By Robin Owens 20 days ago, Hardware
The best laptops for DJing available on the market.
I have hand-picked the top 7 laptops for DJs that will come in handy for anyone interested in current music trends. This article will help you to learn more about their advantages and shortcomings to purchase a device that suits you most. Whether you are an aspiring DJ or a top-notch professional looking for the best Razer laptop, you will find the best option for your purposes.
Developers have released many programs for DJs that allow you to work on your music tracks more effectively. However, some of them have high hardware requirements, so it’s crucial to check whether your laptop can run your favorite software. I will tell you about the most important things you should pay attention to while choosing a laptop.
CPU: 6-Core Intel Core i7 Processor | GPU: Amd Radeon Pro 5300M | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 512 GB | Display: 16-inch | Weight: 4.3 pound
⊕ Great speakers
⊕ Thin profile
⊕ Impressive battery capacity
⊕ A handy Force Touch trackpad
⊖ Doesn’t support SD cards
⊖ Expensive
The key selling point of this laptop is its keyboard with a 1mm key travel, which makes it a better option than previous versions released in 2015 and earlier. It accounts for an enjoyable typing experience and great tactile feedback.
The laptop comes with a high-resolution Retina screen. Models released in 2018, 2019 and 2024 support the True Tone technology, which accounts for automatic adjustment of color temperature depending on the lighting conditions in your room.
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i5 | GPU: Intel HD Graphics 615 | RAM: 8 GB | Storage: 128 GB | Display: 12.3-inch | Weight: 1.10 pound
⊕ Lightweight
⊕ Slim profile
⊕ Stylish kickstand
⊕ Convenient keyboard
⊖ Poor battery life
⊖ Pulse 2.0 Score
You can take this convertible laptop wherever you go. It supports USB-C and USB-A connections. Besides, the Surface Pro 7 doesn’t weigh much and has a thin profile. To use it as a laptop, you just need to open a kickstand and connect a Type Cover.
Due to Wi-Fi 6 support, it transfers data 4 times faster than devices with Wi-Fi 5 compatibility. As the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is fitted with a USB-C port, you can quickly charge your smartphone, whenever needed.
CPU: Intel Core i3 Processor | GPU: Intel Iris Plus Graphics | RAM: 8 GB | Storage: 256 GB | Display: 13-inch | Weight: 2.8 pound
⊕ High-speed CPU
⊕ Scissor switches
⊕ Convenient trackpad
⊕ Touch ID/T2 Security
⊖ A 720p webcam
⊖ Pulse 2.0 Rating
If you are looking for a MacBook Air for DJing, this 2024 model has everything you might ever need. It has an ergonomic keyboard with a great typing feel, an amazing display, perfect size, affordable price and 4-core CPU.
This laptop also features an integrated fingerprint sensor for better security and a touchpad. You will be impressed by its 10th Gen Intel processor, as it can speed up to 3.8GHz from its default 1.2GHz thanks to Turbo Boost. It makes this CPU twice more powerful than previous versions of this processor.
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10710U | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 1 TB | Display: 13.3-inch | Weight: 2.93 pound
⊕ A 6-core CPU, цeighs 2.8 pounds
⊕ Compact
⊕ Slim design
⊖ Poor-quality keyboard
This cheap laptop for DJing has an anti-reflective IPS display with wide viewing angles and 400-nit brightness, which makes it a perfect option for outdoor parties. The screen remains perfectly bright regardless of the angle you are looking at it from.
This model is pretty similar to the XPS 13 9380, so its trackpad and keyboard weren’t significantly upgraded. Besides, a trackpad is rather inconvenient to use as it has a metallic feel.
CPU: Intel Core i7 | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 1 TB | Display: 15.6-inch | Weight: 5.51 pound
⊕ Two 4K OLED touchscreens
⊕ High-speed SSD
⊕ Doesn’t overheat during gaming
⊕ Remarkable performance
⊖ No SD card support
⊖ Poor audio quality
Besides a 15.6-inch ScreenPad Plus, the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX581 features a supplemental 4K touchscreen, which makes it the best laptop for DJing. The main 4K UHD OLED touchscreen will come in handy for solving any task in no time.
While this laptop is mostly used by designers and photo editors, it will be useful to DJs as well. Thanks to its two monitors, you can see all the information you might need at once.
CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H 6-Core | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 256 GB | Display: 15.6-inch | Weight: 8.67 pound
⊕ A variety of connectivity options
⊕ Amazing design
⊕ High speed
⊕ Impressive performance
⊖ Overpriced
Razer surprised its fans this year by releasing the Razer Blade 15 2024. This is an upgraded version of their popular laptop that comes with more advanced specifications. If you want to buy a device with a powerful GPU, this option is for you.
Its NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is extremely fast, which makes it suitable and for other resource-consuming tasks besides DJing, such as gaming. You will also enjoy its nearly bezel-less 144Hz 15. 6-inch full HD display.
CPU: Intel Core i7 | GPU: Intel Iris Plus Graphics | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 512 GB | Display: 15-inch | Weight: 4.08 pound
⊕ Durable case
⊕ UHD support
⊕ Handles low temperatures
⊕ Backlit keyboard
⊖ Poor screen brightness
If you are looking for a pro-level model with durable construction, make sure to consider this option. The HP Pavilion is considered by many as the best laptop for DJing as it supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth(R) 5. It allows it to transfer data up to 3 times faster than devices with Wi-Fi 5 modules.
This laptop comes with Windows 10 Pro and has many integrated security options that safeguard your data from being compromised. The HP Pavilion 15 is extremely compact and delivers impressive performance, which makes it a great value for the money. While its build quality is worse than that one of the more high-end devices, it comes at an affordable price and has a set of specs that make it suitable for gaming, DJing and other tasks.
Image | Name | Features | |
---|---|---|---|
MacBook Pro
Our Choice |
CHECK PRICE→ | ||
Microsoft Surface Pro
Fast |
CHECK PRICE → | ||
MacBook Air
Thin |
CHECK PRICE → |
A pro-level laptop is one of the main parts of any DJ set-up, so it’s vital to understand which devices are better suitable for music production and which specifications you need to pay attention to.
To avoid eye strain when you work in poor light conditions, it’s better to choose a device with a large screen. After testing the 13-inch MacBook Pro for DJing, I decided to switch to a 15-inch laptop. 13-inch laptops are more portable, but they might be less comfortable to use during extended DJing sessions. Some people think that DJs only occasionally need to look at the screen, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Screen size matters, and even more so if you wear glasses.
If your device has 128 GB storage it will suffice for installing any program of your choice. However, if you strive to become a true professional, make sure to purchase a laptop for DJ use with 515 GB storage or more. If you have more storage space, you save all your music tracks and organize your music files.
Instead of buying a laptop that features a processor with the highest number of cores, pay attention to the clock speed. While the largest number of cores facilitates multitasking, most modern CPUs have 4-6 cores by default and it will suffice for any task.
Laptops that are fitted with Core i7/AMD Ryzen 7 processors are more expensive but a powerful CPU doesn’t mean that your device will deliver top-notch performance. It’s better to choose a laptop for DJing and producing equipped with the Core i5/AMD Ryzen 5 CPU. While I personally prefer Ryzen processors, I haven’t seen a lot of laptops with Ryzen 5 so it might be worth considering Intel processors instead.
Many aspiring DJs strive to buy the best equipment to quickly learn the ropes. However, to avoid shelling money on an overpriced laptop with extra features that you won’t even need, opt for a device that is suitable for other tasks besides DJing.
Expensive laptops usually come with powerful processors and a lot of storage, which makes them suitable for gamers or creative professionals. The final choice depends on you, so make sure to choose the best device for your budget.
If you want to buy a basic laptop for DJ music, you can find a model with 2 GB of RAM, an Intel CPU with 2 or more cores and a reliable hard drive. It will suffice for 90% of DJing tasks.
Yes, some professionals prefer buying special DJ controllers that support USB sticks. They usually have displays that allow you to select tracks and solve other regular tasks in no time.
If you don’t have loads of cash and want to purchase a reliable laptop for DJing, take a closer look at the HP 15-G020DX. Besides featuring the AMD 4-core A6-5200 Accelerated CPU, it comes with 4 GB of RAM and a 1 TB hard drive. You will also enjoy its 15.6-inch display that will make your experience more comfortable.
8 GB of RAM is more than enough for solving any tasks. However, to avoid future upgrades, opt for 16 GB. As for processors, I recommend buying a device with the 8th Gen 1.6GHz dual-core Intel i5 CPU. Besides, it’s crucial to have a large and fast SSD or HDD.