Music, an art form that has transcended what was first thought possible in the earliest rungs of our civilization. What was once for merry occasions filled with music and dancing with family and friends has evolved to music and artists becoming known across the world with the advent of modern technology. Imagine if we lived 200 years ago, we would've missed out on the most influential artists in music like Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Nirvana, Frank Sinatra and so much more. For the most part, back then, you probably wouldn't know many singers besides your mom or sister.
And with the evolution of music from simple band instruments and localized singing, music production and processes has also evolved to be more sophisticated and high tech, making things previously thought impossible, possible. One such tool industry veterans will be able to recognize is Pro Tools, a digital audio workstation (DAW) from Avid technology. To fully take advantage of this tool and others like it, we're going to help you out by listing out some of the best laptops for Pro Tools to fully visualize your masterpiece.
But before that, let's take a minute to check out what Pro Tools is all about and what you're going to be able to do with the latest version of Pro Tools.
What is Pro Tools?
Simply enough, Pro Tools is a DAW software that originally released in 1989 for Macs. Before that, the initial build was known as Digidrums and later on, Sounder Designer, and finally what is now known as Pro Tools. Back then though, Pro Tools was initially developed to link up with the E-mu Drumulator which allowed to import different sound samples and drum styles. Now a days, they're not too into that outdated way of doing things and has evolved to be an all-in-one DAW software for all kinds of projects.
By the 1990's, Pro Tools was (almost) fully realized as a DAW which brought multi-track digital recording, editing capabilities, and mixing the master, all in one. While it isn't the absolute best music production software your favorite artist might use, there's still a solid name behind the software with a history many are still impressed by. It has various intricate features that makes it a very important tool for things like sound design in films, post production and for creating and mastering film scores. This is mainly as Pro Tools has superb low-latency performance for numerous tracks thanks to their HDX hardware.
Besides that, Pro Tools these days has a variety of new features that makes it stand out. Other than the standard ability to record, produce, edit and mix & master the finished project, Pro Tools allows users access to over 100 plugins, distribute your music to popular streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok and more, Avid Cloud Collaboration to simultaneously work on tracks with other artists, bandmates and producers remotely and much more. You get a lot for the package, especially if you know what you're doing. Pro Tools comes in three various subscription tiers ranging in price, starting off from Pro Tools First, Pro Tools and Pro Tools Ultimate. Depending on your uses and needs, check out which subscription works best for you.
Safe to say, Pro Tools is an industry standard for many in various industries, which is why having the best laptop for Pro Tools is essential in optimizing your performance. It's no fun if every time you try to run Pro Tools it was slow, sluggish, and crashing, right? Well let's take a look at what the minimum and recommended system requirements for Pro Tools is to get a better understanding of what we should look for.
Minimum & Recommended System Requirements
Minimum Specs
Based on these minimum system requirements, running Pro Tools will require a fair bit of firepower.
Operating System
Starting things off, let's talk about the OS the best laptop for Pro Tools will have. Now, even though the software originally started off on mac OS, it's now well supported and comes chock full of features on Windows 10. There really isn't much of a intrinsic difference between Windows 10 and macOS versions, but it seems that mac OS isn't as compatible with some of the tools you get with Pro Tools. Heh, get it?
With that in mind, the choice is up to you. I'd personally recommend finding a laptop with Windows 10, but I can understand the allure that mac OS and Apple's MacBook Pro lineup have. The only other differentiator you'll have to worry about is if you're comfortable with Apple's macOS and user interface. There are a bunch of differences between the two OS's from the user interface, keyboard keys, shortcuts, and more. Either way, we'll include both mac OS X (or later) and Windows 10 devices in our search for the best laptops for Pro Tools so you have the freedom of choice.
Processor
Next up, Pro Tools recommends finding a Intel Core i5 processor, a massive 16 GB of RAM and at least 15GB of free space. What these specs are telling me is that you're going to need a fairly powerful laptop to handle music production and processes in Pro Tools. Running Pro Tools seems like it'll be quite a task on your laptop, so let's take a look at the recommended system specs to see what an optimal build looks like.
Recommended Specs
The recommended specs from Pro Tools shows that an optimal music production laptop will need some heavy hitting specs to keep up.
Processor
To run Pro Tools at its best, you're going to need a laptop with at least an Intel Core i7 processor. They actually mentioned even more powerful processors as a recommendation like an Intel Core i9 or Intel Xeon. But since we don't see these specs too often on a consumer laptop, you should be more then capable with a recent Intel i7, or even the Intel Core i5. Essentially, a quad-core processor with formidable single core performance will be the best you could hope for.
RAM
Next up, to run Pro Tools they've recommended finding a huge 32 GB GB of RAM which you don't see too often with exception of the the most high-end laptop variants around. Since we are trying to bring a broad spectrum of the best laptops for Pro Tools, ranging in price tags and features, you might see a laptop with a lower than the recommended spec. As I said, a laptop with a a powerful quad-core processor and 32 GB of RAM will cost you a pretty penny. A laptop with comparable specs in terms of performance should be more than capable of handling Pro Tools and all it needs.
Graphics Card
The last upgrade we're going to have to look for is a capable dedicated graphics card. Since there are visual elements as well as video editing capabilities, you're going to need a powerful graphics card to keep up. They've mentioned an NVIDIA GPU which could relate to a number of graphics cards. Mainly we're going to come across GPUs like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2000 lineup.
Now that we've gone through all the important internal specs you're going to need, let's check out some extra features that'll add value to the best laptop for Pro Tools.
Features To Look For
1. Quality Speakers
The most obvious inclusion in the best features for the best laptop for Pro Tools will be some great sounding speakers. I think it's pretty self explanatory, but even for those users who have a killer sound system set up, you're going to want to find some decent sounding speakers on your laptop. One of the best you'll find most often is some laptop brands partner with audio experts like Beats, B&O, JBL, Harman/Kardon to fine tune the speakers and audio. But you'll also find some laptop brands packing in built-in software and hardware to boost the clarity, volume, and deepness of your laptop speakers.
The only time I'd dissuade from a great speaker setup is if the laptop comes with stunning internals and a killer price tag. But, otherwise, you're going to be pretty happy with a laptop with an immersive audio experience, regardless of you being in the music production scene or not.
2. Crisp Display
One important spec that wasn't mentioned by the Pro Tools minimum and recommended spec sheet is the display. But in all honesty, the display is where most laptops differentiate greatly with a variety of screen sizes and display resolution. The most common, and the display resolution we're going to recommend would be a a Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080. This is a great display resolution that you'll find very often as you're browsing the web, playing video games, watching a movie, etc. It's going to be our base recommendation in the search for the best laptop for Pro tools.
You could also opt for a variety of higher resolution displays like a Full HD+, 4K, and QHD, but this might cost you a little extra for the upgrade. Depending on the accompanying specs and price tag, we might include a few laptops with these panels on-board. Either way, you're going to want a nice screen to look at when you're isolated in the studio mastering tracks. Might as well make it a crisp, clear, and vibrant experience.
3. Plentiful Storage
Our last recommendation is finding a laptop with some solid storage capacities. This is because for both the aspiring music producer to the veterans in the studio, you're going to need a laptop that has a sizable storage capacity to accommodate your projects. Unreleased masters, tracks that you're currently working on, plugins, and samples will take up a lot of space on your laptop. The best Pro Tools laptop would have to feature a base storage capacity of at least 256GB. We're also going to recommend for you find a laptop with a solid state drive (SSD) rather than the antiquated hard drive (HDD).
A solid state drive is much faster than the standard hard drive units available. This means that you'll see a faster start up time, faster app and program loading, and loading tracks and music on Pro Tools or similar DAW software. While we've recommended a 256GB SSD as a base, your best bet would honestly be a 512 GB SSD. A 512 GB SSD is a great capacity with speedy load times, which would fare well for your use in Pro Tools. Plus, a 512 GB SSD means you probably won't have to purchase a separate external HDD or SSD, which saves you money in the long run.
Now that we've gone through some important features to look for, let's get straight into our search for the best laptops for Pro Tools!
The 6 Best Laptops For Pro Tools
1. Dell XPS 15
The latest Dell XPS 15 laptop comes chock full of great internal specs and additional features making it a stellar companion to run Pro Tools. The first thing you'll notice about the Dell XPS 15 is the sleek, elegant design throughout the laptop chassis. Surrounding the laptop's body is a dual-tone silver and black color theme, with the machined aluminum chassis and carbon fiber palm rest. On the display, the Dell XPS 15 features a 15.6" FHD+ display with super slim bezels around the four corners of the frame. In all honesty, the screen-to-body ratio here is one of the best I've seen thus far, making the Dell XPS 15 a step up over the competition.
On the inside, the Dell XPS 15 is packing some heat with a 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H processor, 16 GB of RAM and a solid 512 GB SSD storage. Since this laptop is packing this much firepower, you should be more than capable of running Pro Tools without much lag or freezes thanks to one of the latest Intel Core i7 processors and a sizable RAM capacity. To supplement the graphical performance, the laptop comes with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti with a 4GB VRAM capacity. This is a pretty solid graphics card, especially considering this isn't a 'gaming laptop'. This GPU will be useful if you needed to use the video editing capabilities of Pro Tools, along with possible graphic design work and gaming as well.
The laptop also comes with a few other extra features that makes it a more worthy purchase like a 3D surround sound with Waves Nx audio and quad-speaker setup, Display HDR400 and Dolby Vision for a better viewing experience, Gorilla Glass 6 display, a full array of ports including a SD card reader and 3x Thunderbolt 3 USB 3.1 Type-C ports and up to 9 hours battery life. It is lacking a conventional USB-2.0 or USB-3 and HDMI port, so if you needed those I'd suggest getting an adaptor. The Thunderbolt 3 is capable of running DisplayPort and charging but isn't as widely used just yet. Overall, the Dell XPS 15 is an assuredly high-end premium laptop that would work well for Pro Tools and all it's features. It does come with a higher price tag, but it's fair to say this laptop will last you a while, making it a better investment in the long run.
2. Apple MacBook Pro 2019
For music artists and producers keen for Apple's hardware and ecosystem, the 2019 Apple MacBook Pro is a great laptop to handle Pro Tools. I'm staying away from the absolute latest variant of the the Apple MacBook Pro since Pro Tools has mentioned they don't officially support the OS and laptop just yet. The 2019 MacBook Pro though, still comes with Apple's minimalist, uniquely crafted aesthetic with a seamless design throughout the laptop. The center of attention though is the 13.3-inch LED-backlit Retina display with a pretty good screen-to-body ratio. The display also comes with a bunch of visual enhancing tech like up to 500 nits brightness, a P3 wide color gamut netting you 25% more colors than a standard sRGB panel, and True Tone Technology.
The Apple MacBook Pro also features some decently powered internals for the price. You're getting an 8th Generation Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM and a standard 256GB SSD storage. Not the most exciting specs, but it should be handle the bare minimums in Pro Tools. The MacBook Pro is also equipped with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 which should be more than capable of handling light design work and video editing. Since this is an older variant in the MacBook Pro lineup, it's understandable why the power here is somewhat limited. You can choose to upgrade the internals though, with the accompanying price hike that is.
But of course, as it is an Apple laptop, you get some great supporting features to complement the whole deal. Some of these features include a Touch ID fingerprint reader, Touch Bar, backlit Magic Keyboard, two Thunderbolt 3 USB 3.1 Type-C ports, and up to 10 hours of battery life. All together, the MacBook Pro 2019 comes with some great features along with Apple's software and ecosystem. It's a more cost-effective solution to Apple's pricey hardware.
3. Razer Blade 13 Stealth
A great genre of laptops to choose from as the best laptop for Pro Tools are gaming optimized laptops. It's a surefire way to get solid performance for almost every spec you could think off. The Razer Blade 13 Stealth is a great example of phenomenal hardware both internally and externally. One of the best parts about the Razer Blade 13 Stealth is the premium design with a CNC unibody aluminum chassis. The dark black matte with the RGB-enabled logo on the rear panel is such a distinct look that'll catch many a passerby's eye. Complementing the daunting design is a 13.3-inch FHD display with a crisp 120Hz refresh rate. This high-refresh rate capability will make things like general browsing and playing video games look much smoother. It's something you have to experience first hand to really appreciate.
Under the hood, the Razer Blade 13 Stealth is packing some powerful internal specs. The laptop features the 10th Generation Intel Core i7-1065G7, 16 gigs of RAM and a 512 GB SSD. For the graphical side of things, the laptop features an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti which is a solid upper-mid range GPU. You should be more than capable of running Pro Tools, as well as some of the latest graphically intensive games and editing software. One external feature than I think deserves some recognition is the Razer Chroma RGB-lighting across the laptop. You have the Razer Chroma Keyboard which features a bunch of different colors, patterns and functions to light up the keyboard to your preferences. It's not an integral part of a laptop for Pro Tools, but it's a great conversation starter.
The laptop also features some great on-board extras that supplement the overall package. Some of these features include dual-array mics, a precision glass touchpad, a full array of parts including Thunderbolt 3, USB-C and USB-A, four stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support, and up to 8 hours battery life. All these features packed together makes the Razer Blade 13 Stealth a solid competitor for the crown of the best laptop for Pro Tools with an impressive arsenals of specs, stellar design and build quality.
4. Microsoft Surface Book 2
Another possible option as the best laptop for Pro Tools is to find one with 2-in-1 functionality. It's not a super integral feature, but it certainly is nice to have when you've got it. One great 2-in-1 laptop that holds up to today's standards is the Microsoft Surface Book 2. The Surface Book 2 is a convertible laptop that is capable of fully detaching itself from the keyboard, turning it into a tablet form factor. You can use the laptop in four various modes: laptop mode, tablet mode, studio mode and view mode. The display on the laptop is a 13.-5 PixelSense touch display compatible with pen input. You also get a pretty great display resolution here, with a rather unconventional 3240 x 2160 resolution and 3:2 aspect ratio.
But that's not even where the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is at its very best. The laptop comes equipped with some impressive hardware, rocking an 8th Gen Intel i7, 16GB RAM and a massive 1TB SSD capacity. That paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM will have you running Pro Tools like a dream in a super compact, versatile, 2-in-1 form factor. That's kind of impressive if you think about it.
Some additional features the laptop comes with to put the final cherry on top includes Windows 10 Pro, USB-C port, SD card reader, a whopping 17 hours battery life and weighs in at just 3.62lbs. Overall, the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is a high-end 2-in-1 laptop with a stellar spec sheet and a versatile form factor to get you mixing and producing on the go. Since this is one of the most specced out variants, you can expect a rather high price tag. If you were interested in the laptop but aren't keen on spending that much money on it, there are a few other variants for a lower-price point.
5. Acer Aspire 5
If you were in the market for a more affordable, budget laptop for Pro Tools, look no further than the latest Acer Aspire 5. The Acer Aspire 5 features truly impressive internal specs with good overall performance and a simplistic design. What it lacks in pizzazz and wow-factor, the laptop makes up for with a laser focus on productivity and performance. Starting things off we've got a standard 15.6" FHD IPS display with a decent screen-to-body ratio. Not the most impressive we've ever seen, but should be more than capable of handling most day-to-day tasks.
For the performance, the laptop features a great lineup with the belle of the ball being the 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor. To support this powerhouse of a SoC, you also get 16GB RAM and a generous 512 GB SSD. On the graphical side of things, the laptop features a paltry Intel Iris Xe Graphics GPU which definitely leaves more to be desired. But with the latest Intel i7 and great supporting specs, you should be able to manage some light design work, video editing and light gaming. Just don't expect to run a super intensive game like Cyberpunk 2077 at the highest graphic settings.
The Acer Aspire 5 also comes with a useful extras like a backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader, Wi-Fi 6 support, a full array of ports including: 1x USB 3.2 Type-C, 1x USB-2.0, 2x USB-3.2 Gen 1, HDMI port, and up to 8.5 hours battery life. This laptop is impressive in almost every way imaginable, from the attractive design, powerful performance, to the super affordable price tag. For those on a tight budget, the Acer Aspire 5 is one of the best deals around.
6. ASUS ROG Zephyrus S
Our last entry on the list is going to be another well equipped gaming laptop, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S with an admittedly 'unique' design. One of the very first things you'll notice about the laptop is that even thought it's a bulky, 'gaming' optimized laptop, it's actually only 0.62" thin. The next thing you'll see as soon as you open up the lid is the squished up keyboard at the very bottom of the laptop body, next to the trackpad which doubles as a number pad on the right hand side. It's definitely one of the more out there configurations we've seen so far. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus S comes with a 15.6-inch FHD Display with a silky smooth 144Hz refresh rate and 6.55mm bezels.
On the internals, the laptop comes with a relatively sub-par spec sheet. The ROG Zephyrus S comes with an 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H processor, 16GB RAM and a 512GB solid state drive. While the Intel Core i7-8750H may seem somewhat dated, it's still got great performance with up to 3.9GHz clock speed. For the graphics, the laptop relies on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5 VRAM which should be pretty capable handling Pro Tools and video editing needs.
Some great extra features the laptop comes with includes ROG ActiveAerodynamic System for better heat management, 3ms response time, AuraSync backlit keyboard, card reader, and up to 7 hours of battery life. All in all, the ROG Zephyrus S comes in a really impressive form factor, especially for a gaming laptop with the accompanying performance to boot. For the 'gamer' music producer, this laptop is a solid choice for use in Pro Tools and much much more.
Conclusion
Now that we've gone through some of the best laptops for Pro Tools, we have to decide on just one as the cream of the crop.
Today, the laptop earning the crown as the best laptop for Pro Tools is the Acer Aspire 5!
This laptop has remarkable value with a solid spec sheet that just does the right things. It misses the bells and whistles of a truly high-end laptop, but makes up for it with dependable performance in a simple package.
