Cheers Lads,I already have a few external usb audio interfaces I can use (Virus ti,roland gaia sh-01,numark omni control) all of which are excellent interfaces,with very low latency/inputs/outputs etc so the onboard audio isnt so much an issue.I was mainly concerned with performance.What I have read is that lenovo laptops are supposed to be very good and that they ground their boards like apple do.I dont think this really matters to me as I will be using an external audio device but for those of you who are not it is worth a mention.Also I would like to point out to anyone who is going to buy from pc world/currys in the uk.....DONT! They are a pack of lying false advertising mofos! I was in store today and checked on about 10 different machines all claiming to have dedicated graphic cards ranging from 512mb to 2gb (ati/amd and nvidea).THIS IS BS!!! I checked on all of them myself and each had no video adaptor control panel,they all had a shitty built in intel hd graphics panel.I pulled sales reps in each store about this and they were that dumb they didnt have a clue about it (nevermind explaining why they were selling stuff that clearly wasnt what was advertised).Also on this note,most places operate a 'this item is excluded from our 30 day return policy' (PC world/currys/argos to name just a few) which basicaly means once you buy a laptop you CANNOT return it.I also brought this point up with a few sales reps and was told as long as the laptop is in a resellable condition (unopened/unused) it can be returned.I had to just laugh as i said how the fk am i supposed to know whether you have lied to me about the graphics card unless I open it,turn it on and check! Personally I think this is a joke in this day and age,and it would put me off buying a laptop from anyone!
*post rant edit*
I got talking to someone in pc world who actually knew what they were talking about today,and he logged in as system admin and let me have a proper look around a few machines.On these new laptops with dedicated graphics chips it turns out that they also have an onboard intel gpu as well.The idea behind this is to save power on programs/apps that don't really require hardware video acceleration.The laptop automatically switches to the intel chipset to save power/battery life on programs or features that it deems do not require the graphics card.In such a machine,within the ati or nvidea control panel,there is an option to manually add programs to a list,basicaly forcing them to use the dedicated graphics chip as opposed to the other shitty intel one (pretty similar to how you would add programs to the list of exceptions in your windows or antivirus firewall)
Also,the missing stereo mix within recording options seems to still be a big issue in windows 7.Out of all the machines I got to look at the only ones that had a stereo mix record feature were the hp series with the beats audio crap installed.Just something that you should look out for if you plan on using the onboard sound for dj'ing,producing,making videos or streaming live audio.There may be others but the hp was the only one I could find with a stereo mix.I also know for a fact that having an external audio interface doesnt cure the missing stereo mix issue.So bottom line.....be very aware of what you are buying from these guys before committing your hard earned cash!!!!
Even if only one person finds this information helpful I will be happy.
For what its worth the spec i was thinking of was at least a 2.4ghz i5 chip,8gig ddr3,1tb hdd,and a 2gb dedicated video card.
Ive seen a lenovo one on amazon for £549.00 which is way cheaper than what you will find in most places for that spec.
(its surprising how little is on the web about this subject)
