Many AAA games these days are multi-threaded and extremely resource-intensive on your gaming laptop’s processor.
The likes of modern Battlefield titles, for example, will totally max out any mid-range, 8-core CPU. They will even push to the limit and use every processor thread available on more powerful CPUs, like the Ryzen 9.
It’s the same thing for RAM, too. The 8GB of RAM that comes as standard with the Xbox One and PS4 will no longer cut it on a gaming laptop and your frames per second (FPS) will take a hit on many popular games if you don’t have at least 16GB to play with.
That makes gaming laptops pretty powerful machines but are they powerful enough to take on music production?
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Are Gaming Laptops Good for Music Production?
The most important specifications a laptop needs to have for it to be good at producing music are a powerful CPU, lots of fast RAM, and plenty of fast SSD storage. For a gaming laptop to be any good, it also needs to boast those features and that’s why gaming laptops are very good for music production.
As it turns out, laptops are not only great for music production, they are also quickly becoming the new norm, with producers ditching their static, large desktops in favor of power and mobility, especially when it comes to gaming laptops.
Not only are gaming laptops good for music production, but they are also quickly becoming the go-to device for just that very thing.
They are designed with the kind of high-performance that easily handles multiple programs running at the same time, along with the intense demands that music production requires.
That doesn’t mean that you have to get a gaming laptop to take care of your music production needs, however, it makes sense because if it’s already carrying the “gaming” label, and you know even a small amount about what constitutes a powerful laptop, then you know how useful it can be.
If you’re used to desktops covering your needs in the music production industry, then you probably have an idea of the specs that you’re going to want out of a gaming laptop.
Due to the similar demands that gaming and music production place on a computer of any kind, it’s not too difficult to pick something out.
For music production specifically, CPU and RAM are the features to focus on.
Fast SSD storage also helps to speed up your workflow by saving, loading, booting up, and opening programs much faster than older mechanical hard drives could.
A dedicated GPU won’t be necessary to produce music, but it will be to play games – which I presume you’ll still want to do from time to time.
Most good gaming laptops will come with at least 16GB of RAM, but try to get a model that can be upgraded to 32 or 64.
That is if you want to be loading a lot of VST (Virtual Studio Technology) separately.
The latest Ryzen laptops have some of the best processor performance for your dollar.
How to Choose a Gaming Laptop for Music Production
Of course, a gaming laptop that will also be effective for music production must meet a few, basic requirements that you would expect to find in a gaming laptop.
- High-performance GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and CPU (Central Processing Unit)
- SSD (Solid State Drives)
- A healthy amount of RAM
- Overclocking or high clock speeds
Then there is the kind of software that it needs to have the power to run; software that is specific to music production.
Since gaming laptops can get quite loud (something that you don’t want in a recording studio) you’ll also need something that can keep it cool enough so that the fans aren’t going full-out all the time.
There are a lot of secondary specs that are necessary for a gaming laptop that is being used for music production as well.
- Extended battery life
- A good set of speakers (or the ability to support a good set of speakers)
- Portability
- Plenty of ports for all of the necessary external hardware
- A very efficient cooling system to keep it quiet
- Durability and longevity
Just because they are secondary doesn’t mean that these important specs play less of a role than the raw processing power of the CPU and the GPU.
Now that you have a basic overview of the necessities, you will have a better understanding of what you’re looking for.
For obvious reasons, you’re not going to want to go with a rock bottom budget device for your music production needs.
It mightn’t be easy to find a gaming laptop that is going to support all of the above specs at a superior level to everything else.
However, you want something as close to being the best that you can find, in terms of covering all of your bases.
Choose A Recent Generation, Powerful Processor
Music production will require some serious A/V encoding, editing, streaming, multi-tasking, etc, so the more cores, the higher the cache and clock speeds, the better.
It might surprise you to know that music production requires a ton of powerful processing power.
That’s because there are going to be a lot of things plugged into those ports and they are power-hungry for sure.
Since most of this processing power is going to be a sink on the CPU, rather than the GPU, you don’t want to go with a CPU that was released five years ago.
Ideally, you’ll want the best and the most recent technology that is available.
The thing that you need to remember most is that the more cores there are, the better your laptop’s capabilities are going to be.
Software in music production is pretty intense and laptops or computers with a lot of music software are known as DAW (Digital Audio Workstations).
You will need the kind of processing power that can run the following software:
- Apple Logic Pro X (MacBooks only)
- Steinberg Nuendo
- Acoustica Mixcraft
- Reason Studios Reason 12
- PreSonus Studio One
- Ableton Live
- Bitwig Studio
At a very minimum, an intel i5 or Ryzen 5 processor is necessary to run most of these programs.
Not only that but you should purchase according to your future outlook.
The reason behind that is CPUs in laptops aren’t usually upgradeable. It’s more difficult to find gaming laptops that are upgradeable in several areas, mostly because everything is married to the motherboard with solder.
So when the technology ramps up, as it always does, you will need an advanced processor that can handle it for a while rather than getting stuck with something that you will have to replace before long.
RAM is Essential
Having enough RAM is really important in a gaming laptop for music production because it allows you to multitask and quickly transition between tasks.
Fast RAM and lots of it will speed up the responsiveness of your device, convert files and mix music faster.
If your laptop is lacking RAM, crashes and freezing could be commonplace.
At a very minimum, you want to go with 16GB of RAM. When it comes to music production, you’re going to have a lot of different things plugged into your ports and they will all be power-hungry, including the instruments.
Plenty of RAM gives you the advantage of being able to run multiple programs at the same time and 16GB is a minimum requirement that really should be more in the realm of 32GB.
It sounds like an overkill when it comes to RAM but overkill is your best friend in this scenario.
Weight, Portability, and Storage
You can’t put too much stock in weight and portability when you are packing 32GB of RAM along with the latest and greatest in processing power.
For obvious reasons, new technology is often larger and heavier than older technology.
However, you will probably be carrying your laptop around with you a fair bit, so If you come across two gaming laptops with similar specs and one happens to be considerably lighter than the other, you should go with the lighter one.
Also, you will need some serious cooling power and plenty of fast SSD (Solid State Drive) storage.
If you’ve ever used a slow computer, SSD storage is like the antidote to sluggish performance.
Here’s another minimum for you: 1TB of storage. Sound like a ridiculous amount? It’s not and it’s the minimum that you should aim for.
While audio doesn’t eat up as much space as video, the kind of high-end music production we’re talking about here might as well be 4k video as far as you’re concerned.
Battery Life and Speakers
It’s hard to get a lot out of a laptop battery when you are subjecting a gaming laptop to the demands of music production.
For the most part, you will probably have it plugged into AC power while working.
You’re looking at a high clock rate which will seriously tax your CPU.
It’s not as power-hungry as the GPU but it can certainly get up there.
The most energy-efficient CPUs on the market today are AMD Ryzen series CPUs.
One of the highest-rated gaming laptops in terms of battery is the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 RTX 3070 at around 9 hours.
In terms of speakers, factory speakers just aren’t going to cut it. You will need something like the Bose Companion 2 Series II to get the best audio from portability.
Cooling and Ports
Cooling is absolutely essential in a gaming laptop for music production, both for reducing the amount of noise that the fans will emit in the studio as well as resisting the kind of heat your software, numerous devices plugged in, and multitasking you will have to put the laptop through.
A good laptop cooler might be an idea.
It’s best to get something external, that doesn’t rely on your laptop to generate its cooling power (because that would just be one more power-sapping task).
Related Article: Does A Gaming Laptop Need A Cooling Pad? (Explained)
In terms of ports, err on the side of USB ports.
You’ll need a lot of them. There are going to be a lot of physical interfaces plugged in and they’re mostly USB with more and more embracing USB-C.
Build and Display
Graphics aren’t essential for music production but being able to see the display across the room is. A minimum of 15” of screen real estate is necessary for the best production.
Considering the kind of specs that you’re aiming for, a large screen shouldn’t be an issue, since you’re going to have a big laptop to cover the range of specs necessary for a laptop to become your new, go-to tech for music production.
You want a sturdy build quality as well. This is especially true if you’ve been running everything from a desktop and now you’re into the portability factor.
Even with the good build quality, consider a quality carrying case as well.
Final Thoughts
There is a lot to be desired when it comes to embracing the portability of a gaming laptop for music production.
There is little doubt that a gaming laptop can handle music production and serve you well.
Keep in mind that upgradeability is a necessity as well, even though the CPU you get is the one you’ll probably be stuck with.
But if you choose a gaming laptop like the ROG Strix Scar 17 your investment would be fairly future-proofed. It has a 17.3” FHD display, up to a 12th Gen Intel Core i9, 32GB DDR5 RAM, and up to a 2TB SSD.