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Thread: Is this a good recording laptop? - Asus X83VB-X1 Core 2 Duo T5800 2.0GHz

  1. #1
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    Is this a good recording laptop? - Asus X83VB-X1 Core 2 Duo T5800 2.0GHz

    Does anyone think there's any way this might be a decent little recording laptop for capturing live recordings through the firewire port? I would like to dual boot Ubuntu Studio on this and use Ardour to capture some 2 to 4 track stuff on location and burn it to disc.

    ASUS X83VB-X1 Core 2 Duo T5800 2.0GHz 4GB

    I need to get something around $400 so my choices are limited but if not this, any other ideas?? My feeling is that I will have a ton of headaches at this price level but hey, I kind of like headaches - but does anyone think this is just a really really bad - or good choice? (they also have the X2 version availabl but it has the PCI II port instead of the express54 which I think will be a problem in the future....)

    Any help/opinions would be super appreciated thanks in advance!


    here are the specs:

    • ASUS X83VB-X1 Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz 14.1-inch Notebook
    • General Features:
    • Color: Black/Gold with geometric design
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit pre-installed w/CoA
    • 6-cell battery
    • Intel Centrino technology
    • Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 2.0 GHz CPU
    • 4 GB DDR2 RAM
    • 250 GB hard drive
    • LightScribe DVD±RW DL drive
    • NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS graphics
    • Integrated audio with built-in speakers
    • Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
    • 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
    • 4-in-1 digital media card reader
    • Built-in webcam and microphone
    • QWERTY keyboard with TouchPad and hot keys
    • 14.1-inch WXGA widescreen LCD display (1280 x 800)
    • Battery Specifications:
    • Li-Ion battery type
    • 4800 mAh
    • +11.1V
    • Supported Media:
    • Secure Digital (SD)
    • MultiMedia Card (MMC)
    • Memory Stick (MS)
    • Memory Stick PRO (MS PRO)
    • Expansion Slots:
    • One (1) ExpressCard/54 slot
    • I/O Ports:
    • Five (5) USB 2.0
    • One (1) HDMI
    • One (1) eSATA
    • One (1) 15-pin VGA
    • One (1) 4-pin FireWire
    • One (1) RJ-11 Modem jack
    • One (1) RJ-45 Ethernet jack
    • One (1) Microphone jack
    • One (1) Headphone jack

  2. #2
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    Re: Is this a good recording laptop? - Asus X83VB-X1 Core 2 Duo T5800 2.0GHz

    Looks like a good setup to me, though it will also depend on your firewire device. What do you plan on recording with?
    The only possible problem I can think will be if the firewire device gets interrupted by USB devices. But I wouldn't know how to test for that without having the laptop already.

  3. #3
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    Re: Is this a good recording laptop? - Asus X83VB-X1 Core 2 Duo T5800 2.0GHz

    I will only be recording with a Presonus Inspire for now - 4 channel - and it works great with my desktop. I'm really into my Ubuntu Studio setup and want to try it out on the road with a laptop like this.

    It's funny because I went to a gearhead type forum and they are very against all firewire that is not Mac Pro or above in system specs. Maybe they just don't get the Linux thing because they're geared to the high end pro - I think a lot can be done at the low end semi-pro level and Ubuntu Studio is the way for me right now - I'm not sure I'll bite on this one but maybe.... they seem to think that all firewire not connected to a TI chipset will fail and that no one offers TI chipsets (or has for years) - that sounds a bit depressing but maybe they're right.... The Inspire works on my desktop though and it's not a TI chipset...

    anyways, thanks for your input!

  4. #4
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    Re: Is this a good recording laptop? - Asus X83VB-X1 Core 2 Duo T5800 2.0GHz

    So does your desktop run Ubuntu on it now? I was just wondering whether you had used this device with Linux as I have seen mixed reports on it's functionality:

    From the ffado website (a year old) -
    Ffado will drive the Presonus Inspire, however there is the issue that the physical device contains no controls - it's all meant to be done via the software control panel. It *may* be possible to make this work under wine but have had no success so far.
    In the absence of a working software control panel, the issues seem to be that (1) the mic pre-amp level cannot be controlled and the default value is too low; (2) only 2 of the 4 inputs are visible ;(3) the output level to headphones also cannot be controlled.
    I'm not sure I'll bite on this one but maybe.... they seem to think that all firewire not connected to a TI chipset will fail and that no one offers TI chipsets (or has for years) - that sounds a bit depressing but maybe they're right....
    Is there any reasoning behind this general consensus? When they say fail does that mean the device will become irreparably damaged by the chipset somehow? I have heard that Intel have the superior chipset for using firewire.

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    Re: Is this a good recording laptop? - Asus X83VB-X1 Core 2 Duo T5800 2.0GHz

    I'd avoid laptops with nvidia graphics cards . . . HP and Sony had problems with these overheating and HP were/ are still in denial as to their liability.

    In effect an HP laptop might last the duration of its warranty (one year ) but not much longer than that.

    Also any dual core laptop will run very hot.

    Technically, theyre very capable, but in practice, you have to be very carefull about keeping the things cool, especially when processing video.

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    Re: Is this a good recording laptop? - Asus X83VB-X1 Core 2 Duo T5800 2.0GHz

    Quote Originally Posted by jerrykenny View Post
    I'd avoid laptops with nvidia graphics cards . . . HP and Sony had problems with these overheating and HP were/ are still in denial as to their liability.

    In effect an HP laptop might last the duration of its warranty (one year ) but not much longer than that.
    So what video cards should be chosen (with Ubuntu in mind)? I've read all over the boards to avoid ATI cards - What other choices should be considered?

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    Re: Is this a good recording laptop? - Asus X83VB-X1 Core 2 Duo T5800 2.0GHz

    Quote Originally Posted by cchhrriiss121212 View Post
    So does your desktop run Ubuntu on it now? I was just wondering whether you had used this device with Linux as I have seen mixed reports on it's functionality:

    From the ffado website (a year old) -


    Is there any reasoning behind this general consensus? When they say fail does that mean the device will become irreparably damaged by the chipset somehow? I have heard that Intel have the superior chipset for using firewire.
    Yes the Presonus works really well on my desktop. And mine is a low end HP pavilion with just 512 MB RAM! Like the Ffado site says, in Windows you get a cool GUI interface that adds preamp gain and other levels and that has yet to work in Ubuntu for me. So you do have to preamp it yourself - and quite a bit of gain is needed to get the RCA inputs to register well. It is not high quality by any means - but I think it's a good option for four channel simultaneous recording in the low end. They do all show up in Ardour by the way. I have not tried daisy chaining though which is one of its selling points.

    Why the powers that be are going down on firewire is beyond me - makes me a bit confused though because I was really hoping to take this thing on the road this year and I'm just trying to find the best laptop with firewire that works in Ubuntu (under $500) to do so... even the old Dell Vostros or Latitude 620s look like an option at this point but I was hoping to get something newer (and not Dell if possible!)
    Last edited by texla; July 25th, 2010 at 03:47 PM.

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    Re: Is this a good recording laptop? - Asus X83VB-X1 Core 2 Duo T5800 2.0GHz

    Any reason you'd like to avoid using Dell? I had a good run with an old inspiron 6400 which had a 4pin firewire port. I recorded a few things with a USB device and it seemed to handle single track stuff OK.
    Regarding graphics I'd also say that nvidia is still the best bet for a laptop, although intel seem to work fine if you don't use flashy compiz things and they will tend to be cheaper.

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    Re: Is this a good recording laptop? - Asus X83VB-X1 Core 2 Duo T5800 2.0GHz

    There are a multitude of reasons for me not to use Dell - mostly I got stuck with a bad PC from them and that's all it takes for me to move away from a company.... I'm going with this one, the x83b-x2 - it's slightly different than the X1 http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...2-PB-R&cpc=SCH

    I have seen some reports of the firewire working with cubase on this and a review in this forum said it was a flawless linux install and recommended - of course it's a refurb from geeks and there are a lot of bad comments about that - I will see for myself though and report the news of this project as I go through it - glad to hear a thumbs up on nvidia, thanksks for your input! more to come....

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