Laptops & the TI chipsets

[rsp2rsp2]

Gear interested

Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1

I am researching (& about to buy) a laptop. For MY purposes, I question whether it is really important to have this famous TI chip set you all talk about. Can you comment? Allow me to explain my situation...

Since I already have a desktop DAW (and prefer that over using a laptop), my new laptop purchase will mainly be for use other than DAW use. However, I thought it might be wise to buy a machine with DAW specs (just in case I ever needed to use the laptop for an occasional fling field-recording of some kind.

The thing is, I never use fire wire. In my own solo-musician practices (and with my drum softsynths already mixing my drums virtually), I only need 2-in/2-out (I use an Echo Indigo Express card).

Isn't fire wire mainly for those need to multi-track more than 2 channels? If I do not use fire wire, does this mean I can safely chose a laptop that does not necessarily have that TI chipset?

I have my eye on several almost perfect laptops (for my needs) but some have the Intel PM45 chipset instead of the TI set. For example, the Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q711 and Gateway P-7805u FX.

In my case, is that TI chipset still important?

[Audio~Geek]

Texas Instruments chipset is just for the Firewire card, not referring to the Motherboard which will be generally be Intel or Asus.

[fmw]

You won't get a TI chipset on your built in Firewire. It probably doesn't matter either. Protools is fussy about the TI chipset but hardly anyone else is. I use generic Firewire successfully with Cakewalk.

[Audio~Geek]

Some laptops do have a TI chipset.
The Macbooks and macbook pros until last year did.

And yes it's mostly PT that's fussy about FW because it's all realtime processing.