Need a Laptop for Music Production? Here's How to Choose

Daniel Hall 21/01/2021 7

The world is run by technology, gone are the days of sitting in recording booths, and what you record is what you get.

The world of music production is now highly automated, and your computer is just as important as your musical instruments.

When you are looking to procure the appropriate technology to enter the world of digital music production, it is important to choose a laptop that is going to benefit you and not hinder your advancement due to the inability to run your production software.



The process of choosing the appropriate hardware for your needs can be stressful, as you will be investing money into an item that needs to serve you well. Buying an improper laptop is as foolhardy as throwing cash into a fireplace.

While you may be embarking on the search for a laptop for professional or hobby reasons, it is still incredibly important to ensure your computer will meet the needs you have to encourage your growth in music production.

Here are some factors to consider when looking to make your laptop purchase for music production.

Processing Speed and Memory

Your software is only as good as your hardware allows it to be. When you are looking for a laptop to run complex music production software, it is important to ensure your laptop at least meets, if not exceeds the required speed and space for your software and programs.

Music production software is not comparable to a small application, and you need to ensure your laptop choice will enable smooth and seamless mixing while in use. Without appropriate processing power and speed, you will find yourself struggling to work with the software to the best of its abilities.

Optimizing your laptop’s processing speed and power will make the music production smooth and flawless.



If you purchase a laptop simply because it looks nice, but it does not have the appropriate processor or RAM required to run your programs, you just invested in a nice looking paperweight, rather than a tool to take your music production to the next level.

Because of the software’s minimum memory and storage requirements, when you are looking for laptops suitable for FL studio it is important to take into consideration the speed and power of the laptop when making your final decision. 

Storage and memory space will also be the main factor if your music is not stored remotely. Since you will be working with different songs and genres, having a large supply of mixable music available is incredibly important. don’t choose a laptop that will start to lag, or does not have the appropriate memory space. This can enhance frustration and have your computer running slowly when you need it to be fast and powerful to do what needs to be done.

Ensure that your laptop can run your preferred FL studio software and take your music production capabilities to the next level.

Price Point

Your budget will be one of the most important factors in making your decision when purchasing a laptop for music production. It is understood that not everyone can or wants to pay thousands of dollars for a laptop, and you don’t have to. There are many ways to find the appropriate laptop within your budget range, be it looking for deals at your local store, or purchasing from within your industry connections.

There are a significant amount of laptops available that will fit within your price range and still allow you to achieve your goals and have reliable hardware. No matter what your maximum price, you will be able to find a laptop if you pay attention to the details of portability, and processing power.

While there are many other factors to consider, such as overall design, more in-depth display capabilities, battery life, and even keyboard design, these initial factors can set you on the right path to finding a laptop that will see you embrace your passion for music and support you along the way. 

As long as your laptop can run your programs and provide you with the user experience you crave, then other design factors are more of a personal preference and you may be able to do without them to keep your purchase within budget.

If you are looking to use your laptop professionally or for a hobby will also affect the price point on your laptop purchase. Ensuring you are working within your budget ci=onstraints, and are purchasing a laptop specifically for your personal needs, you will encounter multiple options that can suit at home mixing or professional mixing. 

Laptops with more features will have a higher purchase price, but those options might make your professional experience with the studio even better. While the price is a factor in the purchase, overall operating speed and power, as well as memory capabilities will be the most important considerations to take into account when choosing your new laptop.

Just as music is fluid and ever-evolving, so are your skills, and it is important to make the right decision when making this purchase so that you have a laptop that will see you through and get you to the next level when it comes to your passion for music production.

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  • Naomi Baynes

    Music production is no more complicated with computers.

  • Jenny Perreira

    I would choose a laptop with a strong hardware and ever lasting battery to produce my music.

  • Carly Laming

    Playing music with a computer doesn't have the same feeling than playing it with instruments such as piano, guitar and drums.

  • Tom S

    As an artist, I definitely agree with you.

  • John Williams

    What if you don't know how to sing?

  • Stuart Johnson

    In reply to: John Williams

    You autotune your voice with a software.

  • Steve Greene

    I think most readers are looking for a "shopping list" with a bit more explanation than what's written here. So, here's my take:

    1. Purchase a laptop with the maximum number of cores that you can find or afford. Most professional music production software applications (Pro Tools, Digital Performer, Apple Logic Pro X, Cubase, Ableton, and other digital audio workstations (DAW for short)) will absorb as many cores as you can throw at it.
    2. Same goes for processor speed.
    3. Max out your ram. 16 gigs would be considered the absolute bare minimum for any involved multi-track production. Think 32 gigs+
    4. Max out your HD capacity, and think only in terms of M.2 PCIe SSD, if at all possible.
    5. DON'T run other applications, web surf, do social media, etc. if you can help it. Keep your music production machine as dedicated as you can.
    6. Go on line and seek out optimization procedures for de-cluttering background applications. Optimize for performance. Don't get too caught up in graphics quality - use the minimum as much as possible.
    7. Obtain a low-latency audio interface. Thunderbolt II or III, USB C, or PCIe are acceptable. USB 2 will make it difficult to synchronize the recording of live tracks against pre-recorded tracks due to latency issues.
    8. BACKUP BACKUP AND BACKUP. Without backup, crashes can be career ending events.
    9. Keep your eyes open on user groups for the particular software that you use.
    10. Many many internationally acclaimed recording artists have produced finished works on a laptop. But, they are masters of working within limitations, which is what producing on a laptop is - a limitation.