Best Music Laptop

Best Laptop For Music Production

Best Laptop For Music Production

Best Laptop For Music ProductionIf you’re after a new laptop for music production, you may be struggling to decide which one to get.

There are so many different options out there these days, and to make matters more complicated, there are some specific qualities you’ll need to look for in a laptop to make sure it will be able to handle the demands of music production.

But don’t worry, in this article I’m going to walk you through some of the best laptops for music production.

Best Laptops For Music Production

Category Image Name CPU (Processor) RAM Storage Buy On Amazon



Best Overall


M1 Apple MacBook Pro (2021)
M1 Pro 10-core Apple chip
16/32 GB
512GB - 8TB

Best Windows Laptop


Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Nano Gen 1
Intel Core i7
16GB
512 GB

Best MacBook

M2 Apple MacBook Air (2022)
M2 Pro 10-core Apple chip
8GB, 16GB or 24GB
256 GB, 512 GB, 1TB, or 2TB

Best Chromebook

Asus Chromebook Flip CX5

ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5
Intel Core i3
8GB
128GB SSD

Table of Contents

Technical Specifications
Pros
Apple MacBook Pro M1 2021

Apple is one of the most popular and recognized laptop brands. It is true that if we compare it with other
brands, it is much more expensive, but its quality is also superior to that of the competition.
What makes this laptop the best option for music production is that it’s very robust, reliable, and has
powerful performance. This 14-inch version with the M1 chip is even more powerful AND has additional
connectors.
The chip is actually a combination of GPU and CPU. To save you the technical details: all the different parts
of the system work better together. And with a battery life of around 14 hours, the chip is also more
economical. It already looks like the best laptop for music production.
Of course, you’ll still be using external speakers to produce music, but if you’re working in your chair for a
while or on the road on the tour bus, good-quality speakers are welcome. Additionally, there is a separate
audio output that can handle high-impedance studio headphones.

One of the drawbacks of the first-generation M1 Pros was the connections. Two USB-C ports, one of which
served as a charger, was a very odd move by Apple. In this model, you get four AND there’s a separate
MagSafe charging port.
Overall, I consider the MacBook Pro the best music-producing laptop of 2023, as it’s lightweight and perfect
for taking with you whenever you’re out and about (or even if you’ll be using it for DJing).

Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons

The Microsoft Surface Pro is quite different from other laptops, it is actually a tablet with a detachable keyboard.

But it still has very powerful internals and a full version of Windows so it will still effortlessly be able to handle music production.

You can choose between a 10th Gen Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor which are both very powerful, but for music production, I would definitely recommend upgrading to the i7 if you can afford it.

It’s a similar case with the RAM, you can choose between 8GB or 16GB of RAM. And while either option would be perfectly fine for regular use, when it comes to music production, I would recommend choosing the 16GB option as it allows you to have a lot more running at once.

You can also choose between 128 GB, 256 GB, or 512 GB of storage. And if you don’t mind storing most of your tracks on the cloud or on a portable SSD, the lower two options will do just fine, but if you want to store all your tracks on the device, you’ll definitely want to go with the 512 GB option.

The Surface Pro’s ability to detach from the keyboard and become a tablet might not be very helpful for music production, but it could certainly be handy to be able to use it as a tablet when doing other tasks on the go, and then set it down on your desk and use it as a fully-featured laptop for music production.

Unfortunately, the speakers aren’t great, but most laptop speakers aren’t that good anyway so you probably already have a high-quality set of headphones or external speakers. 

And due to the design, it can be a little uncomfortable to try and use it as a laptop on your lap, but as long as you are going to either use it on a desk or table or use it as a tablet when on the move, this isn’t really anything to be concerned about.

So overall, this is a really powerful device, and if you want something that’s nice and portable, this is probably going to be the one for you.

Pros
Cons

If you like the idea of the Surface Pro that I mentioned above, this is essentially a better version of that. 

It detaches from the keyboard like the Surface Pro does, but due to the fancy hinge design, it can still sit on your lap very comfortably as though it’s a normal laptop.

And it has a better keyboard than the Surface Pro, and optionally more RAM and storage than the surface pro.

It has the same choice of processors (10th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7), but as for the RAM, you can choose 8GB, 16GB, or a massive 32GB. The 16GB option will be perfect for most people, but if you like to have a lot of stuff open at once, the 32GB option is certainly nice to have.

As for the storage, there is still a 256GB option which will be perfectly fine if you’re happy to store most of your tracks elsewhere, but it also has the option to choose 512GB, 1TB, or even 2TB of storage. If you never want to run out of space, 2TB will be the way to go.

The only real downside of getting the Surface Book instead of the Surface Pro is that it is a fair bit more expensive.

But if you don’t mind the cost and you want a convertible laptop to produce music on that doesn’t have the drawbacks of the Surface Pro, this is probably the one for you.

Pros
Cons

The Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Extreme Gen 3 is a more traditional sort of laptop, it doesn’t detach from the keyboard or anything like that, but it’s extremely powerful, available at a fairly reasonable price, and has an excellent keyboard.

Unlike the other options I’ve mentioned today, the Thinkpad only has one variation available on Amazon, but that one option gives you a very powerful Intel 10th Gen 6 core i7-10750H which will effortlessly power through the demands of music production.

A massive 32GB of RAM which is really enough RAM to have as many different things open simultaneously as you want. And a nice big 1TB of storage which should easily be enough space to store all your work.

Something that really sets this laptop apart from a lot of others is its nice selection of ports. While most modern laptops just have a few USB-C ports and Mabey a USB A port if you’re lucky, this has two USB A ports (regular USB ports), two USB-C ports, an HDMI port, a full-size SD card reader, and a headphone/microphone jack.

It also has a really nice keyboard which is not super important for music production, but it’s still nice to have whenever you need to type something, and it has a fingerprint reader which is in my opinion the easiest way to unlock a laptop.

The fans can get slightly loud when it’s working really hard, but as long as you don’t overwork it or have your microphone pointing directly at it, it’s really nothing much to worry about.

Overall, it’s a really nice laptop with plenty of power and a few nice features. So if you’re looking for a regular laptop with enough power to easily handle the demands of music production, this is probably the one for you.

Pros
Cons

The Dell XPS 15 is a very powerful laptop with a lovely premium look and feel, it’s a pleasure to produce music on, but it is a bit pricey considering the specs.

You get a nice powerful Intel 6 core i7-10750H, which will effortlessly power through the demands of music production.

A nice big 16GB of RAM which will give you plenty of room to have heaps of things open. And 1TB of storage which should give you plenty of space to store all your tracks and other files.

It has a really big trackpad similar size to the MacBook which is really nice if you use your trackpad for music production.

And some great sounding speakers that fire up from either side of the keyboard so that you can hear them much more clearly than if they were under the laptop.

Obviously, the speakers in a laptop aren’t too important because you’ll probably still want to use a high-quality pair of headphones or external speakers. But if you ever need to quickly listen to a track without your normal audio setup, these speakers will sound decently good. 

Like the Lenovo Thinkpad, The Dell XPS also has the added bonus of a nice keyboard and a fingerprint reader which is always good to have on a laptop.

So if you don’t mind the higher price tag, and you’re looking for a truly premium Windows laptop experience, this is probably going to be the one for you.

And there you have it, my top 5 pics for the best laptop for music production. With all the different options to suit different people’s preferences, hopefully, you’ve found the one for you.

Once you’ve chosen your new laptop, if you also need a new wireless mouse, laptop stand, audio interface, portable SSD, or USB microphone, I have other articles to help you choose one of those.

Or if these laptops are a bit out of your price range, I also have a list of the best laptops for music production under $500.

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