I have a set of laptops that I feel are within my budget and meet minimum system requirements for Ableton. My budget is anything up to 600 dollars (knocks out any macbooks). Here are my options:
1. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E555 15.6-inch
2. ASUS F555LA-AB31 15.6-inch Full-HD Laptop
3. HP 15-F211WM 15.6-inch Touchscreen Laptop
4. Dell Inspiron 11 3000 Series 2-in-2 11.6 Inch Laptop
5. 2016 Newest Dell Inspiron 15.6" Premium High Performance Touchscreen Laptop
6. 2016 Newest Dell Inspiron 15 15.6" Premium High Performance Laptop PC
Please tell me which one you recommend, or if you have one that fits my budget that is better than the ones listed. I'm still researching, but could use some input! Thanks!
P.S.: Copy and paste any of these into the search bar of amazon.com to find out more about it.
Which laptop should I buy for music production?
USA Shopping sources:
Best Buy, Newegg.com, Adorama, B and H Photo, Amazon
Amazon is actually painful to shop, because the search results throw in laptops that don't meet the search criteria.
Asus has many systems with good audio
HP Envy has good audio
You can add an Audio codec USB dongle. You should use external amplified speakers normally.
You should be on 15.6" because speakers are better and generally Audio codec internal is better.
Thinkpad is interesting. The Edge gets low ratings even though it should have better quality. Part of it is in choice of displays.
CPU benchmarking:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/...u_list.php
Now,
I go with the audio history and general reliability history and customer reviews and low performance CPUs.
I take this as USA because you state Amazon.com and not a different Amazon site.
I require, in your statements, 1920x1080 display.
I have discarded all 6 of what you found, except the Asus, but see it is still too entry level.
I found 5 laptops in stock meeting criteria, 1 pre-order, 1 over price limit.
$549 Pre-order not available: Asus F556UA-AS54 15.6 Full-HD Laptop i5-6200U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD
http://www.amazon.com/...01CGGOUJM/
$449 ASUS X555DA-WS11 15.6 Full HD AMD A10-8700P 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD
http://www.amazon.com/...01CGGOA9W/
$549 special price out of NY/NJ
HP 15.6" Star Wars Special Edition 15-an050nr Notebook (Darkside Black) MFR # N5R61UA#ABA
i5-6200U, 6GB RAM, 15.6" IPS Anti-Glare Full HD 1920 x 1080, 1TB, DVDRW, backlit keyboard, premium audio
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/..._15_6.html
$533 + Tax NJ/CA/TN/IN. Lenovo Laptop Z51 (80K601CSUS) Intel Core i5 5200U (2.20 GHz) 4 GB Memory 1 TB HDD AMD Radeon R7 M360 15.6" Full HD Windows 10 Home
http://www.newegg.com/...6834321235
Check $510 local in-store Clearance on an HP ENVY
http://www.bestbuy.com/...Id=8825037
$600 plus tax HP - Beats Special Edition 15.6" Touch-Screen Laptop - AMD A10-Series - 8GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive A10-7300
http://www.bestbuy.com/...Id=4575603
$626 plus tax (over limit)
http://www.bestbuy.com/...Id=4227800
Of the set, though not an HP fan, they have to use extra TLC for a special edition, and the Star Wars model is at a price that is impressive. The Amazon Pre order looks good on paper.
Those are my top-two, but others are very good to consider.
You want audio, and display and performance.
That is what I recommend.