laptop for Downloading music – Most important for audio processing is a CPU with fast single-core performance. This will allow you to get your mixes into a single file much quicker and process effects and chains without the CPU needing to wait, among many other benefits. 8th generation Intel i7 processors are the best, followed by Intel i5. 7th generation processors are also excellent.
OVERVIEW
I would suggest getting the best computer you can for your budget, but try to stay away from “cheap” options – and definitely avoid Chromebooks. You will just run into limitations and issues that take the fun out of your hobby or profession!
Best Laptop for Downloading music – ROUND UP
’ve provided a wide range of options throughout this article. for its stunning audio, elegant design, and good performance. It’s worth its price because it can be used for other purposes than music.
back to menu ↑1. Apple MacBook Pro
Features
- Ninth-generation 8-Core Intel Core i9 Processor
- Stunning 16-inch Retina Display with True Tone technology
- Touch Bar and Touch ID
- AMD Radeon Pro 5500M Graphics with GDDR6 memory
- Ultrafast SSD
- Intel UHD Graphics 630
- Six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers
- Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports
- Up to 11 hours of battery life
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi
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2. HP Spectre X360
Features
- Newly Launched HP Spectre x360 13T Cutting Edge GEM CUT Design - 10TH GENERATION QUAD CORE CPU: Intel Core i7-1065G7 (1.3 GHz, up to 3.9 GHz, 8 MB cache, 4 cores) four-way processing 1.30 GHz to 3.9 GHz with 8 MB SmartCache, high-efficiency performance with Intel Turbo Boost Technology WINDOWS 10 HOME 64 BIT PRE INSTALLED BY HP, NEW Features - Web Cam Kill Switch, Mic Mute Key, Fingerprint reader
- UNMATCHED AUDIO PERFORMANCE with QUAD Bang & Olufsen speakers: The partnership between Bang & Olufsen and HP brings premium sound to your personal computing device. With HP Quad Speakers, HP Audio Boost, and custom tuning by the experts at Bang & Olufsen, entertainment comes to life with sound you can feel.
- SUPERIOR SPEED and NETWORKING: Fast Data Access with 512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 201 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5 Combo. Security management Mic Mute key; Webcam kill switch, 1 headphone/microphone combo; 1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A (HP Sleep and Charge); 2 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C with Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gb/s signaling rate, Power Delivery 3.0, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge)
- IMPRESSIVE HD PANEL with HD Active Stylus Pen and Thunderbolt Support: Experience exceptional colors and clarity with 13.3" Full HD touch screen (Resolution: 1920 x 1080) for hands-on control and IPS technology for wide viewing angles. 13.3" diagonal FHD IPS micro-edge WLED-backlit touch screen with NBT, HP Active Stylus Pen, USB-C port, Thunderbolt support & SD card reader
- 16GB SDRAM(ONBAORD), Bang & Olufsen Quad Speakers, HP Audio Boost, Fingerprint Reader, ALSO includes a Super Sleek, Super cool, 64GB ULTRA SLIM Tech Warehouse LLC USB Flash drive. A speedy little performer with a great look! Please see picture illustrations for more information
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3. Razer Blade 15
Features
- More power: The 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10750H processor provides the ultimate level of performance with up to 5.0 GHz max turbo and 6 cores.
- Ray-tracing: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is powered by the NVIDIA Turing GPU architecture and brings cinematic-quality rendering to the most visually intense games.
- More frames: Incredible performance paired with the fast 144Hz 15. 6" full HD thin bezel display helps edge out the win.
- Thin and compact: The CNC aluminum unibody frame houses incredible performance in the most compact footprint possible, while remaining remarkably durable and just 0.78" thin.
- Ready to connect: Fully loaded with Wi-Fi 6, Gigabit Ethernet, Thunderbolt 3, USB type-A and type-C ports, and HDMI, for a desktop-class experience
- Make it yours: Customize the backlight color of the keyboard with Razer Chroma, and expand the memory and storage, making the Razer Blade 15 uniquely yours.
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4. Dell XPS 9310
Features
- 13.4" FHD+ (1920 x 1200) InfinityEdge Touch Anti-Reflective 500-Nit Display
- 11th Generation, Intel Core i7-1185G7 Processor (12MB Cache, up to 4.8 GHz)
- 16GB 4267MHz LPDDR4x Memory Onboard, 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
- Intel Iris Xe Graphics with shared graphics memory
- Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 (2 x 2) and Bluetooth 5.1
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5. ASUS ROG Strix G
Features
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB GDDR6 (Base: 1455 MHz, Boost: 1590 MHz; TDP: 80W)
- Intel Core i5-9300H Quad-core Processor
- 120Hz 15. 6” 1920x1080 IPS Type Display
- 8GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM | 512GB PCIe SSD | Windows 10 Home | Gigabit Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 (802. 11ac 2x2)
- ROG Intelligent Cooling thermal system with dual 12V fans, anti-dust technology, and adjustable fan modes
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6. ASUS F556UA
Features
- 15.6-Inch Full-HD Display with Windows 10 Pre-installed, Refer user guide below for firmware update
- Powerful Intel i5-6200U 2.3 GHz Processor (Turbo to 2.8 GHz), Refer description for software update
- 256GB Solid-State Drive for blazing-fast boot times and program launches
- Best-in-class connectivity with included HDMI/D-SUB/USB Type C and 802.11a/c WiFi
- Long-lasting 38 Whr polymer battery 2.5 times the lifespan of standard Li-ion
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7. Microsoft Surface Pro 6
Features
- A best in class laptop with the versatility of a studio and tablet
- More power now with the new 8th Generation Intel Core processor
- Ultra slim and light, starting at just 1.7 pounds. Sensors : Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope
- All day battery life, with upto 13.5 hours of video playback
- Pair with our signature type cover in luxurious Alcantara material and rich colors for a full keyboard experience
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8. Dell XPS 9500
Features
- Enjoy a 16:10 display that features a stunning edge-to-edge view, now with 922k more pixels on 4K Ultra HD+.
- Equipped with 100% Adobe RGB, 94% DCI-P3 color gamut, VESA certified DisplayHDR 400, and Dolby Vision, this display delivers more than 16 million ultra-vivid colors that are 40 times brighter than ever before
- With a 62% larger touchpad, 5% larger screen, and 5.6% smaller footprint, every element is carefully considered—from its inlayed stainless logos to its high-polished diamond-cut sidewalls
- Integrated Eyesafe display technology helps reduce harmful blue light.
- Corning Gorilla Glass 6 is tough, damage resistant, durable, elegant and allows for no flex in its display
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9. Dell XPS 7590
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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10. HP Pavilion 15
Features
- INSTANT GRATIFICATION – Experience a laptop with premium performance, so you can spend less time getting more done; it’s like a small PC that’s compact enough to go where you go with a long-lasting battery to power you through your day
- EPIC ENTERTAINMENT – With audio by B&O, a larger screen-to-body ratio, and a 15.6-inch Full HD micro-edged screen to maximize your view, entertainment on your laptop feels like bringing the theater home (1)
- IMPRESSIVE GRAPHICS – The Intel Iris Xe Graphics gives you a new level of graphics performance with crisp, stunning visuals, plus the convenience of a thin and light laptop (2)
- UNSTOPPABLE PERFORMANCE – Get things done fast with the 11th Generation Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, which delivers instant responsiveness and best-in-class connectivity (3)
- MEMORY AND STORAGE – Enjoy up to 15x faster performance than a traditional hard drive with 512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage (4) and experience improved multitasking with higher bandwidth thanks to 16 GB of RAM
- WORK ON THE GO – Get work done on the go with a long battery life of up to 8 hours (5) while HP Fast Charge lets you go from 0 to 50% charge in approximately 45 minutes (6)
- OS AND WARRANTY – Do more with better peace of mind thanks to the HP 1-year limited hardware warranty and the seamlessly integrated Windows 10 Pro operating system (7)
- EFFORTLESSLY CONNECTED – Enjoy a smoother wireless experience with Wi-Fi 6 (2x2) (8) and Bluetooth 5.0 combo (9), all your connections are solid and up to 3x faster file transfer speeds than Wi-Fi 5 (10)
- FULL-SIZE KEYBOARD – Work comfortably with a full-sized keyboard, integrated numeric pad, and a Precision Touchpad
- ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY – Stay energy-efficient and sustainable with a laptop that is ENERGY STAR certified (11), EPEAT Silver registered (12), and built with a low halogen display (13)
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BUYER’S GUIDE
Getting a laptop that suits your needs is a lot harder than one might think. With dozens of attractive options in the market and complex technical specs, one can get lost easily.
Some need their laptops for business, others for gaming or graphics. However, the majority of us use them to watch movies and listen to music. I’ll be focusing on that today.
Before buying your laptop, there’re some important factors to consider according to your priorities. Overall, you should look for a good operating system, large storage, and reliable RAM.
Speaker Quality
Placement of speakers matters; lateral & top speakers are favored over bottom ones to produce higher volume and clearer quality. Surely, the manufacturer’s name also makes a difference.
You need to look for speakers that can render low & high notes accurately and has a decent bass effect.
Processor & RAM
Multimedia requires proficient processing. This is interpreted in terms of the processor and RAM. For processors, normally any multicore processor will be enough. Regarding the RAM the minimum is 4GB. Overall, the bigger the RAM, the better.
Battery life
Opt for 6 to 8 hours lasting battery. Also, a laptop with thermal insulation is an asset, heating up easily isn’t a good sign. Irreplaceable batteries are limiting too.
Fan
A PC’s fan is a small device that’s used to reduce its heat while running. Many well-crafted PCs come with loud fans, while efficient in keeping the temperature low, they’re really annoying and can ruin the mood.
Make sure to get a laptop with a silent fan, you can only get such information from other reviewers who’ve used it.
Budget
You don’t need a fancy overpriced laptop for good sound. Usually, something under 400$ will suffice. As most laptop manufacturers are leaning towards thin lightweight laptops, they compromise speakers. So, the more you spend, the more features you get. Just know that you won’t be getting any miraculous sound software.
How to Get the Best Quality out of Your Laptop?
Because of the lightweight – speakers tradeoff. Some go as far as claiming that performance and good sound are mutually exclusive in laptops. You can only get one.
While this is extreme, it’s true to some extent. That’s why I’ll be discussing some tips you can follow to get the best sound quality possible.
Application Settings
Whether it’s Spotify, Youtube, or Windows Media Player. They’re some sound options, make sure to explore these options and optimize them according to your preferences.
A good place to start is the enhancements tab inside the sound options of the control panel. Another way to do it is to download separate software that’s designed for such purposes.
Extra Devices
Let’s face it. Optimal sound quality can only be achieved via proper external speakers connected to your laptop. Whether it’s a loudspeaker or a Bluetooth operated headset, if chosen well, such devices will take your laptop audio to a whole new level.
External DAC
A DAC is a device inside your laptop that converts sound’s digital signal to an analog one. It’s usually followed by an amplifier to enhance the sound. The case with most laptops is that they have weak built-in DACs.
Luckily, you can get a separate DAC and connect it to your laptop or headset. They’ll help reduce noise and intereference. Moreover, they’ll boost the sound quality and raise the volume without compromising clarity
Smart Consumption
Any programs running on your PC are occupying a space of RAM. That’s why when you run too many programs all at once, your PC slows down. This affects its sound negatively.
Make sure to minimize your app-consumption during listening to music to get the most out of your PC’s sound system.
Use Ethernet
For high-end acoustics, ethernet connection provides better quality than wifi. It’s faster and minimizes packet-loss while connection, allowing for better audio.
back to menu ↑WRAP UP
Stay away from regular Macbooks (the non “Pro” models). They basically use a similar processor to a phone, meaning they’re designed for battery life over speed.
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