Hello there! I'm planning to purchase an Asus C201 and use it as a notebook for music production.
It has an ARMv7 processor, 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.
What do you think about its specs? Is it good for music production in general? I know that this depends on the genre and musical goals, but at least I want to know if it's good enough for non-ultra-heavy processing or what limitations I may encounter.
Some more information here: https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Laptops/ASUS ... fications/
I like this model in particular as it lets me install Libreboot, making it more free than most notebooks. Besides, the long battery life is a big plus.
Thanks in advance, any information is welcomed
Asus C201 as studio notebook
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- sadko4u
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Re: Asus C201 as studio notebook
I don't think ARM is the good idea to start with. Most of software is written and optimized for x86.
LSP (Linux Studio Plugins) Developer and Maintainer.
Re: Asus C201 as studio notebook
Hi sadko4u, I'm thinking about this aswell. A good idea might be to check Raspberry Pi projects as, if I recall correctly, they rely on an ARM processor too.sadko4u wrote:I don't think ARM is the good idea to start with. Most of software is written and optimized for x86.
The laptop would be used for production mainly because it has 2 more GB of RAM than my current one, so if the processor is an issue I might discard the option (although the Libreboot feature is very nice).
Thanks for your input!
- wjl
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Re: Asus C201 as studio notebook
Hi r30,
I don't know - define "music production". If you want to record a voice or a guitar with Audacity, this might be enough. But for a full-fledged DAW, together with some virtual instrument samples, plugins like eq and compressor etc. - I don't know.
These things are made to save battery power, therefore the ultra low voltage processors. I recommended such a "netbook" to a(n older) neighbour, and she's only surfing and processing a few photos from her older digicam, but even for her the machine isn't really enough.
So think twice before spending money.
(Edit: just looked up https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201 which says:
"Audio
Do not play with ALSA mixer - you may fry your speakers!"
Hm - if all you can get is pulseaudio (even jack maybe wouldn't run on a chip like that), then it doesn't look like a proper "audio"-centered hardware to me. Just my 2 (Euro-) Cents...)
I don't know - define "music production". If you want to record a voice or a guitar with Audacity, this might be enough. But for a full-fledged DAW, together with some virtual instrument samples, plugins like eq and compressor etc. - I don't know.
These things are made to save battery power, therefore the ultra low voltage processors. I recommended such a "netbook" to a(n older) neighbour, and she's only surfing and processing a few photos from her older digicam, but even for her the machine isn't really enough.
So think twice before spending money.
(Edit: just looked up https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201 which says:
"Audio
Do not play with ALSA mixer - you may fry your speakers!"
Hm - if all you can get is pulseaudio (even jack maybe wouldn't run on a chip like that), then it doesn't look like a proper "audio"-centered hardware to me. Just my 2 (Euro-) Cents...)
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- sadko4u
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Re: Asus C201 as studio notebook
4 GB of RAM currently is too low amount of RAM for audio processing. I would better prefer 8 GB or even 16 GB.r30 wrote:The laptop would be used for production mainly because it has 2 more GB of RAM than my current one, so if the processor is an issue I might discard the option (although the Libreboot feature is very nice).
Thanks for your input!
You won't mix something serious with this laptop.
LSP (Linux Studio Plugins) Developer and Maintainer.
Re: Asus C201 as studio notebook
First of all, thank you guys for your time! This thread is very useful for me as I don't quite get what specs I should consider for my task.
Cheers
"you may fry your speakers" ← Not cool, thanks for the information. I was planning to install Debian too. This notebook might be useful to make some musical sketches, then I can get a better PC.wjl wrote:Hi r30,
I don't know - define "music production". If you want to record a voice or a guitar with Audacity, this might be enough. But for a full-fledged DAW, together with some virtual instrument samples, plugins like eq and compressor etc. - I don't know.
These things are made to save battery power, therefore the ultra low voltage processors. I recommended such a "netbook" to a(n older) neighbour, and she's only surfing and processing a few photos from her older digicam, but even for her the machine isn't really enough.
So think twice before spending money.
(Edit: just looked up https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201 which says:
"Audio
Do not play with ALSA mixer - you may fry your speakers!"
Hm - if all you can get is pulseaudio (even jack maybe wouldn't run on a chip like that), then it doesn't look like a proper "audio"-centered hardware to me. Just my 2 (Euro-) Cents...)
This was what I was looking for, as I don't understand how much RAM is really necessary to produce something decent. Thanks a lot for your advice, I'm actually reconsidering not to buy this model. I may use it to compose, but definitely will need something better to produce (and I really would like to be free and use all the processing I may need).sadko4u wrote:4 GB of RAM currently is too low amount of RAM for audio processing. I would better prefer 8 GB or even 16 GB.
You won't mix something serious with this laptop.
Cheers
Re: Asus C201 as studio notebook
UPDATE: Final decision.
I decided NOT to purchase the Asus. I will stay with my loved Samsung Chromebook and use that for my daily tasks. In the meantime, I will look for a 16GB RAM notebook that allows me to work freely (I may invest on a Latitude E7470).
Thanks a lot for the guidance
I decided NOT to purchase the Asus. I will stay with my loved Samsung Chromebook and use that for my daily tasks. In the meantime, I will look for a 16GB RAM notebook that allows me to work freely (I may invest on a Latitude E7470).
Thanks a lot for the guidance