jbuhajla Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Ok, looking to go totally portable in terms of PC integration with Helix. Looking for suggestions. I have/use an iMac at home, but want to go portable. Here are my goals for running on proposed machine: 1. Helix Edit 2. Reaper 3. Helix plugin in Reaper 4. Helix as the only audio interface via USB 5. MusicReader or Forscore for PDF/sheet music Here is where I am at on PC hardware: 1. Apple $$$$$$$! 2. Windows based tablet- not enough processing power for Reaper and audio? 3. Windows laptop- large footprint Anyone using a 2 in 1 for this? I like the idea of physical footprint and being able to put it on a music stand. I will be using it at home/road for simple recording (just guitar, utilizing pre programmed bass/drum tracks). Curious about processing power. I am not a professional musician, just home stuff and church player, also taking rig with me when I go out of town to play/practice during down time. Trying to weigh all pros/cons. AAAAAANNNNNNNDDDDDDD.......GO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunpointmetal Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Look at the Lenovo Yoga laptops. I have one with an i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD running Windows 10 that I use as a recording computer. Never has any issues tracking in 12-16 audio tracks, runs Reaper, Helix App, and I've done a handful of mixes with LOTS of VSTs and softsynths and haven't run into any real issues. the keyboard folds back and turns off so you can use it like a tablet, battery life is ridiculous, solid construction, one USB 3, one USB 2, micro HDMI output, bluetooth... awesome little machine. It was kind of expensive two years ago when I bought it ($800), but I got the second-highest-specc'ed one they had at the time. I've also been using it as the hub of both my band's live shows running IEM mixes through a presonus interface, click and backtrack outputs, and controlling lights. I carry a cheaper one with everything loaded as a backup, but so far in two years its never even hiccuped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbuhajla Posted February 2, 2017 Author Share Posted February 2, 2017 Thanks GPM. Costco has some great deals on those at the moment. Looks like a great option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicLaw Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Yup. I've had my eye on Costco's in store and on line offerings for the last year. They are always keeping up with the latest competitive models and often with a slight feature bump in their OEM (Lenovo, HP, and I think some ASUS) bundled versions. It's good to see the touch screen Win 10 units coming down in price, whilst loaded with 6th gen CPU's (some w/ 7th gen), and lots of Storage and RAM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdmayfield Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 I've been using one of these for a year for playback of backing tracks and lighting automation using Reaper: http://www.microcenter.com/product/440932/winbook_tw802_tablet_-_black That one is nice because it has a full-size USB port in addition to its micro-USB charging port, so it can charge/run off AC, and connect a device by USB, at the same time. The notion that laptops and portable devices are underpowered for audio has been outdated for a long time, and nowadays it's getting just plain silly. In 2003 I used a state-of-the-art 800MHz PowerBook G3 to record and mix 16-track live concerts with no problem, and that cheap-@$$ bottom-of-the-line Winbook tablet is like 10x as powerful. Really, any computer on the market these days will be up to the task of basic recording and mixing, as long as you're not trying to do heavy-duty studio mixing with hundreds of tracks and 1000+ plugins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astroturf Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Look at the Lenovo Yoga laptops. I have one with an i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD running Windows 10 that I use as a recording computer. Never has any issues tracking in 12-16 audio tracks, runs Reaper, Helix App, and I've done a handful of mixes with LOTS of VSTs and softsynths and haven't run into any real issues. the keyboard folds back and turns off so you can use it like a tablet, battery life is ridiculous, solid construction, one USB 3, one USB 2, micro HDMI output, bluetooth... awesome little machine. It was kind of expensive two years ago when I bought it ($800), but I got the second-highest-specc'ed one they had at the time. I've also been using it as the hub of both my band's live shows running IEM mixes through a presonus interface, click and backtrack outputs, and controlling lights. I carry a cheaper one with everything loaded as a backup, but so far in two years its never even hiccuped. If you go the Lenovo route, I would add that a high resolution yoga makes Helix Edit unusable. The font is super small and nearly impossible to read. I submitted a ticket that the app should support scaling for large resolutions. The response to my ticket was: Hi, I'm sorry about the trouble with Helix editor. Unfortunately it does not scale up properly with some larger graphics cards. We hope to have a fix for this in future releases. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunpointmetal Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I haven't had any issues. It's small-ish, but still plenty usable. I guess it depends on your vision and how far away you want to be able to read if from. Mine is a few years old, so maybe its not quite as high-res as the newer ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbuhajla Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share Posted February 9, 2017 If you go the Lenovo route, I would add that a high resolution yoga makes Helix Edit unusable. The font is super small and nearly impossible to read. I submitted a ticket that the app should support scaling for large resolutions. The response to my ticket was: Hi, I'm sorry about the trouble with Helix editor. Unfortunately it does not scale up properly with some larger graphics cards. We hope to have a fix for this in future releases. Thanks, Great point, thanks. I think the new Yogas have the 4k display. I am looking at the standard display resolution 15.6" Flex 4, i7 2.7GHz, 16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD. Probably pick one up in a week or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astroturf Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Great point, thanks. I think the new Yogas have the 4k display. I am looking at the standard display resolution 15.6" Flex 4, i7 2.7GHz, 16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD. Probably pick one up in a week or two. Those are 1920 so your OS may not need to scale at all like it would with high res smaller monitors... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joepeggio Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Cant you just set new resolution when running Helix Editor? I know it messes up the icons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedulrich Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Have you tried looking for a decent priced used MacBook? I had picked up an old first generation unibody aluminum 13" a while ago for sorting photos on the road (I'm also a photographer). I maxed out the RAM from Amazon and threw an SSD in it for speed, and now I run Helix Edit, Logic, and some Artuia synths on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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