Ok i have a sound card for my PC but im not sure with a laptop, i mean in terms of using to play out live you would want a decent enough card to keep up. Is it some sort of external unit? if so any recomended and/or cables needed? 
have a look at a m.o.t.u traveller. good quality decent sound:D
Use your laptop out in your own perl mate. Windows are noctorious for crashing, how much of a tool would you look if your laptop crashed mid-set?
i would not feel confident playing a set in a club on a windows machine unless it was used for that and that only.
Don’t get me wrong, i love Windows and it’s what I use at home. But I have to hand it to mac’s, they’re much more reliable and less likely to crash, so when it comes to the club i’d never use anything other than a mac.
Least with scratched/f*cked vinyls or CDs you still have plenty of others in your bag to make a quick recovery.
sorry but this is mac fan boy bullsh|t.
ive been using my pc laptop to play music to clubbers for 4 years now without one single crash.
its about the user not the gear
and recommending a £600 soundcard to someone who doesnt even know about what cables?
how about starting with asking what program he’s planning on using and what kind of thing he’s doing first? he might want it for DJing which will be completely different to producing
sorry for the rant, but he was looking for help, not the piss taken out of him
i use E-MU 1616… just the PCMCIA card most of the time … low latency, reliable, great sound… only getting laptotp with PCMCIA wasnt easy…
and yes… windows vista… no problems whatsoever
but its good idea to have your performance laptop for audio only…
even internet browsing isnt harmless
I’ve just had a look at all the comments and i’ve not seen 1 that has taken the piss out of Lee (or anyone else for that matter)??
It’s got nothing to do with ‘mac fan boy’, i’m a PC guy all the way but even I know after 15 years of being a user how ‘reliable’ they can be. It’s just what Windows is famous for, it happens, and normally it always happens at the worst time. Which for me is why I’ve suggested it may not be a good idea when your performing.
Hell, it even crashes for Bill Gates…
[quote]inch lo (12/14/2009)[hr]sorry but this is mac fan boy bullsh|t.
ive been using my pc laptop to play music to clubbers for 4 years now without one single crash.
its about the user not the gear
and recommending a £600 soundcard to someone who doesnt even know about what cables?
how about starting with asking what program he’s planning on using and what kind of thing he’s doing first? he might want it for DJing which will be completely different to producing
sorry for the rant, but he was looking for help, not the piss taken out of him[/quote]
Alright, here is my take. I personally use a Mac. I came from PC and I find it alot better. You have to understand something. There are alot of producers that make music out there, that dont have the time, knowledge, or willpower to learn how to program a windows machine to make it stable for what they are using it for. Mac machines just work.
So yes, I think they are better for the every day producer, that doesn’t care about programming. But its not to say that a PC would crash during a performance. I would assume that if you are performing with a PC, you would do a fresh restart before the performance and run only that program you are using. On top of that, I would hope that your performance machine wouldnt have anything on it that could compromise its security.
one more thing…
why is it that I see alot of Mac fanboys, but no PC fanboys?
Just making a point…
at what point did he ask for suggestions on what system he should run?
he wanted help on what soundcard to to use for his laptop. that was all.
he was then answered with a lot of uninformed hear’say opinions about a subject he didnt bring up
and that is typical of a mac fanboy.
[quote]inch lo (12/14/2009)[hr]at what point did he ask for suggestions on what system he should run?
he wanted help on what soundcard to to use for his laptop. that was all.
he was then answered with a lot of uninformed hear’say opinions about a subject he didnt bring up
and that is typical of a mac fanboy.[/quote]
if you read what i said again, you’ll notice that i actually put i wouldn’t use a pc unless it was used for that only. pc’s can be just as good as macs but they need to be setup more for the task in hand.
nothing to do with being a mac fanboy
[quote]howiegroove (12/14/2009)[hr]one more thing…
why is it that I see alot of Mac fanboys, but no PC fanboys?
Just making a point…
;)[/quote]
you do howie but we tend to call them virgins although geeks and mummy’s boy is also acceptable 
as for cards i’ve used my Firewire Audiophile several times in clubs and its always done well, probably not the best card in the world but you can pick them up for around £100 these days.
OK let’s take a step back… back to basics.
let’s say I have a PC that’s used just for spinning.
what’s wrong with the card that comes with it? what kind of numbers am I looking for when shopping for a sound card?
and (to fuel the fires :P), I’m assuming the sound card in a Mac is generally better off the shelf than a PC. can you change the hardware on a Mac and do you need to?
I’m using the audiophile 2496 for my PC, wicked card.
when you say pc do you mean desktop or laptop? also does it support firewire or just usb ? last but not least, whats your budget ?
The Native Instruments Audio 2, 4 or 8 are made for just this sort of thing so maybe that’s worth checking out.
the card that comes with you pc maybe ok depending on if it has multiple out-puts and the sound quality is reasonable to good.
and the answer to your other question is no mac soundcards are no better or worse than those that come with your pc obviously depending on what came with your pc lol
well, tbh, the sound card on a laptop is crap, no matter on what computer it is…especially on a laptop. That is, unless you upgraded it. No matter though, because it is always a major suggestion to get a audio interface for music production anyways.
eBay = secondhand motu =