As a vinyl only DJ who still spends way too much $$ on the black crack, this comment is dumb. I get the hate for technically easy DJing especially when the content played is boring -> but a digital DJ can be just as good as a vinyl DJ.
These are all tools. If anything I find using vinyl keeps me respecting "songs" more and using "songs" where I find digital DJs can sometimes get too deep in the cuts and edits and manipulations so an hour long set becomes less "song-ey" and more a long groove, which is fine, but not what I like as much on the dancefloor or my ears. I like how vinyl DJs end up respecting the tracks more cause there's less general fussing with/changing the song you're stuck with what's on vinyl (though mixers and loopers and extra gear and still be over-used with vinyl, it's just done less often).
Anyway - there is no special cadre of DJ based on medium. There is a special cadre of DJ based on talent, and while my heart is with djing vinyl my brain knows digital djs can approach DJing the exact same way I am if they want to and some do!
Touchscreens are not up to par in development terms as the various external controllers and playing formats. At 2020 software platforms have gathered large user bases; VirtualDJ, Traktor, RekordBox, Serato, MIxxx to name just the turntables centered ones. Then combinations of musicians/producers/DJs utilise other software platforms; Ableton Live with/out Max, Native Instruments Kontakt (NKS) ecosystem of performance tools.
Thousands of the above users combine those with external controllers and also importantly hardware instruments and effects. Novation (in association with other brands) is a good example that develops both lines. On the Synthesizers fertile ground Roland has two! multiple devices platforms already, Korg and others merge sequencers, workstations and even Dj mixers into controllers.
///In sum, there is wide variation of usage and workflow alternatives for DJs, DJ-producers and many of them need powerful, low DPC and low latency laptops... For performance use and at many cases also for studio and preparation work. Hence at least a middle GPU is also required for DAWs and NLEs professional work (to handle GUIs at least) with large upgradeable RAM in a light packages. PLUS this industry activity has been severely affected, so budget is relevant.
Appreciate the port selection. Only knock against it is not using latest processors (Tiger Lake or latest AMD Zen APUs). Also, personally I am against having a Num Pad.
I understand that lot of people use Num Pad, specifically people in Number crunching jobs. For me, I never used it probably because I got used to not lifting my palm position. For lot of people though, its probably the symmetry of the touch pad being not in the center.
If it is 15-inch then there's real estate for numpad, why not make use of the unused space. It is easier to sell more features than to justify the lack of it.
Having a numpad puts the rest of the keyboard off center. If you never use it, this is a usability decline.
You also either have to chose between a touchpad that's off center of the laptop which looks odd, or is off center with the main keyboard which is another minor usability hit.
Even aside from increasing the cost, that having the numpad is a nuisance to those of us who don't use it is enough of a reason to guarantee that laptop makers won't go all in on number pads; just like the demand from people who do use them is enough to guarantee that some larger laptops will always include them.
I have a ROG Zephyrus with WiFi 6. For $5, it is a no brainer. It is immensely convenient when hollering large files over the WiFi (for example, photos to archive).
It has more port varieties than all Apple devices ever released! Anyway, that's seriously impressive for that price range, could've done with a more recent processor though.
If you are staying put at a desk, yes you might be right but Dock can't help when you are traveling. So, we need those ports and lot of people (I'm one of them) are against Dongle life.
It's interesting how people have become convinced that the more something costs, the less capabilities it should have. This is not just ok, but it's the preferred way.
That's right! One single USB-C port and a rat-tail you can plug into it to turn it into useful connectors! Or we could just build the useful connectors into the laptop to start with... naaaaaaahe
"All you need is to have to carry around an extra device dangling off the side"
I'll never understand this mentality. As it is, there are loads of devices that cater to your particular demographic of people who like having to daisy-chain anything they want to plug into their notebook.
There's a decent number of devices out there that break USB spec in such a way that 3.0 isn't backwards compatible. AFAIK 3.0 also has higher average latency, though that might not be true now that USB 3 is so much more integrated into the PCH/whatever runs it.
Decent = a few %, not an actual problem for the average consumer. I wouldn't be surprised if some MIDI equipment falls into that category though, hence its relevance.
The only ones I can think of with good selection of ports are the Razer Blade 15 (and probably few more gaming ones) and ThinkPad line. The high end Dell, HP, Surface and Mac ones don't have huge port selection. Probably I am asking too much but my personal preference would be a port selection of a SD Card slot, at least one USB Type A, at least one Type C (Thunderbolt would be great) and one HDMI. All with the latest spec. of course :)
"a bunch of ports" is not really the same as the specific connectivity available on this device, though - let alone one that's as portable as this one is.
If you move the goalposts around enough you can make any statement look silly.
Why would anyone complain about it? It's better to have options. It can still be powered by USB-C, so if you don't want to use the barrel connector, you don't have to.
Because people seem to complain about any port on a laptop that isn't USB-C, and get even louder if they see a charging port that isn't USB-C. Read as: because people are dumb.
Create a 3 hour Spotify playlist of tunes that the target audience will recognise (that's quite important, a lot of 'DJs' forget that point and then wonder why a bunch of middle aged party folks wont get up and dance to the latest dance tunes), slap the crossfader to maximum, volume leveller set, hook the laptop into the PA, hit play and then head to the bar.
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46 Comments
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ingwe - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
Interesting niche to pursue. Not for me but probably great for a lot of people. Price seems high but not terrible.Samus - Saturday, October 3, 2020 - link
It’s a l33t price for a l33t package!firewolfsm - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
DJs would need a touch screen and a bigger battery.jabber - Saturday, October 3, 2020 - link
Proper DJs should not require a laptop at all.Setting up a playlist on a laptop, switching the crossfade to max, hitting play and waving your hands in the air does not make you a DJ.
Revv233 - Monday, October 5, 2020 - link
Hate to tell you the but all music is made with computers.No one is carrying around reel to reels to shows.
jabber - Tuesday, October 6, 2020 - link
Reel to reels? What alternate universe did you drop in from?Laptop DJs are NOT proper DJs. Get mixing those decks with some proper vinyl and then we are talking.
praktik - Thursday, October 15, 2020 - link
As a vinyl only DJ who still spends way too much $$ on the black crack, this comment is dumb. I get the hate for technically easy DJing especially when the content played is boring -> but a digital DJ can be just as good as a vinyl DJ.These are all tools. If anything I find using vinyl keeps me respecting "songs" more and using "songs" where I find digital DJs can sometimes get too deep in the cuts and edits and manipulations so an hour long set becomes less "song-ey" and more a long groove, which is fine, but not what I like as much on the dancefloor or my ears. I like how vinyl DJs end up respecting the tracks more cause there's less general fussing with/changing the song you're stuck with what's on vinyl (though mixers and loopers and extra gear and still be over-used with vinyl, it's just done less often).
Anyway - there is no special cadre of DJ based on medium. There is a special cadre of DJ based on talent, and while my heart is with djing vinyl my brain knows digital djs can approach DJing the exact same way I am if they want to and some do!
skavi - Monday, October 19, 2020 - link
love it when actual professionals shut down weird gatekeepers.ath007 - Wednesday, May 19, 2021 - link
Haha. Enjoyed this conversation thread.Nexing - Sunday, October 4, 2020 - link
Touchscreens are not up to par in development terms as the various external controllers and playing formats.At 2020 software platforms have gathered large user bases; VirtualDJ, Traktor, RekordBox, Serato, MIxxx to name just the turntables centered ones.
Then combinations of musicians/producers/DJs utilise other software platforms; Ableton Live with/out Max, Native Instruments Kontakt (NKS) ecosystem of performance tools.
Thousands of the above users combine those with external controllers and also importantly hardware instruments and effects. Novation (in association with other brands) is a good example that develops both lines. On the Synthesizers fertile ground Roland has two! multiple devices platforms already, Korg and others merge sequencers, workstations and even Dj mixers into controllers.
///In sum, there is wide variation of usage and workflow alternatives for DJs, DJ-producers and many of them need powerful, low DPC and low latency laptops... For performance use and at many cases also for studio and preparation work. Hence at least a middle GPU is also required for DAWs and NLEs professional work (to handle GUIs at least) with large upgradeable RAM in a light packages.
PLUS this industry activity has been severely affected, so budget is relevant.
Srikzquest - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
Appreciate the port selection. Only knock against it is not using latest processors (Tiger Lake or latest AMD Zen APUs). Also, personally I am against having a Num Pad.niva - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
Personally, can't live without a Num Pad, at least for work.Srikzquest - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
I understand that lot of people use Num Pad, specifically people in Number crunching jobs. For me, I never used it probably because I got used to not lifting my palm position. For lot of people though, its probably the symmetry of the touch pad being not in the center.Kaggy - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
If it is 15-inch then there's real estate for numpad, why not make use of the unused space.It is easier to sell more features than to justify the lack of it.
DanNeely - Friday, October 2, 2020 - link
Having a numpad puts the rest of the keyboard off center. If you never use it, this is a usability decline.You also either have to chose between a touchpad that's off center of the laptop which looks odd, or is off center with the main keyboard which is another minor usability hit.
Even aside from increasing the cost, that having the numpad is a nuisance to those of us who don't use it is enough of a reason to guarantee that laptop makers won't go all in on number pads; just like the demand from people who do use them is enough to guarantee that some larger laptops will always include them.
Revv233 - Monday, October 5, 2020 - link
SMH complaining because too many features.Please companies charge us more for less!
yankeeDDL - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
I have a ROG Zephyrus with WiFi 6. For $5, it is a no brainer. It is immensely convenient when hollering large files over the WiFi (for example, photos to archive).Teckk - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
It has more port varieties than all Apple devices ever released!Anyway, that's seriously impressive for that price range, could've done with a more recent processor though.
damianrobertjones - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
No. Just... no. $1237, for a machine that looks like it should be $349 on sale.All you need is usb c, as well as a small little dock that offers hdmi, sd, 2x usb etc and probably ethernet. Done.
Srikzquest - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
If you are staying put at a desk, yes you might be right but Dock can't help when you are traveling. So, we need those ports and lot of people (I'm one of them) are against Dongle life.pixelstuff - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
Or if you are going around plugging into control panels, you really want all the ports built in.niva - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
It's interesting how people have become convinced that the more something costs, the less capabilities it should have. This is not just ok, but it's the preferred way.SaolDan - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
I see how it would make apple users confused and angry. Too... Many... Ports... Lol seriously dude usbc and dock? U must be trolling.Lord of the Bored - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
That's right! One single USB-C port and a rat-tail you can plug into it to turn it into useful connectors!Or we could just build the useful connectors into the laptop to start with... naaaaaaahe
Spunjji - Friday, October 2, 2020 - link
"All you need is to have to carry around an extra device dangling off the side"I'll never understand this mentality. As it is, there are loads of devices that cater to your particular demographic of people who like having to daisy-chain anything they want to plug into their notebook.
Mr Perfect - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
Wow, look at all those tasty ports!I've never heard of XMG though. Will AT be reviewing one of these?
Spunjji - Friday, October 2, 2020 - link
You may be more familiar with the name Schenker? They're a fairly reputable brand that resells notebooks made by OEMs like Tongfang and Clevo.Danvelopment - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
What Legacy purpose does a USB 2.0 port have that a USB 3.0 port doesn't?lmcd - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
There's a decent number of devices out there that break USB spec in such a way that 3.0 isn't backwards compatible. AFAIK 3.0 also has higher average latency, though that might not be true now that USB 3 is so much more integrated into the PCH/whatever runs it.lmcd - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
Decent = a few %, not an actual problem for the average consumer. I wouldn't be surprised if some MIDI equipment falls into that category though, hence its relevance.Spunjji - Friday, October 2, 2020 - link
The latency would definitely be a factor for those devices, too.nerd1 - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
"has an array of connectivity unlike any other notebooks I’ve seen in this segment"Literally EVERY laptop out there (except for Macbook and XPS series maybe) has a bunch of ports.
Srikzquest - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
The only ones I can think of with good selection of ports are the Razer Blade 15 (and probably few more gaming ones) and ThinkPad line. The high end Dell, HP, Surface and Mac ones don't have huge port selection. Probably I am asking too much but my personal preference would be a port selection of a SD Card slot, at least one USB Type A, at least one Type C (Thunderbolt would be great) and one HDMI. All with the latest spec. of course :)Rookierookie - Saturday, October 3, 2020 - link
Gigabyte laptops have great ports, but not quite as specialized as this one.Spunjji - Friday, October 2, 2020 - link
"a bunch of ports" is not really the same as the specific connectivity available on this device, though - let alone one that's as portable as this one is.If you move the goalposts around enough you can make any statement look silly.
Icehawk - Friday, October 2, 2020 - link
Ethernet is rare. Wish I could order up my corporate devices with this array of ports although I’d prefer full size DP if possible. No adapters ftwpixelstuff - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
Need to do a side by side comparison with a similarly equipped Acer Aspire 7.Lord of the Bored - Thursday, October 1, 2020 - link
I'm actually surprised no one's complained about that big ol' barrel connector on the back-left corner.It is a thing of beauty.
ajp_anton - Friday, October 2, 2020 - link
Why would anyone complain about it? It's better to have options. It can still be powered by USB-C, so if you don't want to use the barrel connector, you don't have to.DanNeely - Friday, October 2, 2020 - link
Can it? I thought USB-C charging ports were supposed to put the USB rat-tail in a battery icon if they support charging. This one's C doesn't do that.Lord of the Bored - Saturday, October 3, 2020 - link
Because people seem to complain about any port on a laptop that isn't USB-C, and get even louder if they see a charging port that isn't USB-C.Read as: because people are dumb.
Spunjji - Friday, October 2, 2020 - link
Stick Renoir in this and I'd be all over it. Heck, I'd even give Tiger Lake some thought.Comet Lake, though? Big no-no.
GreenReaper - Monday, October 5, 2020 - link
DJs can be workers, too! Some make big money, though only really at the top of the game. Otherwise, it can still be a job.jabber - Tuesday, October 6, 2020 - link
Create a 3 hour Spotify playlist of tunes that the target audience will recognise (that's quite important, a lot of 'DJs' forget that point and then wonder why a bunch of middle aged party folks wont get up and dance to the latest dance tunes), slap the crossfader to maximum, volume leveller set, hook the laptop into the PA, hit play and then head to the bar.Simple. No DJ required!
scineram - Wednesday, October 7, 2020 - link
Not Renoir, not interesting.dotjaz - Wednesday, October 7, 2020 - link
What's the point of having miniDP when HDMI is already available? They need to get rid of the power connector and miniDP and add USB-C instead.