Upgrading a laptop is it easy to fit a video card and new memory? i can do it on a desktop no probs but im scared of laptops
this is it mate http://www.pricerunner.com/computing/computers/laptops/379165/details only link i could find
memory is normally a doddle - however u can usually only ADD to what u already have, and there's usually only 1 extra socket. and it's laptop specific.
be about £20/30 for a 512mb memory upgrade (new) cheaper 2nd hand.... Usually a panel on underside of laptop (1 screw) lift it off, slide ya new memory into (normally 1 remaining) slot, replace panel. job done! No idea bout video card tho....
Ok, if it's not a daft question why do you want more the 1GB in a lappy? What sort of tasks are you wanting to speed up?
I'm running Reason with a shit load of synths, this is then rewired into Ableton or Cubase with a load of VST plugin's over the top I cant run anymore than 8 channels without it falling over dramatically More memory will sort this non?
Maybe, maybe not. Do you know anyone else who is managing to run this software without the glitches? If so what type of computer are they using (specifically how much ram)? It could be a problem with the harddrive, ram, processor, drivers or even that your windows install is a bit nacked. When you are running the apps press ctrl/alt/del then go to the performance tab. What's the cpu usage at? What about the Available Physical Memory and page file?
Have you got an external sound card? or using the one built into the laptop? You may find this is holding everything back, not the memory, cpu and all the other stuff. I had a shitty creative labs card in my desktop machine that's got uber power and it struggled with cubase past a certain number of tracks and the amount of vst's i had running like vanguard, pro52, pro53, kontakt, swtrancepro etc etc. I upgraded to a hammerfall series sound card and the problems vanished. I would still recommend upgrading memory as a starting block though - this will certainly help all of your applications to run more smoothly.
1 gb of ram is fine for what your doing mate, unless your running sample libraries in excess of a few gig, you won't ever max out your 1 gig or ram. It'll be all the synths and effects that are crippling your pc, tbh on a 1.6 you're not gonna get any more out of your system. My tips bounce stuff down to audio, that you are happy with then turn off the synths, all you can use the cubase freeze function to freeze synths, to free up cpu. Also you can increase your latency because the lower you have it the more cpu you computer will use.
