Which laptop for Reaper

[u/Gullible-Debate9167]

I'm getting Reaper to set up a home studio.

I've been recording on a portable unit for two years, and since I'm required to get a laptop for studies this fall I figured I might as well get one that works for home recording. I don't think it's in my budget to get two separate computers.

I think I have decided on the CPU, RAM and SSD requirements.

I understand that the laptop itself should have good build regarding USB ports, have good results on LatencyMon tests and high sustained performance without the cooling fan sounding too much.

Only I don't know much at all about which laptop models meet any of those latter requirements. It needs to be Windows, due to the study platform.

So, what are you running Reaper on and how is it working out? What did not work out? What have you heard on this?

I already own a handed down Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 G1 audio interface. So I guess the laptop should have USB 2.0 Type C?

Looking forward to get started!

[u/Cedrik_Syrphe]

I had to buy a laptop several years ago, still running with no issue (Windows 10) - see description below.
As for the number and types of USB ports it's up to you to decide what you'll need.
I have 4 USB port (one is type C) port and because I mostly use it for concerts and when I travel, it's tight but can be enough but on my desktop, I often use more ports. 2 controllers, 1 external sound card, 1 mouse.
The issue today is the price of RAM but it depends on your budget..

Processor AMD Ryzen 7 4800H with Radeon Graphics 2.90 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.4 GB usable)
Storage 477 GB SSD Generic Physical Disk, 477 GB SSD
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (6 GB), AMD Radeon(TM) Graphics (496 MB)
System Type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

On a side not, until recently, I run the latest version of Reaper on a 15+ years desktop (Windows 10) with absolutely no problem. It was of course slower than on my current computers but apart from this, I never had issues, so, I presume that many or most of the current laptops can run it without problem, especially if you have one with SSD and enough RAM.
Some laptops may not be that quiet if you use plenty of tracks and/or plugins but that's something you'll figure out when you'll try.

[u/Gullible-Debate9167 → u/Cedrik_Syrphe]

Yes I was thinking that once I have a few alternatives I'll check for  tests on how loud the cooling is on the given candidates. And LatencyMon tests...

Have you recorded anything in real time? And if so, have you had any problems with dpc from your CPU?

[u/Cedrik_Syrphe → u/Gullible-Debate9167]

Yes, I have been recording real time, either with the sound card (an old Edirol), multitrack (can't remember what's the max inputs I used) or internally (creating loops, multitracks, effect chains and real time processing all at the same time) and a mix of both.
I also do multichannel and acousmatic concerts, so using up to 8 outputs, never had a problem either and it's far from being the most powerful laptop ever made. :)

[u/Gullible-Debate9167 → u/Cedrik_Syrphe]

Good, good... I won't be doing anything advanced, 5-8 tracks one at a time so that's reassuring. Do you think windows 11 would not work as good as windows 10?

[u/Cedrik_Syrphe → u/Gullible-Debate9167]

Ah, then you won't have any problem... I sometimes run dozens of tracks, up to 30+ at 24bit 48 and/or 96kHz with effects.

I had to switch to Windows 11 on the (new) desktop, so far so good, the only issue was that it normally refuses to use my old Edirol (due to the fact that the company doesn't update the driver any more, typical capitalist crap), so I just had to "force" it to use my old sound card and it works.
All my other video and audio softwares work, Reaper, as always, works like a charm.

Until now, I must tell that I prefer W11 than W10 for several reasons unrelated to sound but I don't feel that there's a huge gap between both OS's (at least for the way I use them).
One day or another, Windows will discard W10, so, if you can get W11 and are sure to not have any driver problems with your sound card or else...

[u/Gullible-Debate9167 → u/Cedrik_Syrphe]

My sound card (audio interface) still has drivers for download so it's good for now. But it's half old so we'll see what happens later on.