SwingDJs

If I can get one cheaply enough ($400 for everything I'll ever need to show up at a gig where there's no CD deck--with the exception of an external USB hard drive, which I already have, and a surge protector, which I already have), I'm in the market for a laptop.

Looks like DJing software that's reasonably pleasant to work with could eat up most of that $400 budget, though.

So consider this me signing up on a "waiting list."

The next time one of you swing DJs ditches a perfectly functional laptop with DJing software installed that doesn't make you bang your head against the wall (that, perhaps, you're not carrying over to the new one because you've found a different piece of software you think is even better), please let me know.

Thanks,
Katie in Minnesota

I'd suggest just worrying about finding a used laptop that isn't crap, and not worry about the dj software until later. DJs have been doing just fine with freeware for a while -- you can get the fancy stuff later if money is tight.

That said, I'm sure it doesn't hurt to ask!

Your local kijiji has a couple things: http://minneapolisstpaul.kijiji.com/f-l ... ordZlaptop

You could probably get a better deal if you shop around a little longer. Try any of the big computer stores and ask if they have any refurbished machines. The advantage there is that you'd at least get some warranty out of it.

For software, MediaMonkey and JRiver Media Jukebox both have free version and are good players with good library management. If you want to preview, then just run winamp alongside them. Pick up a Turtle Beach Micro sound card (typically $30, but you can find it on sale for $20).

Heh. If it turns out people are happy w/ the freeware/cheapware (under $50), then I'll be in for an even longer search, 'cuz I'll be looking for even cheaper over on Craigslist, etc. if I don't have to worry about making sure something comes w/ DJ software on it.

I really have no use whatsoever in my life for a laptop, other than this music thing.

I didn't think about refurbs...fits my environmental desire to reuse, even if not my price quite as well as "used" does.

Check out PCDJ Blue, or AtoMixmp3. Both are reasonable programs for DJing. Both are under $100 at retail. If you have a computer now, download the 30 day trial version and try it out. Read the manual, and practice DJing with it. If you don't like it, nothing lost but time - you can always fall back to the freeware solution. If you do like it - great. I would look for a laptop that meets the minimum specs that are recommended for this program.

The #1 recommendation is an external sound card. The internal sound cards on laptops suck. For $50 you can get a sound card that will be vastly better than anything that is built into the laptop - especially a sub $500 laptop.

Any laptop with at least a 1GHz processor, 256MB of RAM (512MB would be better, 1GB is overkill), and a 20GB hard drive will be enough to get started. As long as you meet the minimums for the software you want to run, I would trade more RAM for an external sound card every time.

Refurbs from most of the major manufacturers come with a short warranty - to protect against immediate problems. It might be to your advantage to check out refurbs for that reason alone.

You will need to bring cables to hook your laptop into the mixer at the event. It is generally safe to assume that the mixer will have RCA connections, and then get a cord that goes from that to whatever the soundcard produces (in my case that is also RCA, but in most cases that is 1/8" stereo).

--Stan Graves

SoundInMotionDJ wrote: The #1 recommendation is an external sound card. The internal sound cards on laptops suck. For $50 you can get a sound card that will be vastly better than anything that is built into the laptop - especially a sub $500 laptop.


--Stan Graves

Agreed on the importance of the external sound card. BTW, that also makes USB 2.0 a requirement in my opinion (standard these days anyway).

As far as price $30... the turtle beach mini's are $29.99, and are excellent.

kitkat wrote:I really have no use whatsoever in my life for a laptop, other than this music thing.

If your current computer is 8 years old (guessing from your statement in the other thread saying you haven't shopped for one in 8 years), a $400 used laptop is going to be far more useful for ALL your computing needs then what's sitting under your desk right now. Maintaining a music library, photos, your budget, email, general web browsing and what have you... all going to be a much happier, FASTER experience. You just might find it more useful then you expect it to be.

That said, keep an eye out on www.dell.com/outlet. Nothing I'd recommend buying at your pricepoint at the moment (found a decent system at $449 though), but it's updated regularly. I'm sure the other big OEMs have similar sites as well. I'd also think ebay might be a good place to shop as well... if you're really careful.

You might want to check eBay for a used Mac iBook. If you are just using it for dj'ing it is more than adequate. You can probably pick up one with a 30 gig hard drive for around $299.

zzzzoom wrote:You might want to check eBay for a used Mac iBook. If you are just using it for dj'ing it is more than adequate. You can probably pick up one with a 30 gig hard drive for around $299.

I thought the same thing at first but you'd be amazed at how much iBooks are going for on there. I wouldn't recommend one as a "great bang for your buck" proposition.

Mr Awesomer wrote:

zzzzoom wrote:You might want to check eBay for a used Mac iBook. If you are just using it for dj'ing it is more than adequate. You can probably pick up one with a 30 gig hard drive for around $299.

I thought the same thing at first but you'd be amazed at how much iBooks are going for on there. I wouldn't recommend one as a "great bang for your buck" proposition.

Well, I agree with one caveat. It seems to me pc laptops have a limited life. At some point, something major seems to fail, whereas little iBooks don't seem to have that problem. Wouldn't hurt to check 'em out on eBay. See what's available . . .

zzzzoom wrote:It seems to me pc laptops have a limited life. At some point, something major seems to fail, whereas little iBooks don't seem to have that problem.

As trouble free as my iBook (now my wife's machine) and MacBookPro have been, they are all made using essentially the same parts as their Windows running equivalents and all assembled in China by the lowest bidder. With the iBook specifically, there are plenty of reports online about various little issues it's had... same goes for MacBookPros... same goes for Windows laptops, even the "high end" ones... etc. etc. My company issued Windows laptop is just as old as my iBook but has been taken far more beatings then the iBook ever has (and seen far more use), and it's still ticking along just as well.

If you want something more durable, there's the Panasonic Toughbook. They're usually expensive, but ebay has some good deals on them right now.